How Can We Reduce Plastic Consumption and Why Is It so Important?
The invention of plastic may have made our lives infinitely more comfortable and convenient, but at what cost to the environment? In a throwaway age, plastic water bottles, cups, straws, shopping bags, and food packaging are creating havoc in the world’s oceans, finding their way into rivers and being washed downstream, choking marine and birdlife, and obliterating delicate ecosystems.
Experts estimate that around 8.8 million tons of plastics wind up in our seas every year. This accounts for a staggering 80 percent of all trash, 90 percent of which is plastic.
Our oceans sustain life on Earth in a myriad of different ways. Scientists estimate that at least half of the Earth’s oxygen originated from phytoplankton, which floats at the surface of the ocean. Regrettably, their domain is being swarmed with plastic pollution. This is killing off not just a food source for marine species, but throwing entire ecosystems out of kilter, not to mention threatening the very air that we breathe.
By subjecting our oceans to a never-ending onslaught of plastic, we threaten our very existence, turning our waters into a poisonous soup. Plastic plays a major role in our daily lives, and it is impractical to sidestep its use completely. However, there are a variety of different options available to help you reduce your reliance on plastic.
1. Boycott Bottled Drinks
Bottled water is the biggest contributor to plastic pollution worldwide today, with more than 50 billion bottles purchased in America alone last year. In the United States today, the recycling rate is less than 25%, meaning that 38 billion of those bottles wound up in the trash. Since they take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade, this is definitely not good news for the Earth.
2. Avoid Products Containing Microbeads
Banned in the United Kingdom, these tiny spherical beads of plastic are present in a variety of different beauty products from toothpaste, to facial scrubs, to body washes. They may appear harmless, but they wreak havoc below the water line.
Commonly used in exfoliating products, microbeads are easily washed down the drain, slipping through waste-water treatment facilities, making their way through the waterways, into the ocean. There they cause considerable problems, with many marine species mistaking them for food. As the UK Environment Minister, Therese Coffey points out, with so many natural alternatives available, microbeads are entirely unnecessary.
3. Choose Products with Eco-Friendly Packaging
With a plethora of eco-friendly plastic alternatives available today, including bioplastics made from seaweed, cornstarch, and even mushroom, it is possible to keep products in pristine condition, without it costing the Earth.
New York recently imposed a ban on Styrofoam, the light, airy material that is used to make packaging peanuts and takeaway cartons. Also known as EPS, or expanded polystyrene foam, the substance has been banned by several other US cities. It is neither decomposable nor frugally recyclable.
4. Avoid Single-Use Plastic Shopping Bags
Island Green Living is a conservation organization based in the US Virgin Islands. The nonprofit played an instrumental role in the Virgin Island government’s decision to join Canada, Morocco, Hawaii, and American Samoa in banning single-use, non-recyclable plastic bags.
After the bill was passed, businesses in the US Virgin Islands that continued to offer such bags at checkout ran the risk of incurring a $1,000 fine for each day of noncompliance. The aim of the legislation was to reduce plastic pollution, protecting delicate marine ecosystems for generations to come.
5. Recycle
Recycling is one of the most effective steps we can take towards protecting the environment. With the average American throwing out around 4 pounds of trash every day, over the course of a year, that amounts to 1.5 tons of waste per person. It is easy to see why waste is a major problem.
There are steps that all of us can take to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill. When we recycle, we effectively transform trash into new products, saving waste from ending up in landfill or the world’s waterways.
Simultaneously, we are reducing demands on finite resources to make those new products from. When we recycle, it also reduces the energy we consume, causing less water and air pollution, and countering climate change, one of the biggest threats the world faces today.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, there is no silver bullet to solve plastic pollution. Experts predict significant challenges ahead, including a continued lack of support and investment for the recycling industry.
However, if every family plays their part, making small changes to curb their plastic use; such as recycling, making ethical shopping choices, and staging community cleanups; when replicated across an entire nation, this could go a long way towards tackling the problem of plastic pollution.
Originally published at https://ralphhollowaythurman.com on March 25, 2022.
