I love to take this time every year to talk about another passion of mine, doing my best to take care of mother earth, by reducing my carbon footprint. If I chose to cover everything we do as a family unit, it would be overwhelming. I like to take all change in life in small bite-sized pieces, as it is so much easier.….After doing some research I was pleasantly surprised to learn what the focus is for this year with the Earth Day Organization, and that is plastic. It is called the “End Plastic Pollution Campaign”, and it is important. So, that is what I want to focus on today. Yay…Earth Day!
What is the big deal you ask? Let’s look at some of the facts.
*We use a whopping 5 trillion plastic bags worldwide every single year!
*We throw away enough plastic bottles in only ONE WEEK to circle around the world 5 times. This is in the US alone! This is mind-boggling!!
*At least 10% of the plastic that we use winds up in the ocean with our marine life (more on this in a bit).
Source of facts-The World Counts.com [1]
This is just a small sampling of the facts that will make your stomach turn. Follow the reference to learn more facts about this rapidly growing problem.
BPA Issues
There has been quite a lot of research into BPA and its cause of hormone disruption. In 2012, the FDA did ban BPA from baby bottles and sippy cups, which was a great start, unfortunately, it is still present in many other things..including every store receipt you touch, many canned foods, and more [2].
Unfortunately even BPA replacements are not a good thing when we are talking about plastic, as you saw by a few of the facts I shared above. Plastic is still plastic. BPS has its own set of issues, very similar to BPA. (see resource below)
I will provide plenty of links in the resources so that you can learn how damaging BPA and BPA replacements such as bisphenol S (BPS) are.
Marine Life
David Ayer and Valeria Merino of Earthday.org stated that “If nothing changes, by 2050 there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish (by weight)”. The problem is much bigger than we could ever imagine.
We are very conscious in the home to use the least amount of plastic possible. Food packaging tops the list of the issue that is hard to remedy. I threw away all plastic containers in favor of glass about 7 years ago. Much of the plastic we throw away winds up in the ocean through waterways. Anything that is simply littered on the street will show up in the water. Scientists are finding that the stomach of fish are filled with, you guessed it…plastic particles [3]. Where else are plastic particles showing up?
Drinking Water
I ask that you follow the reference listed below to read all of the very important details that cause plastic particles in our drinking water, but it is important to know that “recent studies into water contamination have found microplastics in 83% of tap water samples from major cities around the world and in 93% of samples from the world’s top 11 bottled water brands” [4]. Causal links are being investigated into the consumption of these plastic particles and possible health concerns.
Well, I do not know about you, but I am definitely concerned with this. Will strong water filters remove these particles? Since this is a new finding, we are not sure, but I sure do hope!
So, what is it that we can do?
Are you interested in learning your “plastic count”, similar to your ‘carbon footprint’? I was hesitant to see my results, but I did. Here is what I found, even though I am very plastic conscious, there are ways that I can do better. What did I/am I changing?
*I use plastic baggies occasionally for items in my boys’ lunches. I just ordered these from Amazon, reusable lunch sacks. Maybe they will help you too.
*I used to use stainless steel straws, but they were really hard to clean (had a natural bend in them) and then I actually misplaced the cleaning brush, so I tossed them. I began to use plastic straws again for my daily smoothies. I am not comfortable with using 365 straws a year, so just ordered new stainless steel straws that are straight, like these. They will be so much easier to clean.
*I have always struggled with water bottles for my boys for school lunches. If I counted how many bottles I have gone through due to leaks, I could probably furnish every child in their class with a water bottle. I finally found one by a company called Fireki. They are stainless steel, small enough to fit into their freezable lunch bags, they are easy to clean, and they don’t leak!
Lastly, food packaging. As I mentioned, this is the hard one. Wherever possible, I choose companies that utilize cardboard. I choose glass over plastic, or paper. Sometimes it is impossible, but I always do my best.
Here are some things that I want you to consider.
*Do you use plastic toothbrushes or an electric one?
According to my dentist, electric toothbrushes are much more effective. You can clean the brush head with vinegar and a drop of tea tree oil to have it last longer too!
*Cotton Swabs?
Use a cotton round to clean out the inside of the ears.
*Feminine Products?
There are a variety of products you can use in place of plastic tampons. Google the many options available to you.
*Plastic Wrap?
Heat your food in glass (on the stovetop in a pot is even better), covered by a paper towel that you then use as a napkin. Store food in glass with a snap on lid.
*Diapers?
“The Union of Concerned Scientists has estimated about 18 billion diapers are thrown into landfills every year. And a 1998 study by the Environmental Protection Agency found that diapers made up 3.4 million tons of waste, or 2.1 percent of U.S. garbage in landfills that year” [5].
Cloth diapers have come a long way. Convenient, no plastic and you will save a boatload of money.
*Cleaning containers?
Consider making your own in glass or a bucket.
*If you cannot get away from purchasing six-packs with the plastic holders, please cut them up well before you recycle them, as to not wind up choking marine life. This happens more than you know.
*Check into the recycling rules in your area. Many years ago I discovered my recycling center requires containers to be thoroughly cleaned and labels removed otherwise it went into the trash. Food for thought.
Follow this link to find out how you can improve your plastic use.
Follow this link to sign this year’s petition for the “End Plastic Pollution Campaign”.
Closing
This just scratches the surface of the complexity of the issues. My wish for next year is for stores worldwide to ban the use of plastic bags. It should either be paper, or reusable bags. What other things can you think of to help lessen the impact?
References
[1] What happens to the plastic you throw away? Retrieved from http://www.theworldcounts.com/stories/Plastic-Waste-Facts
[2] Three ways ‘BPA-free’ won’t protect you. Retrieved from https://www.edf.org/health/three-ways-bpa-free-wont-protect-you?gclid=Cj0KCQjw_ODWBRCTARIsAE2_EvWLp6Qldg11VIO-2JiB5hFt0r38jCQswAEiKvyHhXbdxSWz-CzYcyQaAiGJEALw_wcB&utm_campaign=ggad_edf_pd_dmt&utm_id=1487776866&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google
[3] From sea to plate: how plastic got into our fish. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/feb/14/sea-to-plate-plastic-got-into-fish
[4] The invisible plastic particles in our drinking water. Retrieved from https://www.earthday.org/2018/03/23/the-invisible-plastic-particles-in-our-drinking-water/
[5] The Diaper Debate: Are Disposables as Green as Cloth? Retrieved from https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=789465&page=1
Resources
All about BPA. Retrieved from http://www.bisphenol-a.org/about/faq.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwn-bWBRDGARIsAPS1svujLmS8dZpixMql2AnDbFLbVI2M4Hsxp8jmQhexr4YUF-aZNDHbFaAaAoZjEALw_wcB
BPA, BPS—is it all BS? Retrieved from https://www.plasticstoday.com/content/bpa-bps-it-all-bs/73543669624090
BPA-Free Plastic Containers May Be Just as Hazardous. Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bpa-free-plastic-containers-may-be-just-as-hazardous/
IS BPS THE NEW MYSTERY CHEMICAL IN BPA-FREE CANS, DISHES AND KITCHEN APPLIANCES? Retrieved from https://thesoftlanding.com/is-bps-the-new-mystery-chemical-in-bpa-free-plastic-food-containers-and-cans/
Chemical used to replace BPA in plastic accelerates embryonic development, disrupts reproductive system. Retrieved from http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/chemical-used-to-replace-bpa-in-plastic-accelerates-embryonic-development-disrupts-reproductive-system
