Let’s talk about plastics and our environment. By and large, we rely on plastic, from medical equipment and soda bottles to our grocery bags. However, plastics are made from petroleum and other nonrenewable fossil fuels.
Did you know that the plastic shopping bag was invented in 1959 by Swedish engineer Sten Gustaf as an alternative to paper bags? It is interesting that Gustaf’s intention was to fend off deforestation and protect the trees and environment.
Then grocery stores discovered that plastic bags were cheaper and sturdier compared to paper. By the late 1980s, the world had pretty much replaced paper for plastic in supermarket checkout lines.
Here in my state, we refer to those plastic bags as “Arkansas tumbleweeds,” as they fly across highways and fields. Those “tumbleweeds” and other sources of plastic impact our environment.
Fast forward to 2019, when a study calculated an increase in plastic production over the past seven decades. “In 1950, the world produced just two million tonnes. It now produces over 450 million tonnes,” according to Our World in Data.
Environmentally speaking, plastic does not breakdown easily. It can take decades for plastic to decompose. If not managed properly, plastic becomes pollution to our soil, air and water.
Studies show that we ingest those chemicals through our food, water, and the air we breathe, and scientists are still studying the impact of microplastics on human health.
Jaime Ross, PhD, a neuroscientist and assistant professor at the University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy conducted a study on mice, where drinking water was contaminated with plastics. The findings were scary and published by staff writer Bridget Balch at the Association of American Medical Colleges.
The article quoted, “I didn’t really think we were going to see anything,” Ross said. But when they examined the mice’s tissues, they were shocked. “Every one we looked at we found the microplastics. It was surprising, especially finding them in the brain. Things are not supposed to go there!”
So, what can we do as consumers to protect ourselves from plastic contaminants?
First, choose natural products and fibers. There are plenty of renewable options when it comes to clothing purchases, like cotton, silk, leather and wool. Then remember, when it comes to paper or plastic, trees can be replanted. However, fossil fuels are not renewable resources.
Skip the one-use plastic bags. Sure, those plastic grocery bags can be used again, but eventually they will end up in a landfill – or worse a field or the ocean. If you have to use plastic, choose reusable bags you can take back to the grocery store again and again.
Finally, recycle all the plastic you can. Check with your recycling center on what plastic labels they can recycle, and let’s all do our part to contribute to environmental sustainability.
Source: farmprogress.com