I knew this would be an internal battle for me in Morocco and one which I could never win. We were handed a 2-liter bottle of water every morning on the bus, were coached to not drink any water and in fact not eat fresh fruit and vegetables except in a rare restaurant within a rare hotel. I get it, and I did not want to get it (the travelers GI bug).
That one I had to accept, salute, comply and move on.
However, the use of plastic bags is not one I had to accept. I had my little reusable bag tucked in the corner of my backpack and when I bought something I handed it to the vendor. I got really weird looks from almost all of them! "Why is this strange American giving me this bag?" During our drive over the High Atlas Mountains, or along almost every road we were on, blue plastic bags, or remnants of them clung to tree branches and bushes. I knew I could not go and collect them off the trees and bushes but I was reminded of the first Vermont Clean up day in the late 1960s when I collected trash from one mile along Route 73. I felt powerful that day and honestly, I think we have less trash with the bottle deposit.
20-30 years ago we did not use so many plastic bags and neither did they in Morocco I suspect. Plastic does not disintegrate, ever! We recycle plastic bags now and I worry that they still end up in the landfill.
I felt such despair in Morocco as I stared out at each beautiful landscape dotted with shreds of plastic bags. I suppose they have many bigger life issues than these bags on their flora. I am a Polyanna and feel like I can do something about these bags and bottles, my little part of refusing plastic bags and bottled water. Many of our improvements of modern life are not really improvements, they are taking a step backwards, and use of plastic bags and bottles is one of these. I will continue to fight my own little private battle here in the US and try to ignore the despair I felt when I go through my pictures of that beautiful country.
No comments:
Post a Comment