Most of us are now familiar with distressing photos and videos of plastic filled oceans, whales, turtles and sea birds suffering and dying from ingesting plastic that they mistake for food. A recent image showed women and children in India sifting through mountains of filthy trash, surrounded by spontaneously erupting methane fires. We are frequently bombarded with information about climate change, rising sea levels and chaotic weather patterns, which affect many aspects of our lives. These dire warnings often make us feel helpless—what difference can anything we do make to avert this global crisis that seems unstoppable?
We have a choice. We can do nothing, or we can focus on the small aspects of our everyday lives that can eventually make a real difference. Two states have already banned plastic bags. Many more have similar acts in process. Maine and Maryland have banned styrofoam. This is a huge change in human waste patterns that will definitely mitigate ocean pollution. Here are a few small things which, if we all did them, could ultimately make a big difference.
Refuse plastic! Plastic is the most problematic waste product. Since the 1950s, it has been the go-to material for creating strong, convenient and easily manufactured goods on a massive scale. It is often only used once, but persists for many lifetimes. Almost all of the plastic ever made still exists on this planet! It is unlikely to be recycled, as in many cases it is cheaper for companies to make new plastic from oil than to recycle. Don’t buy water in plastic bottles! Plastic bottles are a major source of plastic pollution.
Bring a durable cup for hot or cold drinks. Keep a set of cutlery and plates in a bag or in your car that can be washed and reused. Refill bottles and jars from economy size containers of shampoo and soap. Vinegar and baking soda work just as well as many modern household cleaners, are cheaper, and use less material. Bring jars and your own bags to the supermarket or farmers’ market, and purchase loose goods in bulk where available.
Compost! Most non-plastic waste paper can be composted: newspaper, used paper towels, dirty cardboard pizza boxes, plant-based plates and cups (without plastic lining). And all food scraps, of course. We are fortunate in Manchester to have curbside composting through Black Earth. Check the Town website to see what can and cannot be composted. Last year, composting saved the town $10,000 in trash fees.
Planning a party or sports event? Most of us try to avoid using single use plastic cups, plates or cutlery for everyday use, but when a grad party or birthday celebration looms, we tend to make that last-minute trip to the party shop or grocery store for those cheap sets of 100 single-use plastic cups or 500 plastic plates. For hygiene reasons, these are the worst kind of single-use items as they inevitably get tossed in the trash, since they are clearly contaminated with gooey half-eaten cake or the dregs of sugary drinks.
Provide water in a canteen, with glasses made from glass, use your china plates and cups, or ask guests to bring their own! If you must use disposable products, make sure they’re truly compostable—plates and cups made from wheat straw or sugarcane fiber are cheaply available on the Internet.
Does it have to be new? My grandmother saved every envelope, glass jar and piece of string. She made her own clothes, and handed them down, or gave them to goodwill. Try shopping used first. My teenage daughter and her friends love shopping at Second Glance in Gloucester, or the many used clothing stores. Older clothes and kitchen items are often better made than new stuff, and they already exist!
Reuse, Repair! The economic health of our society is too dependent upon built-in obsolescence and continuous manufacture and disposal of consumer goods such as phones, computers, electronic goods and household items such as vacuum cleaners and blenders. These items are relatively cheap to buy, and when they break after a year or less, we throw them away and buy new replacements. The cheapness of these goods is deceptive. Does a new printer really cost $200? Not if you factor in the impact of pollution on the community where the factory is based, the disposal costs of the packaging and of the item and the various materials in it, the costs of cleanup of the mining of the minerals, and other such hidden costs that are passed on to society as a whole.
Manufacturers are not held responsible in the U.S for recycling or safe disposal of the materials they use. We can start to demand that goods are fixable, not disposable, and made of recyclable materials that can be safely extracted and reused once the product is broken, and that packaging recycling is the responsibility of the manufacturer.
Producer Responsibility. Some countries such as Canada are requiring the manufacturer, producer, importer or online retailer to pay a fee per ton of packaging material they create. Those fees go to cities and towns to reimburse their recycling costs. The fee corresponds to how recyclable the product is—easily recyclable packaging would cost less, while difficult-to-recycle packaging would require a larger contribution by its producer. Producer responsibility incorporates environmental costs into a company’s bottom line, making polluting bad for business and saving residents money on their taxes. This approach is being considered by some state legislatures in the U.S.
