It comes in all types and shapes, sizes and textures, from sources known and unknown. One moment the table is clear and blank, and the next moment it is full of this commodity called paper. One such occurrence is usually after a visit to the mailbox and the procurement of its contents. There are all sorts of goodies in our hands as we make our way to the front door. Of the utmost concern and interest are the windowed envelopes which contain information which may require even more paper in the form of a check in response. Then we have the advertising literature which comes to us courtesy of our local merchants. There is usually a feeling of guilt if we do not at least peruse these heavier-grade pieces printed for us in color. Then there are the “surprise” envelopes, the contents of which are unknown. The challenge here is that we are now dealing with an envelope and its contents, thus multiple pieces of paper in one. So, in a single trip we may have possibly procured at least 10 paper items to add to our already accumulated collection. About that prior stack of papers which we intended to discard yesterday or the day before, we are embarrassed for ourselves that we just have not moved that material to the trash, either cycled or recycled.
Another set of paper goods comes in the form of informational ink which we call newspapers and magazines. What happens here is that we have lain aside a publication or two for future reading when we have “more time.” Let us call this phenomenon the futurization of periodicals. Voila! Before we realize what has happened, there are several magazines of many months’ duration from a myriad of publishers as part of our possessions. Dare I mention the newspaper or newspapers? This set of named papers can get the better of us if we are not careful. Somehow, we feel we have made an investment in our periodicals and gazettes and posts, and are not that quick to part with them. Some readers are also prone to cut out items from the various publications for monetary exchange at the local grocery store, or sharing with nieces and nephews. If such clippings are not dealt with immediately – ah, more paper.
Discretion prevents the discussion of our disposable personal paper products in the column, but other than the biodegradables which a downward water flow can manage, there are many types of wipes which we use on a regular basis. This brings us to those zip-lock bags made of plastic which adorn many of our refrigerator shelves, in which we store all sorts of perishables for later use. There are those flexible baggies, and then the more contoured containers which serve a variety of purposes, both refrigerated and not. It would take hundreds of words to explain and describe the uses of our plastic possessions and our dependence thereon. Many have even been dishwasher approved. After a certain amount of time, the disposal of many of the plastics is a matter of concern and duty. So here we are with all these items which we need and use and throw away, carefully. Do you realize that we even line our trash cans with paper and plastic? Paper to receive paper!
There are so many things that we as Cape dwellers take for granted. Paper and plastic may be the greatest among these things. The father in “The Graduate,” that classic movie, is credited with one of the greatest one-liners in film, “Plastics.” That was 1967; there was no way of knowing how pervasive that product would truly come to be, and how important to the daily lives of all of us 50+ years later.
Of course, no one could predict the environmental issues which would challenge us and our offspring. Useful and disposable are paper and plastic, a necessity for our times, the times before, and the times to come, although the plastic grocery bag is no longer with us. In truth, where would we be (or have been) without these products in all their forms and textures? Yes, a dilemma arises with respect to the fact that so much accumulates, thus creating clutter both physical and at times psychological, but, despite our techie advisors, we really cannot go paperless.
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Peter E. Carter is a former public school administrator who has served communities in three states as a principal, and district and county superintendent, for 35-plus years. He is a board member for Delaware Botanic Gardens and Cape Henlopen Educational Foundation, and the author of a dual autobiography, “A Black First…the Blackness Continues.”
