But it turns out to be hazardous to your health and your planet. These plastics might not solve our marine plastic pollution problem, but they are well suited to tackling another big environmental problem: food waste. Or are there better ways to tackle plastic pollution? Plastic is choking the ocean. Information and resources shared by FRN are for informational purposes only and are not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any type of disease or condition. Straws are the latest plastic product to receive negative attention. I brought my own bags.”. First, they say we are on the right track with all the hype about single-use plastics. For traveling, I prefer airtight, stainless-steel containers with snap-on lids that have a silicone seal (like the kind made by Onyx) because they’re lighter and more break-proof than glass. A circular economy is a system where materials are used in multiple ways many times during their lifecycle, which has huge potential to reduce resources, litter and landfill. , have enacted fees for use of recycled paper or plastic bags. To opt-out of ever having your info sold to 3rd parties under any circumstances, click here. After all, straws only make up an estimated less than 10% of the nine million tons of plastic pollution that gets into the world’s oceans annually. Throwaway plastic was convenient, cheap, and human-made, and there was a seemingly endless supply. Such a technology would give value to plastic waste that's already in the environment and create incentives to collect it. Despite some progress, the boom in single-use plastic and an influx of new hikers are testing anti-littering efforts. There are seven main types of plastic, each used for different purposes. Get the facts, and find out how you can take action to solve the plastic problem and cut back on your use of single-use plastics. And many of us look for more sustainable alternatives. Though promising solutions are in development (such as bioplastic straws made from avocado and bioplastic coffee cups made from potato starch, corn starch, and cellulose — the main component of plant cell walls), they aren’t yet widely available. Most consumers are aware of the problems with pollution that plastic bags cause. A pack of four could last you a lifetime — and they come with a special brush for cleaning. See why it’s time to move beyond plastic & how you can help. Find out about the tap water quality in your city. Wherever you live, the easiest and most direct way that you … So by focusing on eliminating these items, we can start to chip away at the larger issue of single-use plastics. Scientists have also created new forms of plastics made from renewable materials — known as biopolymers or bioplastics. SLO active, a lifestyle brand that focuses on oceanwear and activism, created an extensive guide to plastic pollution in conjunction with marine biology experts. In support of our educational mission, we sometimes share resources offered by trusted partners. Why plastic is a problem? Plastic straws are on the way out. To convert these plastics into oil, PK Clean first shreds them. Reviews and testimonials of specific diets and approaches to health represent individual experiences and FRN does not guarantee any specific results from these approaches for your specific situation. For more information see our Privacy Policy. Plastic bags were the first to face widespread criticism. Plus, it presents ideas for reducing plastic waste when you’re out and about, or at home, and ways you can help solve the plastic problem, right now. Bring glass jars (pre-weighed so you don’t have to pay for the glass at checkout) or reused plastic bags from home and get exactly as much as you need. Fish and other invertebrates are eating microplastics (broken down pieces of plastic less than five millimeters long) by the ton. Biodegradable plastic bags … Start by using our plastic calculator to track how much you use — then you can take steps to reduce your use and waste. Infographic: 19 Foods You Can Regrow from Scraps, How to Wash Vegetables and Fruits to Remove Pesticides, Vinegar Facts: What is It — And How to Use it for Your Health. Eating fast food or takeout means creating a lot of waste. Most of the overpriced bottled water you buy is just … And many cities, including Boulder, Chicago, and Washington, DC, have enacted fees for use of recycled paper or plastic bags. A circular economy for plastics. We’re a long way from that, but that’s what we’d like to achieve.". We now have the knowledge, and the resources, to move beyond disposable and food storage plastic in our everyday lives. Other countries have also begun to ban plastics, and some impose stiff fines or penalties. To efficiently reduce plastic pollution, there is an evident need of reducing our usage of plastic. Healthy Starters and Appetizers for All Occasions, Safe and Healthy Cookware: What You Need To Know When Choosing Non-Toxic Pots & Pans, 7 Plant-Based Dinner Recipes That are Easy Enough for Beginners. Participate in a Beach or River Cleanup. Then in 2016, the entire state of California followed suit. Carry a reusable bottle... 3. And she joins me here now. "The Plastic Problem" examines how our global dependency on plastic has created one of the biggest environmental threats to our planet. Invest in a refillable water bottle. Solutions for Single-Use Plastic Pollution Must Consider All Stakeholders. Recycling rates could improve if packaging were designed more thoughtfully, with fewer chemical additives in the polymers. From banning plastic straws to rebooting recycling systems to harnessing plastic-munching bacteria, there is no shortage of touted solutions. Bring your own reusable shopping and produce bags to markets, and avoid using single-use plastic bags. When you do decide to eat out, bring along a reusable container for leftovers. Second, governments need to improve garbage collection and recycling systems to minimize the amount of waste that leaks into the environment when moving between trash can and landfill, and to improve recycling rates. Here’s a better option: Buy your own glass or stainless steel water bottle and bring it with you everywhere you go. The reality is that while straw bans won’t nearly solve the whole problem, they’ll make a dent in it, while also helping educate billions of consumers. Recycling is only ever going to be part of solving the problem of plastic waste. But to tackle all the many sources of plastic pollution, we need legislation that commits the government to phasing it out. Global production of plastic has been nearly doubling every decade. Smaller fish, like sardines, eat this plastic, and then they’re eaten by larger fish. 3. And it’s usually bad for you, too. After World War II, plastic became a popular material for everything from nylons to packaging to food wrap. BPA is a known hormone disruptor and strongly linked to a number of diseases, including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, asthma, cancer, infertility, low sperm count, liver problems, and ADHD. We're at a point where any kind of effort, be it high-tech or old-fashioned, can play a role and make a difference. Here are some ideas for helping solve the plastic problem by cutting back on single-use plastic: If you live in a place where grocery stores still give out plastic bags, it’s easy to fall back into using them — or to opt for paper, which has its own environmental problems. Nevertheless, it is intriguing to hear about how others believe the future lies in technology, and good to know that such inventions are in the works. Though the first plastics were once natural products (used as far back as 3,500 years ago), almost all plastics today are man-made and derived from fossil fuels, including crude oil and natural gas. You can watch the video here. We ordered glass and stainless-steel ones, and I’m glad we did. These plastics – which include straws, water bottles, shopping bags, utensils, plastic-lined coffee cups, and food packaging – are used only once before being discarded. Katherine Martinko is a writer and expert in sustainable living. Solving the problems of marine debris and plastic pollution is a perfect example of the need to think globally and act locally. And many cities, including. In this video we will at some of the solutions that we can adopt for saving our planet. Drinking water is wonderful, but it produces a lot of waste if you’re opting for bottled water. The guide shows the true impact of plastics on our oceans and sea life. Finally, scientists need to "devise ways to break plastic down into its most basic units, which can be rebuilt into new plastics or other materials." And storing food and water in plastic can wreak havoc on your health. From building materials to food storage, and from packaging to clothing, plastic has become an almost ubiquitous part of modern life. A 2016 report from the World Economic Forum. But when the National Institutes of Health funded research on BPA-free plastics, researchers found that “almost all” commercially available plastics that were tested leached synthetic estrogens — even when the plastics weren’t exposed to conditions known to unlock potentially harmful chemicals, such as the heat of a microwave oven, the steam of a dishwasher, or the sun’s ultraviolet rays. There are three ways to deal with plastic: recycling, incineration or dumping in the environment (either in landfills or haphazardly, when it becomes “pollution”). Plastic Bank: How to Solve the Plastic Pollution Problem and Poverty at the Same Time. Reduce the use of plastics overall (by individuals, businesses and commercial and industrial organisations) – which will have a flow on effect of decreasing the per capita rate of plastic production, plastic waste, the need to manage plastic waste, and plastic pollution. Stop buying water.. Each year, close to 20 billion plastic bottles are tossed in the trash. Historians may one day look back at our era as the time of plastics. © K Martinko – This brilliant water bottle filling station shows up at every event in my Ontario town. … But environmental experts say that the problem isn’t in recycling, it’s in the use of plastic in the first place. According to data in 2010, there are 270 million tons of plastic … Six months ago the folks at Target asked us to solve two problems. Cleaning up our act. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Reuse. And there’s no doubt that in some cases, it can be very useful. A 2015 study published in the journal IOPScience estimated that in 2014, the number of microplastics in the ocean ranged from 15 to 51 trillion pieces, weighing between 93,000 and 236,000 metric tons. Opt for cooking your own healthy food at home, instead. They wanted to solve the plastic bag problem and they wanted a new designer bag to … Andrew Dove, a chemist at the University of Birmingham, said, "If we can create something high-value from cheap plastic waste, there might be an economic argument to go and dredge this out of the ocean. We still use plastic bags for freezing berries and some other foods — although we are experimenting with using glass and snap-on plastic lids when we freeze our own, and so far that is promising. The hardest place for us to ditch plastic is in the freezer. The primary source of human exposure to BPA is through packaged foods and drinks. Researchers are currently working on bioplastics that are compostable, degradable in water (should they end up in the ocean), and non-toxic. The government has made some encouraging pledges to act on things like cotton buds and straws. If you start reusing glass jars from sauces and other store-bought items, you’ll have a big collection of containers in no time. They’re labeled with numbered codes, helping you determine which kind of plastic you’re dealing with and if you can recycle it. The next time you’re asked, “Paper or plastic?,” you can say: “Neither! – Keep Reusable Shopping Bags in Your Car, and Use Less Single-Use Plastic. At the same time, however, we need readily-available alternatives to support the move away from single-use plastics and establish new habits, i.e. While bioplastics are typically considered more environmentally-friendly than traditional plastics, they aren’t a catch-all solution. The plastics pollution problem is often portrayed through the lens of environmental activists, who are alarmed by the amount of contamination and want everyone to give up single-use plastics. Our family used to love plastic food-storage containers, but recently we bit the bullet and threw out all but a few backup plastic containers. This produces a vapor that runs through a condenser, where it’s made into oil. Boston, Portland, New York, and Seattle have also banned single-use plastic bags. Many stores have significant bulk buying departments, where you can stock up on flour, legumes, nuts, seeds, seasonings, dried fruit, and all kinds of other ingredients — often for a sizable discount. Healthy, ethical, and sustainable food for all. How harmful is plastic? But have you ever stopped to wonder what materials scientists, the professionals who handle plastics in a laboratory on a daily basis, think about the whole mess we're in? Many still end up in landfills, and as more come on the market, there are issues with land use, proper disposal, and toxicity. By entering your information here, you are agreeing to receive messages from Food Revolution Network. 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