Updated: Feb 4, 2023
After many, many years of the devastation that plastic has caused to the environment, it is finally getting the notoriety it needs to change it. Quite simply, plastic is destroying the planet you live in or at least many of the innocent, incredible and amazing creatures in it. I am sure you have seen horrible images of plastic bottles, wrappers and other items that litter the countryside or perhaps the more recent images on the internet of beautiful animals that have been killed due to the plastic humans have carelessly chucked into the environment. Well in this article I am going to look at the problems with plastic, the affect it is having and how you can prevent this negative impact. It is important to understand that it is not just knowing the impact of the these issues but what you can do and easily change in your life to stop this problem.
The Problem
Globally, around 300 million tons of plastic is produced with only 10% of this is recycled. Each UK household will produce over a tonne of waste mounting to 31 million tons each year. Of all this waste that is produced each year, around 7 million tons of it, unfortunately ends up in the sea. Additionally, it is important to note that there is a lot of waste that is not plastic but the reason plastic is so important is because it does not degrade over time, making it an issue for tens to hundreds of years to come, so I hope you can see the problem. However, if you are still not convinced of the impact plastic is having already here are some key aspects that plastic affect:
Animals and wildlife: As seen in the news and most arguably the sadist affect is those on our wildlife. To put it bluntly animals are being harmed, hurt and killed by plastic. This is having a large effect on marine life and birds, often resulting in a slow and painful death and leads to the many animals downfall in population.
Visual: Plastic is ruining many sites that could be very beautiful. Whether it is the beach, local parks or just around the city, town or village centre the sight of rubbish is not pretty. Additionally, it slows down and harms the environment, which is preventing nature and wildlife to grow and thrive.
Landfill: There is a lot of plastic that cannot be recycled and therefore ends up in landfill. I am not going into the problems with landfills but this is an issue. This is incredibly Important with plastic, as it does not degrade, so even when it is buried it stays in the ground and poisons the land for years to come.
To highlight how serious this issue is I believe a quote from Paul Watson summarises it perfectly “If the ocean die, we die”. It is important to note that we are sharing the planet with thousands of species who have the right to be safe and live freely, as much as we do. Please consider the impacts above to give you the motivation and reasons to be part of the prevention and solution below.
The Prevention
It is common knowledge that prevention is always better then remedy or solution and should be the focus on what you do before plastic becomes a further problem than it already is. To help you with this, here are some key steps for prevention:
Use less – Easy to say I know but again it can be easily done. Reduce what you buy in plastic in all aspects and what you can easily change to stop the use of plastic. This can be by not purchasing packaged fruit and vegetables and using reusable bags, instead of the plastic ones supermarkets provide or looking at using a safety razor to stop the plastic from heads of typical modern razors.
Drop less – Whether you just ‘missed’ the bin, left it right by the bin or just left it on the floor in a location because everyone else was doing it, something many of us have been guilty of, try to stop it. Put your rubbish into a bin, preferably a recycled one to stop litter entering the environment. This is seen a lot on chewing gum and cigarette butts, which although is not plastic still should not be tossed on the floor for future generations to clear up. If there is no bin, take it home.
Recycle – As mentioned above ensure all plastic you use goes into a recycling bin, whether at home, at work or outside. Recycling helps to stop plastic going into landfill and wreaking havoc on the environment and wildlife. In the UK a supermarket, Morrisons, have installed reverse-vending machine that take old empty bottles for recycling and give you 10p in return. I have seen similar strategies in other countries but all help to promote recycling plastic, which is always a great step forward. Also check your local supermarket, which might recycle additional palstic such as soft plastic packaging that often cannot go in your weekly recycle pick up.
Reuse – There are so many items that are made of plastic, which have reusable options, such as bags, cups, mugs, bottles and straws to name a few. All of which is an easy change to make that could save you money over time but also help to stop the production of more plastic and the plastic waste you contribute too.
Zero Waste Stores – Recently, there have been a rise in zero waste stores. These quirky stores usually do not have any packaging but bulk products that you can buy often on weight or number. This requires you to bring your own packages (sustainable and reusable) but like above means less waste is created. Find your local store and start using it for your weekly shops.
Use Biodegradable plastic – A final solution is looking for products that use biodegradable plastic. This ensures that it will not have a permanent affect on the environment, as it degrades in a shorter amount of time. Biodegradable is a last resort but stops the long-term impact of plastic.
The Solution
Above are the problems with our waste and plastic and how we can reduce and prevent this problem occurring. However, there is still tonnes of waste and plastic already causing damage and devastation. Here is how you can help be part of the solution:
Clean-up – Start a group, get in touch with a group or just go it on your own to start making a difference. Start a day where you can go through your local park, beach, neighbourhood and other neglected areas to pick up rubbish for recycling and proper disposal. Be aware, if this is being done on a large scale you may need to talk to your local authority about collecting the rubbish at the end. Additionally, take precautions, as some waste can be sharp and dangerous.
Donate – There are many people who help to collect plastic and waste for proper recycling and disposal, even if you don’t do it yourself, you can fund those that do. There are many charities and organisations that help to clean up rubbish and plastic in many areas, so donate to one that is near you to help your local area.
Support – Another way you can help is similar to donating but where you buy products that support or are part of cleaning up the environment. This way you get something in return but also contribute to removing plastic from the environment. Although there are many companies that do this, two of the well-known and popular ones are:
Parley Ocean Plastic: They upcycle waste from beaches and coastal communities before it reaches the ocean. This is then used to make products that you can buy, most notably the Adidas Parley range.
4Ocean: Much like the above but more niche, 4Ocean have created a bracelet using recycled materials. By purchasing one of their bracelets, 1 pound of trash will be removed from the ocean and coastline. They also have limited edition bracelets, which help raise awareness for specific subjects such as the one I got for sharks (above). They also have a range of other products all helping to reduce plastic in the ocean and coastline.
I know this is jumping on the bandwagon shouting about plastic and for the most part you may already be doing your bit but this is becoming a bigger issue and needs solving sooner than later. Not only do we need to prevent plastic becoming a bigger issue, it already has become such an issue we need to rectify it. Plastic is drastically affecting our world, as seen in the current news and social media posts. The effect of which is devastating on innocent creatures that are being killed by us through our actions and neglect. If you are going to take anything away from the above, let it be this. Try to avoid plastic as much as possible, when you do use it ensure it is recycled and look for alternatives that do not damage the environment. Finally, I would love to see what you have done to help the fight against the plastic problem, so show me by sharing it on my social media (up in the right hand corner).
Updated: Feb 3, 2023
Sustainability is meeting the current need without jeopardising that of our own or someone else’s future. This isn’t just our personal experiences but for all futures economically, socially and environmentally. Some of you may have heard of the ‘R’s’ of sustainability or at least the most common three reduce, reuse, recycling but to me there are a lot more than this. The ‘R’s are aspects to consider through your purchases and actions to make you think economically, socially and environmentally to have a minimal negative impact. They often have the additional benefit of saving you money, which again acts as another incentive to use this list. Below are the 9 ‘R’s in sustainability’ I believe you should use and how you can implement them:
Rethink:
Most of the R’s in the list all revolves around the mind-set of you as an individual and the company or business that create the products for the consumer. The aim is to think about how our actions and purchases affect others and our environment. This is to change our way of thinking to put this to the front of our decision making. This can be from rethinking your whole way of life and becoming a minimalist to being more considerate to where the products you use and purchase come from and their impacts on the environment and workers. To help you with this always think, Do I need this? Where does it come from (raw materials/ ethically produced)? What will happen at its end of life (go to landfill)? What could I do differently to lessen my negative impact?
Refuse:
Before you purchase or use anything always, aim to refuse. By refusing to accept the many poor practices by companies and the harmful & unethical products you will reduce their impact on our world. To know what to refuse, do some research on what you plan on doing, using, buying or creating and does it cause harm to yourself, someone else or the environment and wildlife on this planet. Ensure that any items or products have certification for welfare, equality and sustainable (recyclable) but be wary of these (as some can be misleading) and focus on what the actual impact they have is. Otherwise, refuse to purchase, do or participate in anything that could cause harm. Typically, the most sustainable item you have is the one you already have.
Reduce:
Quite simply try to reduce what you use, take and negatively put back into the environment. Natural resources are continuously depleting and even those that are renewable are struggling to keep up with the rapidly growing population. This is leading to humans further damaging the environment, beyond repair. Try to reduce many aspect of your life that has this negative impact. This can be having quicker showers, buying less processed products, get products with little to no packaging and living a minimalist lifestyle.
Reuse:
Before you think of buying anything new think can you reuse what you already have? Good products are often chucked away well before their end of life, leading to more waste and pollution. Always aim to reduce your waste by reusing and when buying new think about buying something that can be reused in the future. Consider cleaning up, refurbishing or repurposing old items to reuse. The most well-known item that people have started to reuse is shopping bags but this can be implemented to a lot more. This is one of the most prominent issues at the moment and the effect on the natural environment and wildlife. Get products that have more than one use, instead of their disposable counterparts that contribute to waste. Some things you can pick up to help with this are reusable bags, coffee cups, cutlery, straws and water bottles, just to name a few.
Renew:
Even when you think the item is damaged, broken or beyond its use can it be repaired or rebuilt for use again, if not can it be repurposed to be useful in some way. Before you chuck it away, can you renew it to help reduce your waste and save you money? This may require you to learn about refurbishment and how to repair items but leads to less waste and less need to buy. Also, don’t be afraid to ask people how they have renewed or revitalised an old dilapidated item, as they can teach you how to do it yourself.
Recycle:
This is one everyone knows about but is still not done enough. The reason for recycling is to stop waste going to landfill or it finding its way to the environment harming animals, as again seen with the very recently attention to ocean plastic. It important to understand that many product still have its raw materials, which can be sent to factories where these can be obtained and reused. Some of the most common items that get recycled is paper/card, plastic (however, not all plastic can be recycled), glass and metal. All of which can be processed and reused in other products. Also look for additional schemes such as at your local supermarket, which might collect certain items that are not allowed in your local recycling such as batteries and some types of plastics.
Responsibility:
Now it is easy to talk about the implications on the environment and the money you can save through implementing these thought processes but also consider moral, mental and legal accountability of your actions and purchases. How transparent is the company, individual or business? Many companies may seem ethical but source their materials in an unethical way. This can be anything from destroying habitats to having terrible working standards for the people producing them. Try not to endorse or support these companies by buying their products.
Replant:
The rise in crowing crops and buildings has led to the removal of vegetation and deforestation around the globe. However, it is often overlooked that these environments contain many animals and provide the oxygen we breath. To combat the impact we might have to this we need to start replacing this vegetation and the resources it needs to survive (water, nutrients). Always look to companies that replace more than they take from our precious planet and support them instead of others.
Restore:
This is a final step that highlights the importance of returning the damaged environments to its original state or one that is even better than it was. Humans have scarred the earth in many ways but we are able to revitalise these areas to become great ecosystems again. If you can contribute to or participate in reforestation, animal rehabilitation & protection, waste clean-ups and other environmental and ethical projects you are helping to give back what was taken and destroyed. When doing so ensure you do your research and contribute to a worthy course that is actually having an impact, so the environment and wildlife can grow and thrive without further harm or threat.
There are many activities and products that harm the environment or are disgustingly unethical. The R’s in this list aims to help highlight these issue and how they can begin to be mitigated. I always encourage people to look at the bigger picture and the motives of companies and products used and how a simple and easy change can stop the negative impacts you have. If you are passionate about making a change the R’s may even act as a way of life to fully incorporate in everything you do. However, even if you only implement some of these or implement them periodically it will help to reduce the negative impact we have on the world, so please always try to think of the R's of Sustainability.
