Cut back on single-use plastics this month
Plastic is versatile, lightweight, cheap – and seemingly everywhere. It’s also a scourge on the environment.
While plastics have important uses, the bulk of plastic waste – much of which ends up clogging landfills and polluting oceans – comes as things designed to be used exactly once, and often for only a few minutes.
“We produce around 407 million tons of plastics a year globally,” says Kera Abraham Panni, conservation and science outreach manager at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which is trying to spread the word about plastics that pollute oceans. “Of that, only 9 percent is recycled.”
And sanitation experts say “downcycling” may be a more accurate term than “recycling” where plastics are concerned. While glass and metal can be recycled and made into something of the same quality, plastics degrade as they go along.
“With plastics, you’re just delaying their eventual journey to the landfill,” says Amy Korst, author of “The ZeroWaste Lifestyle: Live Well by Throwing Away Less” (Ten Speed Press).
Twenty-two aquariums across the country have launched a coordinated campaign to reduce sources of plastic pollution, starting with straws.
“Cutting back on plastic straws doesn’t solve the problem, but it’s an important first step,” says Monterey Bay Aquarium Executive Director Julie Packard, in California. “It gets people thinking and talking about ways they can reduce their reliance on single-use plastic items, and encourages the innovation of ocean-friendly alternatives.”
On a household level, plan ahead so that you bring from home any items you might need later in the day, like a shopping bag or utensils – just as you’d grab an umbrella before heading out on a rainy day, Panni says.
Switching to reusable glass or metal containers, metal utensils, compostable produce bags, and compostable or washable straws are all relatively easy ways to opt out of single-use plastics.
On the community level, environmentalists recommend reaching out to local leaders, restaurants and businesses.