Article 16: The Perils of Plastic and Solutions to Single-Use

by

Simrata Keshav
Environmentalist, Grassroots Organizer, Founder of Go Green Vernon Hills & Lincolnshire

Want to serve others (and yourself)?

Reconsider picking up that plastic bottle of water on the shelf in front of you.

When a lot of us think about the plastics crisis, the image that comes to mind are sea animals with their bellies full of plastic waste. While this is true and highly disturbing, the plastic crisis impacts not only our oceans, it impacts our climate, our marginalized communities and our health.

1. Every piece of plastic starts out as fossil fuel and emits greenhouse gasses throughout its lifecycle. At current levels, greenhouse gas emissions from the plastic lifecycle threaten the ability of the global community to keep global temperature rise below 1.5°C degrees¹.
2. Plastic production, incineration and disposal facilities are located predominantly in low-income communities and communities of color. Throughout the plastic lifecycle, these communities are exposed to chemical pollutants that pollute their drinking water and their air, disproportionately harming their health and well-being.
3. We find plastic everywhere in our environment from the highest mountain to the deepest part of our oceans, in our food, water and even in our bodies. A recent study estimates that an average person consumes a credit card worth of plastic every week²!

Scientists already know that chemicals used in plastics like PFAS and Phthalates disrupt hormonal activity and can cause diseases like diabetes, cancer, reproductive disorders³.

Solutions to Single-Use Plastics

A world without plastics seems unimaginable today, yet large- scale production of plastics dates back to only the 1950s.  In this very short time, global plastic production has increased 20-fold! A significant amount of the yearly plastic production (nearly half) is for items that we use for a few minutes and throw away, such as plastic water bottles, bags, cutlery, food packaging etc. 

A major step in solving the plastic crisis is reducing our reliance on single-use plastics.

How?

• Reducing plastic waste at home:  Remember that our dependence on single-use is a new phenomenon, more than half of the plastics ever manufactured has been just in the last 15 years. We need to look back and tap into older techniques of reducing waste and find modern innovative solutions to achieve systemic change.
• Reducing plastic in our communities: Changing personal behavior is important, however, it is not enough.  Taking action in our communities will have a larger impact and can systematically reduce single-use plastics.

Let’s get deeper into these practices both at the individual and community level during this month’s workshop. 

Citations

1.Plastic-and-Climate-FINAL-2019.pdf (ciel.org)

2. plastic_ingestion_press_singles.pdf (panda.org)

3. Plastics Pose a Threat to Human Health | IPEN

Action to Implement

Post your reflections & observations in the comments section below ⬇️

🌱 May 2023:

1. 🏪 Make a list of places (local cafes, stores, etc) where plastic use is unavoidable.
2. 📝 Create a plan to reach out to one place to reduce their plastic use.

Past Months Action to Implement

🌱 April 2023: 💝 Gather your loved ones and plant native trees and native perennials!. 🌳 Track progress and share pictures with the Community to reach the goal of 1000 trees by Arbor Day! (April 28th).

🌱 March 2023: (1) Plant seeds to start a kitchen garden indoor or outdoor. (2) share pictures in the comment section below.

🌱 February 2023: Research a local environmental group and attend their upcoming meeting

🌱 January 2023: 🌍 Create your personal practices for the 6 fundamental virtues

🌱 December 2022: ✅Do the following:

1. Simplify one closet or one drawer in your home every week. Remove items that have not been used in the last 1 year.
2. Dispose of unneeded items in a responsible way.

🌱 November 2022: ✅Make a list of the gifts you usually give during the holidays.

🌱 October 2022: This month, add 1 or 2 regional plants from the Xerces Pollinator Conservation website to your landscape!

🌱 September 2022: This month, review the Green Building list & commit to 1 simple and 1 challenging item to implement in your community/center.

🌱 August 2022: This month, read the Prthvi Seva Guide & commit to at least one practice to make your center/community more sustainable.

🌱 July 2022: This month, take a closer look at your travel impacts:

🔢 Estimate the carbon emissions of your mode of travel, lodging, food, and purchases
🙋🏻‍♀️ Commit to making one change to reduce your carbon footprint

🌱 June 2022: This month, take a closer look and identify your food waste as:

🍌 food prep scraps
🍽️ plate waste (unfinished food)
🤦🏻‍♀️spoiled or unwanted foo

🌱 May 2022: Implement the following actions.

• Reduce food Packaging.
• Learn about local and seasonal foods.
• Support a local grower & shop at Farmer’s Markets.

🌱 April 2022: Sahasra Vrksha Sankalpa – As a CommUnity, bring your heart and hands to the ground to plant 1000 trees together. Track and share here.

🌱 March 2022: Contribute to the health of our planet and the health of beings by doing the following:

Each day take inventory of what goes in the trash.
Identify the most common item.
   Find an alternative that eliminates this waste.

🌱 February 2022: Implement the following and encourage others to follow:

• Unplug chargers when not in use

• Use the ‘Energy Saver’ mode on phones & laptops

• Use cold water for laundry & line dry

🌱 January 2022: Identify 3 actions you do that help the environment and 3 actions that harm it

Introduction to our May Workshop