How plastic is made and realizing a future without plastic packaging

Dec 12

We've been talking so much about plastic pollution, but how exactly is plastic even made to begin with and what can we learn from that process to better understand its impact on our health? How can we deal with having friends or family members who don't personally support the work we do or believe it can really make a difference?

Sharing her wisdom with us here is Christine Liu, author of the blog and YouTube channel on living more simply and sustainably, Snapshots of Simplicity. She has a degree in industrial and packaging technology from California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo and currently works at Cisco as a sustainable packaging program manager, where she also co-founded its internal employee organization called the Green Team Network. Let's dive in.

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This is a conversation on Green Dreamer Podcast with Kaméa Chayne, a show exploring environmental and intersectional sustainability from ideas to life. Subscribe to Green Dreamer on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or any podcast app and let’s learn what it takes to thrive in every sense of the word!

Highlights

[2:34] What first inspired Christine's passion for the environment.

[5:21] Kaméa: "What stood out to you most about industrial packaging that made you want to focus on the sustainability aspect of it?"

[6:32] Christina explains how plastic is actually made.

[9:13] Christina's journey into a career in sustainable packaging after earning her degree.

[10:53] Christina's advice for someone working for a company that's not focused on sustainability but wants to be an "intrapraneur" and work as a change maker from within.

[11:47] Kaméa: "What do you think is most effective when it comes to influencing the key decision makers in a large company like Cisco?"

[14:26] Christine on her biggest challenges when first going about reducing waste.

[15:35] How Christine deals with pushback from friends and family members.

[17:10] Christine on balancing everything she does.

[17:19] Christine: "Being an overachiever or perfectionist, it's really easy to overlook rest and to not give yourself enough credit for what you do."

[18:15] Christine shares about her anxiety, her decision to take some time off from work, and how it's impacted her overall outlook and values.

[20:28] Christina's advice for those of us who similarly feel tired of running on the treadmill of life, work and productivity every day.

[21:13] Christina discusses her new book, Sustainable Home.

[23:32] Kaméa: "What do you see as our biggest roadblock to having a system where packaging can be sustainable?"

[26:40] How we can support a world with less waste issues from packaging as individuals.

[27:55] Christine on what we need most to accelerate toward a thriving and sustainable planet beyond packaging.

References

Keep in Touch

Christine Liu of Snapshots of Simplicity

Website: www.snapshotsofsimplicity.com
Instagram: @snapshotsofsimplicity
Facebook: @snapshotsofsimplicity
Pinterest: @snapshotsimple
YouTube
Sustainable Home: practical projects, tips and advice for maintaining a more eco-friendly household

Tips

To follow: Desiring God

Words of inspiration: “I remind myself of all the opportunities I've had over the past few years and how thankful I ought to be for all those good things."

Health tip: "I try to sleep a lot."

Green tip: "I'm re-vamping my wardrobe."

Element of hope: "I think it's amazing to see how much the zero waste movement has grown over the past several years."

Words of Wisdom: "Don't overlook your network; I think I've made the biggest impact with the people I've met in my community, whether it's online or in person."

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