- Say NO to Plastic Bags
There are an estimated 1 million plastic bags used every minute, and a single plastic bag can take 1,000 years to degrade. Over the last two decades, more and more countries and cities are either banning plastic bags (examples include Rwanda, California, ) or introducing levies and taxes on them (examples include Ireland, Washington D.C.) to discourage people from the plastic option. These actions have had varying degrees of success, but you can set an example by bringing your own reusable bag when you shop. Not the nylon or polyester kind because they’re also made from plastic –choose cotton ones instead.
- Bottle your Own Water Did you know that humans now buy an estimated million plastic bottles per minute, and that most of this plastic is not recycled ? How many did you buy this week? Here is a quick win … bottle your own water or whatever you are drinking. Keep a recyclable bottle in your bag, place two on your desk – a mug for the hot drink; a tumbler/glass for something cold. Plastic bottles –typically made from polyethylene terephthalate (Pet) –take over 400 years to naturally decompose.
- Skip Plastic Straws Plastic straws are among the top items of marine plastics found around the world, and they’re generally not recyclable. As a customer, use your voice at restaurants, cafes and eateries to refuse straws and plastic stirrers. Help a movement towards paper straws, as Starbucks and McDonalds are starting to do, or give up straws entirely. If you are desperate to use straws, carry your own. There are metal and bamboo straws that are now more widely available.
- Avoid Plastic Cutlery Ordering take-out? Tell the vendor to skip the plastic cutlery. Catering events? Use reusable cutlery (and plates and cups). France became the first country to pass a law that will go into effect by 2020 to ban plastic plates, cups and cutlery–hoping to spur on innovation in biodegradable products. Shop around, and change your own attitude towards choosing more ocean-friendly practices.
- Make Better Choices at Home Make Green choices at home in choosing products with less plastic packaging. Move away from the throwaway culture. Avoid cosmetics and personal hygiene products with microbeads. Microbeads, a type of microplastic, are the little dots in your toothpaste, and facial scrubs. New research shows increasing amounts of damage from microbeads to marine life, leading to potential harm to human health. Shop around before investing in clothing that has synthetic microfibers. Often when these items are washed, they release microfibers into the water, which make their way to oceans, and may then be ingested by fish and other marine creatures.
Today, on World Environment Day 2018, please join the Plastics Detox movement. These five, relatively simple, actions can revolutionize our relationship with plastic.
