Day 25 of My 40 Day Fast: Will We Get above the Plastic Problem?

Hair care products, beauty and skin care products, cleaning detergents, toilet paper, most foods on grocery shelves, to-go food and beverages, etc., are all packaged in plastic. Society has developed a reliance on plastic.

A study published in 2015 reported that 150 million metric tons of plastic has infiltrated the oceans, and if nothing changes the number will accumulate to 600 million metric tons by 2040.

National Geographic published an article stating if government and industry uphold their promise of reducing plastic leakage in the ocean it would only reduce the number by seven percent.

The Environmental Protection Agency in the U.S. reported that in 2018 the average American produced 4.9 pounds of garbage per day and 146.2 million tons of municipal waste went to landfills after recycling and other waste management methods.

The more I research plastic recycling the more it becomes evident that government and industry are in over their heads concerning the plastic problem. There are too many different types of plastic, and there is no solid infrastructure in place that is necessary to clean, sort, and melt the plastic. Not all plastic with the recycle logo can actually be recycled.

The oil industry stands to make more profit making new plastic rather than melting down used plastic to make reusable plastic. Only certain types of plastic can be made new again, and the process degrades the material so it can only be done once.

The process of melting plastic releases methane, some of which can be captured and used as energy. Flaring is a technique used to convert the methane to carbon dioxide, a gas less potent in terms of its greenhouse effect, but new research shows that the conversion process releases five times more methane into the atmosphere.

As battery-powered cars flood the market, oil and gas sales are in decline and plastic production is where the oil industry expects to see a boon in profit.

National Public Radio reported plastic production is set to triple by 2050

Rather than rely on government and industry to fix the problems in the world, we need to point the finger at ourselves. We create the demand, mostly because we were born into this system and don't know anything different. However, it’s also easier to point the finger elsewhere so that we don't really have to change the way we live.

We pass our habits and lifestyle onto our children. New articles have listed many social reasons as to why generation Z has higher rates of depression than generations before them, including the state of our environment. Generation Z dominates social media and Youtube content, and it’s not hard to see that, even though they are concerned about the environment, they are as consumerist as the rest of us. They were born into the same society we were, and the same habits that were passed onto us have been passed onto them.

Reducing plastic waste in the oceans and on earth starts with us. The more we buy it the more we demand it. It’s hard considering everything is in plastic, and we can only do our best. Half the battle is to become conscious of the amount of plastic we buy. This helps to begin the process of figuring out other approaches.

Opt for products in glass jars with metal lids as these materials are much easier to recycle. Refrain from putting fruits and vegetables in plastic bags when possible. I have been rinsing and reusing the same plastic produce bags for sometime. I have also purchased pyrex containers to store vegetables into in the fridge. There's not much I can do about the plastic lids. Some vegetables don’t need to be stored into anything.

A lot of to-go food items can easily be made at home, like salads, hummus, guacamole, etc. Opt for canned over dried bulk food items when possible. Consume whole foods and less of the other stuff, like snack items and junk food as they are indulgences and not meant to be consumed on a regular basis. Learn to make your own food and snacks at home, as they will taste better than the store bought stuff. We really lower our standards when we put shelf-stable foods into our bodies. We also pass our eating habits onto our children.

I bring my own containers on the rare occasions I eat at a restaurant to avoid the unnecessary plastic and styrofoam waste. I avoid beverages that come in plastic to-go cups.

Saving the world requires self-sacrifice. That is the price we pay in order to see the changes we want to see in the world. We have relied on government and industry, but there’s just too much bureaucracy and vested interest for them to ever really make a difference. Point the finger at ourselves and begin the hard work of creating a beautiful earth for our children and grandchildren. It starts with us.