Plastic is among the most dangerous of pollutants, because it does not biodegrade and it can harm wildlife. It gets into the ocean, even out into deep water, where animals ingest it and then sicken and die; and it stays there. Even microscopic pieces cause trouble.
The Problems with Plastic
The most common types of plastic trash vary from one place to another. Items frequently mentioned include nurdles (pre-production plastic pellets), bags, bottles, fast-food containers, and cotton swab stems. Some places have laws that reduce local litter, but that doesn’t prevent trash from washing ashore.
The plastic tends to collect in certain places, such as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Some islands also get more than their fair share, due to ocean currents. You can watch a video about it: Plastic Ocean Soup.
Plastic leaches chemicals that can cause cancer, sexual distortions, and other disturbing effects. Some plastics or components may be banned in the near future, based on recent and ongoing studies.
What You Can Do
It’s difficult, if not impossible, to avoid all use of plastic. However, you can avoid using items that rank among the most common pollutants:
- Instead of single-use plastic bags, choose reusable shopping bags.
- Instead of plastic bottles, buy safe reusable water bottles.
- Instead of cotton swabs with plastic stems, buy the kind with paper stems.
Also avoid plastic toys and tools for babies. Buy organic ones instead.
Participate in beach cleanups. California has an official “Adopt-a-Beach” program but there are many other opportunities.
Support legislature to reduce marine debris, especially nurdles.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Jade 02.25.09 at 5:15 pm
I guess the best way is to close all plastic product manufactures and find a clean alternative.
Reply
Elizabeth Barrette Reply:
February 25th, 2009 at 7:12 pm
I doubt that’s practical; certainly not in the short term. For some purposes, plastic is just the best material we have. Especially medical-grade plastics and plastics used with electronics are important.
What would help is reducing the use of plastics in disposable items: it makes no sense to use a material that will last thousands of years in a product with a one-use lifespan.
We should also look for alternatives to plastic. Some plant-based materials are very promising. They are both renewable and biodegradable.
Reply
Bryan 02.25.09 at 5:56 pm
Ack! I disagree. First of all, I doubt that these plants are really as dirty as they are made out to be, since they are so highly regulated. Styrene simply doesn’t make it into the water table in any large amount. Most of these compounds we are talking about are not soluble in water, and are really, really easy to keep out of the water system; Organic Chemistry 101 students do that in lab starting on day one. If there are any residues left, the amounts are strictly regulated to amounts that are significantly below levels that are known to cause harm. (Besides, if you closed down the plastic manufacturers, then who is left to make the biological alternatives?)
As for plastics leaching harmful chemicals into the body, I’m skeptical. From what I’ve found (and I admit, my research was brief), the plastics we use either contain chemicals that aren’t known to leach, or leach chemicals that aren’t known to be harmful. If plastics caused significant harm we would know about it by now with how much we use plastic. I think part of the problem is that people get into their head the idea that if something is made out of harmful things it must itself be harmful, or if something is harmful in some amount it must be harmful in all amounts.
Obviously even if plastics don’t leach chemicals into the environment or our bodies, overuse still causes excess waste. But that’s not a problem with chemistry, but conservation. If we overuse “safe” chemicals, they will still fill up our landfills and oceans and streets.
Reply
Elizabeth Barrette Reply:
February 25th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
“”I doubt that these plants are really as dirty as they are made out to be, since they are so highly regulated.”
It sounds like you trust the government and businesses more than I do. We may agree to disagree on this point.
“Styrene simply doesn’t make it into the water table in any large amount. Most of these compounds we are talking about are not soluble in water, and are really, really easy to keep out of the water system; Organic Chemistry 101 students do that in lab starting on day one. If there are any residues left, the amounts are strictly regulated to amounts that are significantly below levels that are known to cause harm.”
Okay, I’ve been seeing more and more references to dangerous chemicals leaching out of plastics; more progressive countries are banning some of them altogether.
This National Geographic piece gives a good description of plastic types including which ones are more safe and which ones are less safe. People are discovering that plastics can release chemicals that have harmful effects on humans and animals, especially if the plastic is heated or if things are stored in it for a long time. Harmful chemicals cited as leaching out of plastics include phthalates (hormone disruptors), styrene (possible carcinogen), and bisphenol A (hormone disruptor, linked to various diseases).
http://www.thegreenguide.com/buying-guide/plastic-containers
“(Besides, if you closed down the plastic manufacturers, then who is left to make the biological alternatives?)”
Good point. I’m rarely in favor of closing businesses, but I do want them to behave better than they seem to be doing. I’d be quite happy if the plastic manufacturers would 1) control their nurdles better, 2) limit plastics to uses where they’re really vital, and/or 3) switch to those biological alternatives.
“As for plastics leaching harmful chemicals into the body, I’m skeptical. From what I’ve found (and I admit, my research was brief), the plastics we use either contain chemicals that aren’t known to leach, or leach chemicals that aren’t known to be harmful.”
See above.
“If plastics caused significant harm we would know about it by now with how much we use plastic.”
Consider that the rate of cancer is skyrocketing; infertility and sex/gender aberrations are going up; autism and some related neurological disorders are going up. We’ve dumped so much filth into our environment that we can barely tell what is making us sick — because it’s all but impossible to control for the variables. People are exposed to multiple chemicals all the time. Sometimes things are thought to be safe but turn out not to be. Other times, it’s the sheer concatenation that does the damage; that’s believed to be a key cause behind increases in multiple chemical sensitivity, asthma, and some other chronic diseases that are exacerbated by environmental contaminants.
“I think part of the problem is that people get into their head the idea that if something is made out of harmful things it must itself be harmful, or if something is harmful in some amount it must be harmful in all amounts.”
That can happen.
“Obviously even if plastics don’t leach chemicals into the environment or our bodies, overuse still causes excess waste. But that’s not a problem with chemistry, but conservation. If we overuse “safe” chemicals, they will still fill up our landfills and oceans and streets.”
I was actually aiming for the conservation angle in my original post: reducing use of plastics for things that don’t really need to be made of plastic, but could instead be made of biodegradable or reusable materials. We need to improve our overall efforts at conservation. Plastic just happens to be a place where a few changes could make a huge difference, changes that would be easier than trying to destroy or reconstruct an entire industry.
Reply
Dove 02.26.09 at 2:04 pm
One alturnative to plastic food containers is masson jars! You can get a dozen for about $10, they come with the lids, and you can freez in them as long as you leave about 2 inches of space at the top for the food to expand when it freezes.
Dove
Reply
Elizabeth Barrette Reply:
February 27th, 2009 at 1:32 am
Glass or ceramic food containers can be very useful, yes.
Reply
John 02.27.09 at 2:41 pm
Testing.
Reply
John Reply:
February 27th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
Testing some more.
Reply
alex 03.09.09 at 2:37 am
Good article. If only people could hear you. I don’t buy drinks in plastic bottles.
Reply
Elizabeth Barrette Reply:
March 9th, 2009 at 10:38 am
Thank you! I hope more people listen as word spreads. This blog is still new, so it’s still gathering an audience. The more people talk about it and link to it, the faster others will discover it. So if you really like an article, tell your friends!Plastic is one of the areas where individual people can have a real impact. If we stop buying a lot of plastic things, demand will drop and companies will make less of them.
Reply