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Day Five

    Day five was a bit more disheartening than the previous days. Exhausted and hungry by lunchtime, I gave in and accepted my meal in a Styrofoam container with plastic utensils. I turned things around later by choosing coconut water in a aluminum can and a snack wrapped in foil.

    Dinner was another story. Instead of eating out, I spent $90 on groceries for the family, which brought a fresh wave of plastic. My haul included two foil casseroles with paper lids, pancake mix with a thin plastic lid, plastic-wrapped steaks, and blueberry syrup in a glass jar with a plastic top.

    Reflecting on these first five days, quitting plastic cold turkey feels nearly impossible—and perhaps even impractical or unhealthy. The daily reality of just how difficult this experiment has become makes it a steep uphill battle.

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