George Nikitin / Greenpeace ‘Break Free From Plastic’
PLASTIC POLLUTION
8.3 billion tonnes of plastic produced since the 1950s – weight of about a billion elephants.
Americans alone discard more than 30 million tons of plastic a year; only 8 percent of it gets recycled.
Plastic is a durable material made to last forever, yet 33 percent of it is used once and then discarded. Plastic cannot biodegrade; it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces (Microplastics). Americans alone discard more than 30 million tons of plastic a year; only 8 percent of it gets recycled. The rest ends up in landfills or becomes ‘litter’, and a small portion is incinerated. There are tens of thousands of landfills across the globe. Buried beneath each one of them, plastic leachate full of toxic chemicals is seeping into groundwater and flowing downstream into lakes, rivers and oceans.
Every year, 8 million metric tons of plastic end up in our oceans according to UC Santa Barbara’s National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS). So much of plastic is ending up in the ocean that in just a few years, we might end up with a pound of plastic for every three pounds of fish in the sea. Scientists have documented 700 marine species affected by ocean plastic.
Laysan Island in the Hawaiian Islands / National Wildlife Refuge (Susan White:USFWS)
The flow of plastics into our environment has reached crisis proportions, and the evidence is most clearly on display in our oceans. It is going to take commitments both large and small to tackle the scale of the plastic pollution crisis in front of us.
The demand for plastics grew a further 3.5% in 2019 and up to 16% in much of Asia. Latest figures suggest 359 m tonnes were produced in 2018. Nearly one-third went to single-use packaging and less than 10% was recycled.
Chemicals leached by plastics are in the blood and tissue of nearly all of us. Exposure to them is linked to cancers, birth defects, impaired immunity, endocrine disruption and other ailments.
Threat to Water Supply.
Every drop of water that will ever exist on our planet is already here so our actions have an impact.
Plastic – which takes decades or even hundreds of years to decompose – poses a threat to our water supplies and water quality in a variety of ways.
Lake Michigan – The Illinois portion of the Lake Michigan watershed is home to half of the total population of Illinois and the lake itself is the largest public drinking water supply in the state, serving nearly 6.6 million people. (Photo Credit: Dave John Westrock)
A Major Ingredient in Making Plastic is Water.
WATER is an essential ingredient in making plastic! It takes 22 gallons of water to make one pound of plastic. In fact, it takes at least twice as much water to produce a plastic water bottle as the amount of water contained in the bottle. (Source: Waterfootprint.org / Water Calculator)
Microplastics.
One of the more recent developments in the understanding of the problem of plastic pollution is the existence of microplastics. These tiny plastic particles are produced intentionally for use in other consumer products. Furthermore, microplastics are created when larger plastic debris is broken down by erosion and sunlight into increasingly smaller pieces.
Microplastics have been detected in water around the world, including our streams, rivers, lakes, oceans, bottled water and tap water. They are found in the food we eat, water we drink and the air we breathe.
Diane Wilson holds plastic pellets collected near the Formosa Plastics plant at her home in Seadrift, TX on 7/31/19. (Photo: Tamir Kalifa)
Plastic found in rainbow runner fish guts. Fish mistake plastics for food. (Source- Algalita Marine Research Foundation:Coastal Care.org)
94% of faucet water is contaminated by microscopic-sized plastic fibers which can cause cancer and other illnesses. Study: University of Minnesota / OrbMedia.org (Photo: Getty Images)
Plastic Found in Most Bottled Water Brands.
Tiny pieces of plastic have been found in 93% of the world’s most popular bottled water brands, revealed in a study by State University of New York at Fredonia – Plus Plastic: Microplastics Found in Global Bottled Water (Study Link). The researchers analyzed 259 bottles from 19 locations in nine countries across 11 different brands found an average of 325 plastic particles for every litre of water being sold. After this study published, The World Health Organization (WHO) launched a more comprehensive study – Microplastics in Drinking Water (StudyLink).
Study by the State University of New York in Fredonia / Orb Media
Single Use Plastics.
We are addicted to single-use-plastics. After only a few minutes of use, we toss them. They include straws, cups, utensils, plastic bags, food wrapping, candy bar wrappers to name a few. Although convenient, they are devastating our waters, wildlife, food supply, environment and health. It is time we change our wicked ways.
Single Use Plastic Starbucks Cup and Straw (Photo Credit: Dan Meyers / unsplash)
300 million tons of plastic every year, 50% of which is for single-use purposes – utilized for just a few moments, but on the planet for at least several hundred years.
Federal Lawmakers Introduce First-Ever Bill To Reduce Single-Use Plastic Nationwide
On February 11, 2020, Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) and Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-CA) introduced the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act, a groundbreaking piece of federal legislation that comprehensively addresses the growing plastics crisis through source reduction and extended producer responsibility.
The first-of-its-kind bill would phase out certain single-use plastic products — including plastic carryout bags, plastic utensils and foodware made from polystyrene — nationwide, and protect the ability of state and local governments to implement stricter plastics policies.
Plastic Bag Rock Creek, DC (Photo Jacob Fenston : WAMU)
Health Effects.
In addition to creating safety problems during production, many chemical additives that give plastic products desirable performance properties also have negative environmental and human health effects. These effects include
- Direct toxicity, as in the cases of lead, cadmium, and mercury
- Carcinogens, as in the case of diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP)
- Endocrine disruption, which can lead to cancers, birth defects, immune system suppression and developmental problems in children
(Source Ecology Center – Adverse Health Effects of Plastic)
Real Solutions to Plastic Pollution.
From the perspective of improving the quality of our drinking water, we need to focus on three things: PREVENTION – limiting the amount of plastic that reaches any body of water; INNOVATION – finding new ways to remove plastic that is already in our waterways and water supply; and ACTIVISM – making citizens part of the solution by building a culture in which people actively think about and participate in reducing plastic consumption and contamination – #BreakFreeFromPlastic.
Plastic and trash littering beach in Massachusetts. (Credit: Brian Yurasits)
Greenpeace Advice.
- Legislation for bans and restrictions of unnecessary and damaging plastic products.
- Mandated Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations and strategies to make producers and companies responsible for the damage plastic causes to our environment, make them accountable for the entire lifecycle and true costs of their products.
- Government and corporate investment in reuse models and new ways to deliver products using less or no packaging.
- Corporate phase-out of production and use of throwaway single-use plastic products.
- A shift in public mindsets away from our throwaway culture focused on convenience, toward a vision of healthy and sustainable products.
