The Low Down On Green Living
March 13th, 2008
Plastics Are Forever: What You Can Do
Stumble it!
Last week at LA Green Drinks, I had the privilege of hearing the crew of the Algalita research vessel speak about their experience collecting debris across a wide swath of the Pacific Ocean and down through California rivers.
They passed around several nasty sea samples littered with plastics and caused quite a bit of eco-anxiety with the scary truth that plastic debris is overwhelmingly present in our oceans and waterways. As a result, small fish are eating plastic waste that they confuse with plankton. The small fish become a new toxic food source that helps plastic chemicals make their way up the food chain to our plates. The damage to human health and our corresponding ecosystem is untold.
Even worse, there is no way to clean up all the plastic in our waters –-plastic polymers never disintegrate. All we can do is cut back on plastic use to stop contributing to an already dreadful situation.
The Algalita crew inspired us to suggest more ideas on how to cut back on plastics. You can revisit our post on eco-friendly lunches that cut back on plastic and waste. Find a great plastic grocery bag alternative by Olive Smart here and get a few more ideas on how to reduce your plastic consumption here:
+ Use smaller reusable bags for produce items at the store.
+ Choose dry goods from bulk bins and put them in reusable cloth sacks.
+ Get your meat from the butcher counter wrapped in paper, rather than in plastic.
+ Choose storage containers made with glass, aluminum, stainless steel, ceramic or stoneware.
+ Bring your own reusable containers to deli counters and other quick-service restaurants, when buying pre-made food.
+ Use cloth diapers rather than plastic.
+ Pack your kids lunches with reusable containers and utensils, and a cloth napkin.
+ Biodegradable corn-based bags are now available for your trash and dog waste needs. Reusing plastic grocery bags as trash receptacles still puts them into the waste stream.
+ Ask your (hopefully) green dry cleaner to hold the plastic wrap.
+ Buy beauty products from manufacturers that offer mostly glass and tin packaging, like from Farmaesthetics, or refillable compacts and lipstick cases like those from Aveda.
+ Choose the non-plastic alternative whenever possible (ie. bamboo cutting board vs. plastic cutting board).
+ Recycle any unavoidable plastics.
+ Write to manufacturers asking them to reconsider their packaging. How about ibuprofen in a glass bottle?
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Comments
Martha Yanchyshyn
March 22nd, 2008 at 7:15 am
A couple of points: I am a photographer (events, wildlife) and I frequently see trash in places where I can’t pick it up. Less is better! Also, I wonder if the proliferation of lighter plastic bottles and jars has contributed to the widespread occurrence of osteoporosis by decreasing the weights people lift on a regular basis. Of course, the downside of glass is that the only thing worse than finding a bottle is finding half a bottle!
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