… … Immediately bombarded by
Plastic bottles bearing brands
Foreign to me: Aquafina, Zephyrhills, Dasani.
Walking into Walmart
I took my first of (many) Ubers
– Necessary in combatting
The lack of public transport.
Polystyrene, single use, disposable
Waste. Thousands of plates, cutlery, towels, foils wraps and baking trays
Fill every aisle.
Even the apples suffocated in cling film.
Turning twenty-one
I paraded my ID and purchased
my (second) first legal drink.
Despite holding a cloth tote bag
It was protected in one, two, three
plastic, grey, flimsy bags.
In Florida springs warmth lingers in the water all year round, alongside a healthy
portion of polystyrene and protected breeds of fish.
The state of Florida
will certainly be failing it’s
midpoint review at reducing plastic pollution.
Plastic pollution was not a worry to everyone. Complicity was easiest.
Nothing about my year abroad had been easy though.
I was not about to start here.
Tote bags were forced to cashiers
with bewildered smiles at (what I’m sure they deemed) the bizarre
international student. I decided to care less.
Less about people’s perception.
Less about breaking up their routine.
Less about refusing to adapt.
Less about immersion in this culture.
Less bags, plates, takeaways, ubers.
More carpools, more walking, more reusable cups and plates. More research, subscription and action through American conservation coalition (https://acc.eco/) . Their beach clean ups and wildlife support helps offset the inevitable affect of my existence in this culture.
This culture that is not sustainable
For the next 25 years. At the midpoint
review anxiety fills me like the springs with rubbish.
