America’s Plastic Obsession

America’s plastic obsession has gotten out of control and our dependency on plastic products is straining our environment. This has been an ongoing issue for years and unless addressed will only get worse. Take a look around and there is a good chance you’ll find something containing some type of plastic. Every room in our house probably has a product made of plastic.

Our kitchens have plastic food containers and plastic bottles, our bathrooms have plastic toothbrushes and cleaning products, our pantries are filled with plastic bags and our bedrooms probably have clothing storage bins. No matter the product, it’s hard to escape the use of plastic. Plastic bottles are usually made up of petrochemicals which take about 450 years to naturally break down in the environment.

In current years recycling efforts have attempted to remedy the problem, but only about 9% of the materials destined for recycling centers actually make it there. Sadly there are actually floating garbage patches in our worlds ocean. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean. Also known as the Pacific trash vortex, the garbage patch is actually two distinct collections of debris bounded by the massive North Pacific Subtropical Gyre.

Nations around the world have recognized the damage and are taking measures to cut the use of plastic. Many single-use plastic items such as dinnerware and bottles are being banned in an effort to help. Here in America I have been to several restaurants lately that have implemented paper straws as an alternative to plastics.

Pros and Cons of Biodegradable Plastic

In an effort to help the cause plant based, biodegradable plastics are on the rise. Biodegradable Plastics reduce the overall demand for fossil fuels. They often require less energy demand than petroleum based plastics. They break down quicker and have potential to leave no pollutants once broken down. However, nothing is perfect and these plant based biodegradable plastics are no exception.

The cons of biodegradable plastics are as follows. They still demand unnecessary resources, contains a lot of the same chemicals and still can’t decay in a landfill, they reinforces the throw away mindset. If we don’t get out of the habit of just using these products a single time, it will be difficult to make a real change.

Burning Plastic is not a Good Solution to America’s Plastic Obsession

When I was a kid and lived in “the country”, we would often burn trash in a bin. Sometimes this might seem like a great solution as the plastic melts and leaves behind little waste. Burning plastics however is not a healthy solution for us or the environment. The incineration of plastic is actually toxic to humans. One of the most commonly used chemicals in plastic is vinyl chloride or PVC is very toxic when burned. It has been linked to Cancer.

So, What is the Best Solution for Plastic?

I personally don’t currently see a good option for getting rid of plastic once it’s produced. They better alternative is to focus efforts on plastic alternatives. Simple choices such as using a glass coffee mug instead of a disposable plastic coffee cup. Using an stainless steel water bottle instead of plastic bottles. In order to sustain our earth we need to curb America’s plastic obsession.