Is it really possible? Absolutely!! After all we did live without plastic in our everyday world until the 1960’s when HDPE started taking the place of glass bottles. The first plastic polymer is attributed to a man named Leo Hendrik Baekeland of Belgium and New York City in 1907, though PVC was accidentally synthesized in 1872. Polypropylene was discovered in 1954 and was being produced by 1957, and we were on our way to a plastic world. In the span of 60 years we have gone from plastic being a new item to dominating the world.
So, why is this a big deal? Because every single piece of plastic that has ever been made is still in existence. Think about it – look around you right now. How many things can you see that are made of plastic? The keyboard I am typing on, the mouse I am using, the calculator on my desk, the cup, the pen. The monitor, tape dispenser, the phone charger. The camera, CD case, the power strip my devices are plugged into. How about in your cupboards and pantry? It’s astonishing when you really start looking around.
Islands of plastic waste are floating around the ocean, polluting our beaches, and killing sea life.
Recycle you say? Better than throwing it away for sure, but how much of it really gets recycled? Single use items like water bottles (with a life expectancy of minutes of useful life before they are thrown away) are recycled 10-20% of the time, where flatware is less than 1%.
The answer is to kick the plastic habit, and that is just what one supermarket in Amsterdam is hoping to help their customers do. They have the very first plastic free isle in their store.
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/02/28/europe/ekoplaza-plastic-free-supermarket-aisle/index.html
This is VERY exciting news! I hope that we can get some retailers in the US to follow suit. It is difficult to avoid the plastics in our daily lives, but you can make a difference by choosing products that are packaged in biodegradable materials whenever possible, and avoiding single use items like plastic flatware and plastic drink bottles. I want to leave future generations a better world than we have today. Just say NO to plastics!
#saynotoplastic #plasticfreeworld #nomoreplasticpackaging #biodegradable #reusable #saveourplanet #saveouranimals #saveourbeaches #saveouroceans #protectwildlife