Former NFL player called out for holiday tradition: 'That's dystopian'

Every January, it's common for people who celebrate Christmas to toss their trees onto their street curbs or into their backyards. 

What's less common, but still a reality, is that some people also toss out the rest of their holiday decorations each year. 

One Redditor called out a high-profile couple for this behavior in a recent post on r/Anticonsumption. 

With screenshots of a TikTok video, the original poster showed how Allison Kucharczyk, a popular social media creator, and her husband, former NFL player Isaac Rochell, waste their entire holiday setup each year.

"We have no ornaments because every year my husband throws away our entire Christmas tree with ornaments, the lights, everything," Kucharczyk says in the screenshot. 

Many Redditors were surprised by the practice, reporting how their ornaments and decorations are uniquely important to their families and often date back generations. Yet others argued that such sentimentality isn't there for everyone, especially a couple such as Kucharczyk and Rochell, who moved around a lot as Rochell changed teams.

In truth, many people don't think twice about all the plastic they waste on a daily basis. Ever blow up a balloon and then deflate it to use again later? The answer is probably no — and that desensitization is unfortunately common. 

However, the impact can be sinister, with plastic pollution plaguing nearly everything the sun touches these days, from the oceans to our own bodies. 

That's why it's important to be conscious of our consumption habits and reuse what we can. If something can't be reused or repurposed, it can maybe be recycled. If it can't, then the next best thing to do is try to not buy that single-use item in the future — and there are tons of alternatives to plastic products out there to make that easy. 

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"I can't imagine completely redoing this stuff every year," one commenter wrote. 

"That's dystopian," another said.

"A lot of retail stores do this x1000," a third added.

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