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Could we return to a life without plastic?

4/2/2015

14 Comments

 
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Europe: Scientists say the Mediterranean Sea is filling up with large quantities of plastic debris. Results of a survey, published in the journal PLOS ONE, found around one thousand tonnes of plastic floating on the surface, mainly fragments of bottles, bags and wrappings.

The use of plastic has grown since it's invention in 1907.

Just looking around my desk while I sit here thinking about this huge problem, I can see plastic-like substances making up keyboard, monitor, hub, mouse, and plugs, wires etc on the computer. Then the casing on the lip salve, the outer shell on the rubber, the glasses case, the cover on my notebook, the pot containing chewing gum, the ruler … why go on? Plastic is part of our lives.

Spanish researchers claim the Mediterranean Sea's biological richness and economic importance means plastic pollution is particularly hazardous.

Plastic has turned up in the stomachs of fish, birds, turtles and whales. Very tiny pieces of plastic have also been found in oysters and mussels grown on the coasts of northern Europe. A high abundance of the material has also been found in other seas, including the Bay of Bengal, South China Sea and Barents Sea in the Arctic Ocean.

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A spokesman for Royal Holloway, University of London, cited particular concern about very small pieces of plastic (less than 5mm in length), known as microplastics. More than 80% of plastic items in the Mediterranean Sea fell into this category. Very small plastic fragments can be swallowed by marine species, potentially releasing chemicals into the gut.

US: Scientists from the University of Georgia report about eight million tonnes of plastic waste finding their way into the world's oceans each year, which is like covering an area 34 times the size of New York's Manhattan Island to ankle depth. The new study is said to be the most up to date effort to quantify how much of this debris is being dumped, blown or simply washed out to sea.

Researchers have for some time now reported on the mass of plastic caught up in ocean currents, just going round and round.

The shocking new study, also published in Science Magazine, helps quantify all the plastic in our oceans, not just the material seen floating on the sea surface or sitting on beaches.

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As a general point, rich nations should reduce their consumption of single-use, disposable plastic items, like shopping bags. Developing nations must improve their waste management practices.

What can ordinary people like you and I do about reducing the waste? At first, the problem seems beyond our control. And yet, for the planet's sake, we must make a personal effort. When next we make a purchase, choose a natural product—if possible. (Hehe. I haven't seen computers made of wood yet.)

The oceans have a direct impact on us as human beings. We eat the fish which have unknowingly ingested our rubbish. Does the chemical released in the fish gut pass on to us?

In the old days things were different. (I know, here comes another story from your grandmother.) In the early fifties, I can remember walking along to the middle of our street in Prahran, South Australia to buy the daily milk. I'd stand at the counter of the dairy and pass over our lidded can, which must have held about a pint. The shop lady would fill up my container and I'd carry it home to store in the metal ice box. A vendor with a horse and cart delivered ice to all the neighbors. Mothers would rush out with shovels to scrape up the horse droppings for their garden. Nothing was wasted.

In the 80s, bulk stores allowed the buyer to purchase food and cleaning products by weight, dispensed into their own containers. That's fantastic recycling. This seemed the ideal way to dispense with excess packaging. Couldn't have been popular because those stores have disappeared from the high street.

You and I need to think much more carefully about how we dispose of, recycle, and reduce our use of plastic. One way would be to take an old fashioned basket along to the market to buy fruit and vegetables, and reject the offered plastic bag.

Could you live without plastic? More importantly, do you want to?


14 Comments
Corinne Rodrigues link
4/1/2015 08:25:51 pm

We Indians are a crazy lot, Francene! ;) We're perhaps the best recylers of plastic and yet also quite careless with it, which is why perhaps plastic bags have found their way into many a cow and goat! :(

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Ajay Pai link
4/1/2015 08:32:45 pm

I wish we could. Do we actually have a substitute for plastic? Unsure.

Now the milk comes in plastic covers. I doubt whether Ishaan would even know, who gives us milk? He would name the brand "Milma" and say it comes in plastic cover.

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Megan link
4/1/2015 09:47:33 pm

I'm sure a big portion of it comes from large ships, civilian and military, that spend a lot of time on the sea. It's sad to sea.

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Dr. Judy G link
4/1/2015 10:03:56 pm

I believe, Francene, that your second question is the real issue: Do we want to? The answer is probably "Nope!" We are lazy and selfish and don't think about the ramifications of our acts. We want to have our fun and convenience now. How does the old saying go, "Eat and drink, because tomorrow we die?
I admit, I am a plastic bag addict. I use the supermarket shopping bags for my garbage. Does that justify my not using my own shopping bag? I don't know.
But what upsets me more than anything is the helium balloon industry. Every time I see the balloons being released during celebrations, I can't help thinking about where they land and how they pollute. Thanks, Francene for the reminder! HUGS <3

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JackVSage link
4/1/2015 10:05:58 pm

I have a friend who makes kefir drinks. He uses bottles from thrift stores, when he an find the stoppered kind.When I finish drinking his kefir, I wash out the bottles and take them back, so he an make more kefir.

I use the plastic bags from the store at least three times before tossing them in the trash: first, to carry my groceries home. Second, to wrap things that go into the freezer. When I take out the food to cook, I use the bag for trash. Sometimes, I even use the plastic bags to tie things.

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Scott link
4/1/2015 11:18:36 pm

If we only could figure out a better way to recapture the plastic we use since it is recyclable. Until then, I try to use as little as possible.

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Jennifer link
4/1/2015 11:40:18 pm

I have heard about the floating islands of trash in ocean. Horrible to think about - but good to have posts like this that keep us all aware. We can do things each day that make a difference.

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Tara link
4/1/2015 11:52:20 pm

I agree that we can all make a difference in our daily consumption by making smart choices, but I feel like the commercial and industrial world needs to step up to the plate. I find commercial packaging to be ridiculous - huge plastic monstrosities for little toys or other products all get thrown out minutes after the product is opened. Talk about one-time use.

The consumer is left with the task of recycling or throwing out, when in reality, the producers of the packaging should be held more accountable. Yes, we can just refuse to buy the stuff, but it gets harder and harder to avoid.

I'm all for plastic when it is used smartly - computers are awesome, as are prosthetic limbs and organs, an millions of other products, but the packaging, the bags, and the junk, it really gets to me.

Sorry to go on and on. Great post!

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Amy Bovaird link
4/2/2015 12:57:25 am

This has long been a concern of mine! In my family, we use paper bags for garbage and recycled bags for shopping. I take plastic cups from fast food home. There is so much plastic, I don't know how else to curb its use. I can't stand the idea of it floating in our waters and in the stomachs of fish. The problem exists everywhere. It's there even in the desert and the camels and goats suffer. It huts my heart to think about it.

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Diane link
4/2/2015 05:48:03 am

Our family has been working toward greatly reducing our waste of all products, including plastics. It's not easy! I am encouraged by the fact that not that long ago, plastics were not in use at all, therefore we should be able to live without the majority of them now. We keep trying!

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Suzy link
4/2/2015 08:20:38 am

Supermarkets in NZ encourage reusable bags. City council here collects items door to door for recycling each fortnight - I think a lot of people recycle now. When I first moved to NZ we used to get milk in glass bottles delivered by the milkman. Heaven knows why that system got abandoned. Bring it back I say - employment for many and cleaner environment.

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Roy A Ackerman, PhD, EA link
4/2/2015 08:52:58 am

As a chemical engineer, I find no real problem with the use of plastics- but that does not mean that we should just throw our trash around willy-nilly, either. Proper disposal processes, reuse and recycle are all our responsibility. Because if we don't exercise such cogent action, it won't be just floating debris upon the Mediterranean, but wholesale death of our ocean's inhabitants- which would be shortly followed by the demise of terrestrial beings.

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Elisabeth link
4/2/2015 09:09:52 am

We still have bulk stores over here. My favorite is WinCo. I can get an amazing array of items in their bulk bins and store them in my glass containers. Some places will even weigh your jars beforehand so you can even eliminate the filmy thin plastic bags used to carry the items home in...

My daughter makes plarn... yarn made out of plastic bags... and then crochets it into outdoor mats, waterproof totebags and the like.

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K.Lee Banks link
4/2/2015 10:04:35 am

I really don't know if we could get by without plastic - as you and others pointed out, plastic is in so many things all around us. It's just up to all of us to be more responsible in how we dispose of and recycle plastic.

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    Francene Stanley
    From England, I use news items in my novels which you can see below, all linked to an Amazon near you.

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