Reykjavík Grapevine - sept 2020, Qupperneq 15

Peelin! Off The
Plastic Wrap
“Plastic Free September” encoura!es
us to quit our toxic relationship with
disposable plastic.
Breaking a habit is hard. No one be-
comes an environmentalist over-
night. Where would you even start?
“It’s easy to get gloomy,” says Kolbrún
Haraldsdóttir, an educator and co-
organiser of the campaign “Plastlaus
September” (Plastic Free September,
in English). But despair isn’t going to
change much. Which is why Kolbrún
and Natalie Ouellette, marketing and
PR specialist, emphasise staying posi-
tive. “They say it takes 30 days to break
a habit,” Kolbrún points out and Sep-
tember might just be the right time
frame to get started.
Humble Beginnings
Three years ago, Plastic Free Sep-
tember came to Iceland. According to
Kolbrún and Natalie, the goal of the
month-long initiative is to raise aware-
ness about the amount of single-use
plastic people use in their daily lives
and to present them with alternatives.
“I’ve tried to explore ways of work-
ing with some kind of environmen-
tal cause in my professional life and I
hadn’t really found that outlet,” Natalie
recalls. “So, when I noticed a picture of
Kolla in Plastlaus September—she was
the kindergarten teacher for one of my
kids—I kind of cornered her one day
and said: “Hey! Plastlaus September.
How can I join?” And I was welcomed
with open arms by the other mem-
bers.”
The idea goes back to the Austra-
lian initiative, Plastic Free July, which
started in 2011. But seeing as most Ice-
landers are on holiday in July, the local
organizers figured that September was
perhaps a better time to encourage Ice-
landers to rethink their plastic usage.
Breaking The Habit
Even though we know that plastic is
bad for us, it’s still the predominant
form of packaging. It’s light, it’s clean,
it’s familiar. But it’s harming the en-
vironment because it will not decom-
pose at a reasonable rate. So, how do we
start quitting this comfy, yet literally
toxic relationship? According to Kol-
brún and Natalie it’s important to cele-
brate small victories like, “Hey, I made
my last three shopping trips with my
own bags!” and not shaming anyone
who may fall back on old habits once
in a while.
“I think a lot of people are intimi-
dated by the idea of making changes,
a lot of times people think it’s so big,”
Natalie says. “I think people don’t of-
ten give themselves the benefit of the
doubt. Every small change can really
make a difference and everyone is ca-
pable of making this small change.”
Networking
“In the beginning it was just a few
friends that had potluck dinners to-
gether,” Kolbrún says when talking
about the origin of the campaign. “And
they would be annoyed, like ‘Why isn’t
anyone doing something about this
plastic pollution problem?’ and then
they thought to themselves, ‘We should
just do it’”.
Learn more about “Plastlaus Sep-
tember” and get pointers and support
for ditching single-use plastics on the
initiative’s Facebook group, Instagram
and Snapchat. Their website also has
information available in Icelandic,
English and soon Polish as well.
Words:
Catherine
Magnúsdóttir
Photos:
Sigrún Hreins
&
Salbjörg Rita
Jónsdóttir
CULTURE
NEWS
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Info
Take part in the
symposium on
September 30th
at 17:00. The event
will also be live on
Facebook.
Bíó Paradís Is Back, Baby!
Screening of the British National
Theatre Production CYRANO DE
BERGERAC
September 19th & September 21st
Bíó Paradís is a proud partner of the
British National Theatre and
regularly screens selected stage
theatre productions that have been
recorded LIVE with an audience and
specially prepared for screenings
in cinemas across the world.
Starting out with Jamie Lloyd's new
update on the play CYRANO DE
BERGERAC featuring James McAvaoy.
Experience British theatre like
you’re there in person at the newly
reopened Bíó Paradís. CM
Blistering Death Metal And
Grindcore!
Death Metal Concert And Party
September 12th - 19:00 - Gaukurinn -
2000 ISK at the Door
Three of Iceland's torchbearers of
death—Devine Defilement, Cult of
Lilith and Kookaveen—are joining
forces for one night to blend
various death-metal subgenres and
mix some grooves, slams and
blastbeats. Devine Defilement
promises to bring some brutal
sonic punishment, while Cult of
Lilith just unleashed their debut
album and Kookaveen play their
own special mix of grindcore, death
metal, punk and d-beat. CM
Soundtracks At Their Full
Potential
Film Music Orchestra: Morricone and
Williams
October 1st - 19:30 - Eldborg -
2,600-8,100 ISK
Film music in all its glory, performed
by an orchestra conducted by
Richard Kaufman. Musical film gems
from two giants of 20th-century
film music, Ennio Morricone and
John Williams, will be played in all
their epicness. Selections include
pieces from The Untouchables, The
Mission, Cinema Paradiso, Lawrence
of Arabia, Harry Potter, Star Wars,
Superman, and E.T. The perfect
concert for movie lovers and
orchestra fans. CM
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