This project started in response to the now all-too-common sight of a dead whale washed up to shore with a belly full of plastic. As one of many who have been horrified by this sight, I decided to try to eliminate plastic from my life as well as save and make art out of that plastic which I could not avoid buying. After only a few days of collecting my refuse and carefully washing, drying and storing it, it became clear that this useless rubbish, when multiplied by millions of earth’s inhabitants, added up to a staggering amount of non-earth-friendly material. From the wrapping covering the cans of dog food I ordered online, to the maddeningly difficult-to-open containers for hardware items, to the pervasive use of plastic wrap for foods in the grocery store, it seemed impossible to avoid this ubiquitous material. Thanks to many online resources by like-minded individuals, I slowly found new ways of living without plastic. Eliminating coffee pods in favor of coffee poured through a stainless steel cone, sewing muslin bags to use at the grocery store, buying glass containers to store food in, and returning to using bar soap are some strategies we can all embrace. I am not perfect and still struggle to find new ways to change my old habits.