So let’s talk about plastic.
Recently it seems like plastic straws have become a big deal. Although seemingly insignificant, plastic straws have made their way into almost every restaurant, cafe, and fast food location. Even where I work customers have come in asking us if we are going to switch to paper straws.
Now I’m not really someone who likes watching the new, because it all seems very negative to me, but from what I’m hearing it seems like this has been something in the spotlight recently. Personally, I switched to using stainless steel straws a few months ago so I can just bring that around to use. I don’t know how this became a thing, but I will admit that it is nice to see that our use of plastic consumption is being brought to light.
Seattle became the first major US city to place a ban on straws with San Francisco following suit. Now of course we can’t ignore the fact that this is going to have to be phased in, but eventually it seems that more major cities will be going this route.
Now plastic straw bans won’t change much.
Less than 9% of all the plastic we use everyday gets recycled. Most actually ends up in landfills or floating out in the Ocean. (More on this later) In my mind I definitely see this as a positive step. It is beginning to get people thinking about their plastic use and can hopefully lead to other reductions. Because unfortunately, it is estimated that currently each person on the planet is producing 88 pounds of plastic each year. Cue mic drop.
And where does all of this plastic go, you ask?
“More than 79% of all plastic waste ends up in landfills, or gets stuck in the natural world , regardless of which sorting bin you put it in. Another 12% gets burned up in incinerators, adding to particulate matter to the atmosphere. Only a remaining 9% is actually recycled, according to a 2017 report published in Science Advances”, Business Insider. So that means out of all of those water bottles you are “recycling” only about 7 percent is actually recycled to make other water bottles. Most are actually turned into synthetic fibers to make items such as clothing or carpet, which again, eventually ends up in landfills or other natural landscapes, such as the ocean.
Speaking of the ocean, there is actually a thing called, The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
It is the largest accumulation of ocean plastic in the world and is located between Hawaii and California. It is estimated to have over 80,ooo tons of trash, which is a lot, and equals to be about 1.8 trillion plastic pieces (The Ocean Cleanup). It’s honestly quite disturbing to see how this can affect ocean wildlife and our economy itself. I think it is definitely worth the going over to theoceancleanup.com (link provided below) and reading everything that they have there. There they go into detail about not only the types of plastic that are in this patch and even how they conducted this research. (The Ocean Cleanup)
So, now that plastic consumption is having a little more attention paid to it, you may be wondering what else you could personally do to reduce your own carbon footprint. Here’s a list starting with those pesky straws I mentioned before:
Stop using plastic straws:
- There are a few alternatives for this that includes paper straws, glass straws, and what I use, stainless steel straws. Each of these straws each have their own pros and cons. Paper straws are the most popular in retailers, but from what I have deciphered stainless steel straws, aluminum, or other rust proof option are more environmentally friendly because they last such a long time. I’ll provide links to the ones I purchased on Amazon below if you would like to check them out. I’m really satisfied with them. They are super easy to clean and most brands will include brushes that make it easier to clean your straws.
Use Biodegradable Trash bags
- Until about last week I didn’t even know these were a thing. Now, I have not gotten into the whole composting thing, nor do I have anywhere to do that in the apartment building I live in, but it turns out there are actually certain brands of trash bags that are biodegradable, meaning that they will eventually breakdown. Most of these you can find in large quantities such as the one I have linked below. I would just double check to make sure that the bags you are purchasing are actually compostable because I have taken a look at some brands that claim that they are Eco-friendly, but if you read between the lines they actually are not.
Reduce Plastic when Grocery Shopping
- So I’m sure that you already know about reusable grocery bags, but if you are trying to be a bit more healthy like I am, maybe you would like to know about reusable produce bags. I browse on Amazon quite a bit and at first I was just looking to purchase some reusable grocery bags, which I did. Because I hate those plastic grocery bags with a passion. They are so annoying, and not to mention I live on the third floor of an apartment building so carrying up groceries in those flimsy little bags are super inconvientant. So, along with purchasing those I also found some reusable mesh produce bags. I just used these for the first time today and my life is changed. I always hated grabbing and having to open those ones in the grocery store and now I don’t even have to do that. Also, side note, using reusable shopping bags makes it ten times easier to carry groceries up three flights of stairs.
Bamboo Toothbrushes 
- Personally I was hesitant to buy some of these, but I’ve been using bamboo toothbrushes for a good while now, and it gets the job done just as well as a regular toothbrush would, but hey, no plastic.
Reusable Sandwich bags
- Another kitchen related item are reusable sandwich bags. Now you don’t have to feel guilty about throwing away those bags after your done eating lunch or storing something in them. You can actually just wash them and reuse.
Water Filter
- I mentioned water bottles earlier and it appalled me personally that not all water bottles are recycled the way we think they ought to be. Water bottles are definitely convenient, but if I think about the amount I go through in just a month it honestly makes me cringe. So, although I have not purchased one yet, I am definitely going to be investing in a water filter. There are many types that you can get, such as a standard pitcher where you change out the filters, there are filters you can install onto your kitchen sink, and I’m sure there are even whole systems that you could get for you house. Amazon has many choices to choose from and they all range in price depending on the type of system you would like for yourself.
This is only a small list of the many other eco-friendly products you could purchase for yourself. These are just a few that I found interesting or have even used myself. I mention Amazon a lot because I’m not the biggest fan of shopping in stores, and on Amazon it’s so easy to find stuff like this in such a short amount of time. I will probably create another list in the future of other ways to reduce our carbon footprint, but cutting back on plastic is a good start. Hope you enjoyed, and if you know of any other products that can help the cause let me know in the comments because I am always looking forward to ways to get rid of plastic.
Here are some of the articles I read for this info:
Brueck, Hilary. “The Real Reason Why so Many Cities and Businesses Are Banning Plastic Straws.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 25 July 2018, www.businessinsider.com/plastic-straw-ban-why-are-there-so-many-2018-7.
Fratti , Karen. “Apparently, Most of Our Water Bottles Are NOT Being Recycled after All.” HelloGiggles, HelloGiggles, hellogiggles.com/news/water-bottles-are-not-being-recycled/.
Ocean Cleanup. “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.” The Ocean Cleanup, www.theoceancleanup.com/great-pacific-garbage-patch/.