02/02/2019
Indeed, plastic straws are a huge issue. We all can agree that the single use plastic overload is insane for our landfills and oceans. Earlier I posted about the disposable mascara wands that a lovely wildlife rehab center was using for combing tiny fly eggs off from rescued critters and that I was going to send them what I collected since I had a regular supply coming in.
This got me thinking about how we can address this issue of pollution vs. necessity. Professional Makeup Studios and retail establishments all across the country were sent a boon by being able to utilize a single tube of mascara for clients with multiple usages without the fear of infecting anyone, thus saving money on replacing whole mascara tubes or giving them away to keep things hygienic. You simply use a disposable wand on a client and then just toss it away, keeping the tube clean for much longer. But all those wands go into the trash, and being in a building not our own, there is no way to recycle them even if we could, because under what category do they fall and honestly who has time? We are often very busy and well.. It just isn't practical sometimes.
I first realized a solution to this problem when I saw on Facebook that a wildlife rehab center was using them to clean sick animals at Wands for Wildlife - www.www.AppalchianWild.org . I decided to start collecting the wands at two Network TV studios I work for(thank you for being on board!) and wanted to send them to these caring folks. After seeing them on Ellen I realized they had so many delivered they would be set for life, I needed to find another source to donate them and try to keep them out of the landfill.
So I kept collecting them. I have collected and washed 450 plastic one time use mascara wands once a week for a year. Imagine the thousands of department stores, other retails stores, online suppliers, television and film studios are using these to do right by their clients eye health. Now imagine all the retail companies that sell mascara in tubes, which, after a few months of use gets thrown out by regular consumers. It's mind boggling how these innocent little wands are out there clogging up the landfills and eventually the oceans.
I am also a Cockatiel Parent. I joined several groups on FaceBook that breed and care for exotic birds. The other day a very nice person wondered if these wands that she had seen on Ellen for the wildlife would work to help her clean her baby birds form formula that was hard to remove from the feathers after feeding. I told her I had 450 wands if she wants them! She is going to pass them on to others in the birding field and I decided to write this to make others aware as well.
I am interested in suggestions for reusing or recycling these wands so each of us can do a small part for the planet by using one less plastic thing or finding a way to reuse it fully.
My husband uses them to clean the hard water buildup on the toilet tank parts that are hard to reach.. My bird friend suggested offering them to school art teachers, maybe to stir little pots of paint? use as a paintbrush of sorts or to get glue into tiny spaces?
Would love other ideas because I don't think they will be going out of style anytime soon.
Thank you!
Andrea
