While grocery shopping a couple of nights ago, I found myself in a quandary. I’m a frugal shopper, although I dislike calling myself anything with the word “shopper” in it. I’m also a bit of an activist against plastic waste. I’m not a radical activist who stands in front of stores with a picket sign, I’m the type that is trying to set an example by doing what I think is right. I try desperately to avoid needless plastics, and really just trying to avoid anything unnecessary, in a society of disposable excess.
I love cake. As a matter of fact, I’ve been craving cake since my birthday in May. I usually buy one, but I just never got around to it. As I was looking on the sale rack, I found a box of white cupcakes with white icing. My fav! Wait. What’s that on top? Plastic rings, clearly visible through the transparent plastic box.
Look. The cute little smiley faces are taunting me. The red ones are visual oxymorons, tiny stop signs saying go.
The cupcakes are on sale. 50% off. The smug little plastic faces are staring at me, saying, “Plastic waste is okay. You can buy us with no worries. Look around. Everyone else buys us without a second thought. We were designed for short-term party enjoyment, and we understand that the trash dump is our next destination. Go ahead, put us in the cart.”
I put them in the cart.
Yes, I got a great deal on the cupcakes, but I’ve just sold out to wastefulness and plastic crap. People think I’m odd because I only allow my kids to say the word “crap” if it has the word “plastic” in front of it. I clearly have not set a good example for them. I should have bought a cake without the plastic crap or bought the stuff to make a cake. I guess I’m cheap and lazy.
Alright already. I’ll get over it. One bad decision. Maybe those cheeky plastic smiles will quit haunting me. I’m going to go eat a cupcake. What? If I let them go to waste, that’s one more thing to feel bad about.
You can have your cake and eat it too, but what do you do with the plastic skeleton that’s leftover when you’re done?
Not sure if I agree that you “sold out” here. By writing this article you have actually re-used them.
Whether this article is, in fact, some kind of retro-active penance for having justified the purchase of plastic crap to indulge your desire for white chocolate frosting is another matter entirely.
LOL! That’s a whole other type of issue. A speech therapist friend is taking the evil little plastic rings and putting them to a good use. :)