Our Earth Can't Digest Plastic
Every bit of plastic that’s ever been made still exists on the planet. Once it exists, it’s never going to be gone.
Here are some single-use plastic habits you can change:
More suggestions here
Most of us do some of these already (I don't drink bottled water, carry cloth grocery bags and don't use straws). If we could cut even one more bit of plastic that we use it would be helpful. I'm going to look for bamboo toothbrushes.
Here are some single-use plastic habits you can change:
Plastic cutlery. Totally wrong. It kills me that often health food shops with eco ethos’ are the worst for not supplying reusable stuff. This ain’t fringe thinking any more. France has just banned plastic cutlery, cups and plates. (So you know, 150 single-use cups are thrown away every second in France.) They’re aiming to cut landfill waste in half by 2025 and reduce greenhouse emissions 40 per cent by 2030. Do this: Carry a splade in your purse/bag* (a spoon, fork and blade in one). Or a “spork” – spoon and fork combo – one at each end – available from reChusable.com.
Straws. Don’t use one! 90 per cent of the debris found on Sydney beaches is plastic water bottles and straws. These pieces can get so tiny that they are then ingested by marine life. Bigger marine life comes along and gobbles up the prey that has just swallowed a chunk of plastic, and so it makes its way up the food chain. Do this: Sip your drink, only use if there are biodegradable ones available at your cafe or invest in a stainless steel reusable one. And leave in your bag*.
Bottled water. In the US, 1500 plastic water bottles are consumed every second. Every SECOND. The plastic contains BPA and phthalates, both of which have a huge negative impact on our bodies. They also take 25 per cent of their volume in oil to make each bottle. That’s a lot of fossil fuels. Do this: Drink from a tap. Invest in a Soda Stream. Take a reusable bottle with you in your bag* and fill up at public water fountains, at cafes or at work.
More suggestions here
Most of us do some of these already (I don't drink bottled water, carry cloth grocery bags and don't use straws). If we could cut even one more bit of plastic that we use it would be helpful. I'm going to look for bamboo toothbrushes.
All the plastic that gets trashed in this county, by law, gets incinerated in the trash to steam plant.
ReplyDeleteIt's easier to use less plastic than to dispose of it. Supermarkets here charge for plastic bags. Many people, myself included, take reusable bags to the grocery store. Liquor stores offer a choice of paper or plastic bags. Some fast food places use cardboard containers instead of those awful styrofoam clamshells.Yesterday my son and I went on a bit of a shopping spree. Most of the stores offered paper shopping bags. If they offered only plastic we just stuck our merchandise in one of the paper one we already had. European cities have always been way ahead of us on the recycling front with large public sorting bins every few blocks and significant fines for littering. On the other hand, when I was in Indonesia last year I was appalled by the amount of plastic waste that washed up on the beaches: bottles, disposable diapers, plastic tampon holders... The public beaches weren't cleared often and were disgusting.
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