Jul 05 2009
New Report – What Plastic does to the environment.
Since we started this blog, and well before, we have been urging readers to reduce the use of plastics. There are multiple problems with plastic. From health problems from BPA and Pthalates leeching in to our water and drinks, to the great plastic patch in our oceans, the impact of plastics on our environment is profound.
Now, Scientific American has reported on a compilation of articles detailing the effects of plastic on our environment.
The problem as they point out, is huge
“One of the most ubiquitous and long-lasting recent changes to the surface of our planet is the accumulation and fragmentation of plastics,” wrote David Barnes, a lead author and researcher for the British Antarctic Survey. The report was published this month in a theme issue of Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society B, a scientific journal.
Next year, more than 300 million tons will be produced worldwide. The amount of plastic manufactured in the first ten years of this century will approach the total produced in the entire last century, according to the report.
The article lists a series of health and environment problems coming from our reliance on plastics. Here are just a few of the highlights:
Chemicals added to plastics are absorbed by human bodies. Some of these compounds have been found to alter hormones or have other potential human health effects.
Phthalates are used as plasticizers in the manufacture of vinyl flooring and wall coverings, food packaging and medical devices. Eight out of every ten babies, and nearly all adults, have measurable levels of phthalates in their bodies.
In addition, bisphenol A (BPA), found in polycarbonate bottles and the linings of food and beverage cans, can leach into food and drinks. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 93 percent of people had detectable levels of BPA in their urine.
One of the key problems with plastic is the disconnect between the properties of plastic, and how we use it. Most plastics are exceptionally long lasting, there are estimates that plastic materials last between 400 and 1000 years, yet between 1/3 and a 1/2 of all plastic produced is used in disposable, single use applications. Ah, but what about recycling? Less than 5% of the world’s plastic is recycled. So what about the other 96%? It ends up in landfills, or even worse, as litter or in the oceans.
In the short term, there is no way we can completely eliminate plastic from our economy or our lives. Plastic is simply too ubiquitous.
But we can, and we have to, reduce its use, and reduce the impact it has on the enviroment. There are several aspects to this effort. We can make a good start by following the basic environmental editcts: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
1. Reduce. Let’s taken every opportunity we can to reduce the amount of plastic in our lives. Rather than buying plastic water bottles, buy reusable stainless steel water bottles, and use them. Bring a canvas bag to the super market. Look for ways, every day to lower your use of plastic.
2. Reuse. Let’s face it. Even with the best of intentions, sometimes you end up with plastic bags. If you have to use a plastic bag, look for ways to reuse them. We love the Ridley, and put used plastic bags into ours, and keep it in the car. Look for creative ways to reuse. For example, almost all bread comes in plastic bags. After the bread is done, the bag is almost clean and ready to use. We bring them to the supermarket or farmers market for vegetables, rather than using new bags.
3. Recycle – Do everything you can to keep plastic out of the landfills, and out of the ocean. Recycle everything you can. Part or recycling successfully is to be vigilant about the type of plastic you get, and look for the most recyclable plastic in all your purchases. Part is to insist to manufacturers that they need to consider the entire life cycle of their products, from manufacture to disposal
There is hard work here. We have to be constantly looking, constantly vigilant, and always improving. But future generations demand that we do nothing less
![[del.icio.us]](http://images.del.icio.us/static/img/delicious.small.gif){kind=small}
Another facet of the plastics problem is that they are by and large made from petroleum or petroleum by-products… an unsustainable and disappearing resource.
Packaging is an aspect of plastic use that is ubiquitous and unchallenged. Styrofoam, peanuts, plastic air bags, and bubble wrap… all made from plastic of some kind, mostly with petroleum by-product roots, and usually NOT degradable. Big companies continue to use these products because they are CHEAP. But end customers then have to figure out how to responsibly dispose of them. Which is increasingly challenging.
I manufacture a packing material which is a standalone protective packing material made from post consumer waste shredded cardboard we collect from small & midsize businesses. We sort the boxes, remove the tape and staples and shred it into a latticing protective packaging that replaces all those non-degradable plastic packing materials. You can learn more at http://www.PrairieEcoPak.com. We’re a small family run business in the Midwest, USA. We’ve been doing this for 5 years and struggling to hold on while the rest of the world catches on to how BAD the plastic packaging is for our planet.
my foodsaver will re-seal plastic airbags used in packages by internet retailers. i just use scissors to cut the sealed edge off of the strip of bags and tear the bags apart on the perforations. you can’t vacuum/seal because the plastic is too thin, but you can seal things in the bags just like the heavy (and expensive) bags sold for the machine.
by washing the bags and re-sealing with smaller contents, i can get several uses out of them before they start to break down.
[...] They can last 1000 years in landfill, but most never actually make it into landfill, instead they wind up in rivers, lake, and oceans, where they degrade into smaller and smaller pieces, and end up in the food stream. [...]