UU Church bans plastic bottles
NancyDREuu brought this to my attention.
I'm passionately ambivalent. On one hand, it's great to see a UU church taking a concrete step toward living out their values.
On the other hand -- really? No plastic water bottles? That's your hill to die on?
On the other hand -- baby steps. That's what makes a difference.
On the other hand -- more fodder for the stereotype of the freakyhippiecult.
What say you?
I'd say that the article on this did a good job of painting the UUs as weird. And it seems like discouraging the plastic bottles might be a better idea. We try to discourage the use of disposable plates, bottles, spoons, forks, etc. at our church. But it seems like a ban comes across as a big draconian. Sort of like if you try to ban meat, it does less good because it makes vegetarians look crazy. Rather than encouraging plant-based foods. Could they encourage non-disposable things? Maybe it could be done in a good way, but this does not seem that helpful. And I've already written too much on this. I'm putting off trying to continue unpacking....
ReplyDeleteHope all is well in TX. Smiles, E
i mean as a bit draconian. not big draconian.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Elizabeth. A UU church banning anything (regardless of how noble it may seem to some) sure doesn't seem very welcoming to me. I could see educating people about alternatives, but banning? Sheesh.
ReplyDelete((On the other hand -- really? No plastic water bottles? That's your hill to die on?))
ReplyDeleteWas prescisely my reaction.
CC
First, I think it was snarky of the reporter to call attention to the typo by writing [sic]. (Yes, and dumb of the congregation to post signs all over the place with a typo in them.)
ReplyDeleteAs for the issue, don't they recycle plastic in Canada? Around here we are sitting on park benches and at picnic tables made of recycled plastic. There seems to be quite a market for it. Why can't the church ask that water bottles discarded in the building be recyclable, and let it go at that?
I sure wouldn't die on this hill.