There are many small ways you can help protect the environment
Sit down. Look around. See any plastic? Of course you do. Your computer keyboard, water bottles, cups, plates, take-out containers, medicine bottles, grocery bags, furniture laminates, Styrofoam packing, shower curtains, disposable diapers, food packaging, even your toothpaste, and so much more.
Plastic has become a global crisis. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the total amount of plastic waste in the ocean will exceed the total number of fish found in the oceans by 2050.
That’s because plastic never really goes away. It just breaks down into smaller and smaller micro-pieces escaping into our waterways to pollute our oceans, kill wildlife and degrade human health.
An American on average throws away 185 pounds of plastic each year with only 1-2 percent recycled. Unless it was incinerated (about three percent) every piece of plastic ever made still exists today. Last year in Chattanooga 74.43 tons of plastics #1 and #2 was collected. That’s four percent of recyclables collected from recycle centers not counting curbside pickup amounts or plastics #3-#6.
Most plastic of any number eventually flows into garbage sites, the largest one being in the North Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. It’s almost twice the size of Texas. Eight million tons of plastic is dumped in the ocean every year creating huge swirling gyres of plastic.
As Mr. McGuire says to Benjamin in The Graduate, “There’s a great future in plastics.” He was right. Companies producing plastic are doing well. Each year about 500 billion plastic bags are used, one million every minute. What McGuire didn’t mention is that it takes oil to produce plastic thereby contributing to air emissions.
Every year, the US uses 12 million barrels of oil to produce 100 billion plastic bags. He also didn’t say that plastics contain lead, cadmium, and mercury and some have diethylhexyl phthalate, a carcinogen. Microbeads in some cosmetics and toothpastes have been found in mussels many people eat.
Recognizing dire consequences of this continuing plastic deluge, the United Nations Environment Programme mounted a Clean Seas Campaign. The goal is to eliminate ocean plastic by stopping use of microplastics in cosmetics and production of single-use plastic by 2022. Many international corporations and countries have signed on to this effort.
We consumers have a big role to play. Our consumption patterns can drive the markets by reducing our demand for all things plastic. Start by eliminating plastic straws from your life. Every day 500 million straws are used and discarded in the US usually after less than an hour.
If you must have a straw, carry your own reusable straw. Suggest this action to others. Mention the sea turtle that was found with a straw stuck in his nose to get attention to the danger of plastics. There’s also the sperm whale that washed up and died due to 64 pounds of human trash in his digestive system. Plastic has been found in 86 percent of all turtle species and 43 percent of all marine mammal species.
What else? First, think about ways to reduce your plastic consumption every time you shop. Purchase items without plastic packaging or plastic containers. This can be difficult as so many containers are plastic. If one must buy plastic, make sure it’s recyclable and then recycle. Avoid single use plastic water bottles and carry your own reusable water holder to refill as needed.
Choose recyclable aluminum cans or glass beverage holders. Carry your own coffee cup to the coffee shop. Carry your own to-go container to restaurants instead of using Styrofoam containers. Carry fabric tote bags and refuse plastic bags. Some cities are either banning or taxing plastic bags.
When purchasing plastic items if there is no other choice, make sure it’s something you can use for years into the future. About 50 percent of plastic items we use now are only used once before pitching into the garbage.
These are simple, albeit challenging, actions. Because plastic is so ubiquitous in our lives, these actions can make a big difference in saving the lives of wildlife and we humans too.
Sandra Kurtz is an environmental community activist, chair of the South Chickamauga Creek Greenway Alliance, and is presently working through the Urban Century Institute. You can visit her website to learn more at enviroedu.net