THE PLASTIC PLANETARY MENACE
Plastic straws are controversy starters these days, but our plastic addiction goes far beyond straws and is seriously entrenched.
The plastic water bottle became affordable and popular back in the 1950s. In 1970, KFC introduced us to plastic utensils. Plastic bags in groceries stores caught on in 1982 beginning with Kroger and spreading far and wide. Can’t imagine your life without plastic? You’re not alone. About 500 billion plastic bags are used worldwide every year with more than one million bags used every minute.
Over the last 10 years we’ve produced more plastic than during the entire last century. What happens to all that plastic? Every year, enough plastic is thrown away to circle Earth four times. The average American throws away about 185 pounds of plastic — including 35 billion plastic water bottles — annually. Unfortunately, it takes 500-1,000 years for plastic to degrade so most of it is still around.
What happens to all that plastic? Some of it gets shipped overseas, some ends up in landfills, but much of it ends up as water pollution that you might not even see. In samples collected in Lake Erie, millions of plastic particles were microscopic, including tiny beads used in hundreds of toiletries like facial scrubs and toothpastes. We shouldn’t be surprised that Chattanooga’s waterways are plastic-ized.
All hail those who try to clean up the mess like Wild Trails’ director, Randy Whorton, who was recently featured in this newspaper. Do not think that this is simply a problem of littering. Plastic chemicals can be absorbed, and 93 percent of Americans age 6 or older test positive for BPA. Plastic chemicals like BPA have been shown to affect human health and hormones. You’d think that we’d be in a panic to halt the production and use of plastics. It’s true that hotels are beginning to switch to paper straws, and some grocery stores have moved away from plastic. But in the Los Angeles area alone, 10 metric tons of plastic fragments are swept into the Pacific Ocean daily. Guess what that does to the fish you eat?
We are often encouraged to take steps to limit plastic in our individual work places and homes. Bring your own cup to Starbucks. Take your own bags when grocery shopping. Take reusable utensils everywhere from the office to the picnic table. Use a thermos, not styrofoam cups. Replace those plastic sandwich bags with cardboard and paper. Those actions are commendable, but the bigger picture is daunting.
Follow the money and look to the politics. Plastic bottle manufacturing is a $13 billion industry. The National Park Service had urged parks to reduce or eliminate the sale of disposable plastic water bottles in favor of filling stations and reusable bottles. But the International Bottled Water Association called the action unjustified. Congress is preparing to pass legislation allowing the sale of plastic water bottles to flourish in our national parks.
Huge plastic manufacturers such as Dow Chemical resisted producing plastic that’s easier to recycle as European manufacturers are trying to do. Garbage haulers like Waste Management will lose money if the amount of waste is limited. Those companies spend millions on lobbying public officials, and their influence outweighs our individual efforts.
If you’re serious about plastic pollution and its impact on our health, boycott plastic and recycle whenever possible. But don’t neglect your political options. Talk to your elected officials, local, state and federal. Share your passion and insist that they respond. If we can free ourselves of the plastic planetary menace now, maybe we can protect our children, grandchildren and future generations.
Deborah Levine is an author and trainer/coach. She is editor of the American Diversity Report. Contact her at deborah@diversityreport.com.