Imagine Life Without Plastic
Steps Towards Eliminating Plastic From Your Everyday Environment
Feb 7, 2008
Plastic undoubtedly provides a wealth of benefits to society – non-breakable food containers; durable yet lightweight material for toys, outdoor playsets, luggage and tools; and inexpensive parts for everything from cars to computers – but there's an undeniable downside as well. And that's the vast volumes of non-biodegradable, harmful-to-nature trash that all those plastic goods help generate.
Nowhere is that downside more visible, perhaps, than in the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch," a swirling mess of plastic waste that clogs the mid-Pacific Ocean ... for more than twice the length of the continental U.S. Worse still, that mess is growing and could double in size over the next 10 years.
Plastic in the oceans can entangle birds and other creatures, causing cripping injuries or even death. Plastic waste on land can do the same: those infernal plastic grocery bags, for example, have caused grazing animals to choke and die. Plus, whether on land or water, plastic garbage lasts year after year; it won't break down in our lifetimes.
(In fact, scientists who study the Pacific trash phenomenon believe that it contains bits of even the first plastics made by humans last century. They say every piece of plastic manufactured over many decades remains with us in some form or another today.)
Still, could we live a comfortably modern life without plastic? It's hard to eliminate it entirely, but here are some ways to reduce your "plastic footprint" on Earth:
- Rather than choose "paper or plastic," carry a compact, reusable string or canvas bag with you for groceries. String bags are especially convenient, as they can easily be squashed into a normal-size purse or glove compartment for ready access. Retailers that sell reusable shopping bags include Envirosax, ReusableBags.com, Ecobags and Your Bag Lady.
- Buy food items in bulk at food co-ops to minimize plastic food packaging. And forego the plastic produce bags at the grocery store; better still, buy your fruits and vegetables from a local farm or farmer's market, or grow your own.
- Find more Earth-friendly alternatives to plastic. Some retailers now offer biodegradable, disposable plates and cutlery made with corn plastic, for example. You can find a variety of bioplastic products by searching online resources like Co-op America's National Green Pages, Greenfeet.com, bioplastics24.com or Froogle.
- For those times when you can't avoid plastic, buy recycled or used plastic items (toys, buckets, and so on), and do your best to recycle or give away any plastic items you no longer use.
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