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Plastic problem
Plastic is found in virtually everything these days. Your food and hygiene products are packaged in it. Your car, phone and computer are made from it. And you might even chew on it daily in the form of gum. While most plastics are touted as recyclable, the reality is that they're <span style="font-weight: bold">“downcycled.</span>” A plastic milk carton can never be recycled into another carton — it can be made into a lower-quality item like plastic lumber, which can’t be recycled.
How big is our plastic problem? Of the 30 million tons of plastic waste generated in the U.S. in 2009, only 7 percent was recovered for recycling. This plastic waste ends up in landfills, beaches, rivers and oceans and contributes to such devastating problems as the Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch, a swirling vortex of garbage the size of a continent where plastic outnumbers plankton. Plus, most plastic is made from oil.
Luckily, there are simple steps you can take that will dramatically decrease the amount of plastic waste you generate.
1- Just say no to straws
2- Reusable produce bags
mesh bags !!
3- Give up gum
Gum was originally made from tree sap called chicle, a natural rubber, <span style="font-weight: bold">but when scientists created synthetic rubber, polyethylene and polyvinyl acetate began to replace the natural rubber in most gum. Not only are you chewing on plastic, but you may also be chewing on toxic plastic — polyvinyl acetate is manufactured using vinyl acetate, a chemical shown to cause tumors in lab rats. </span>While it is possible to recycle your gum, it may be best to skip it — and its plastic packaging — altogether.
4- Buy boxes, not bottles
5- Buy from bulk bins
6- Reuse containers
7-Reusable bottles and cups
Bottled water produces 1.5 million tons of plastic waste per year, and these bottles require 47 millions gallons of oil to produce, according to Food and Water Watch
8- Bring your own container for take out
9- Use matches instead of a disposable lighter
10- Skip the frozen food section
11- Don't use plasticware! Reduce your carbon forkprint
12- Return reusable containers
13- Use cloth diapers
14- Don't buy juice- make your own
15 - Clean green - vinegar and baking soda go a long way!
16- Pack a greener lunch
The full article here!
and for more info on the impact of plastics read here
Plastic is found in virtually everything these days. Your food and hygiene products are packaged in it. Your car, phone and computer are made from it. And you might even chew on it daily in the form of gum. While most plastics are touted as recyclable, the reality is that they're <span style="font-weight: bold">“downcycled.</span>” A plastic milk carton can never be recycled into another carton — it can be made into a lower-quality item like plastic lumber, which can’t be recycled.
How big is our plastic problem? Of the 30 million tons of plastic waste generated in the U.S. in 2009, only 7 percent was recovered for recycling. This plastic waste ends up in landfills, beaches, rivers and oceans and contributes to such devastating problems as the Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch, a swirling vortex of garbage the size of a continent where plastic outnumbers plankton. Plus, most plastic is made from oil.
Luckily, there are simple steps you can take that will dramatically decrease the amount of plastic waste you generate.
1- Just say no to straws
2- Reusable produce bags
mesh bags !!3- Give up gum
Gum was originally made from tree sap called chicle, a natural rubber, <span style="font-weight: bold">but when scientists created synthetic rubber, polyethylene and polyvinyl acetate began to replace the natural rubber in most gum. Not only are you chewing on plastic, but you may also be chewing on toxic plastic — polyvinyl acetate is manufactured using vinyl acetate, a chemical shown to cause tumors in lab rats. </span>While it is possible to recycle your gum, it may be best to skip it — and its plastic packaging — altogether.
4- Buy boxes, not bottles
5- Buy from bulk bins
6- Reuse containers
7-Reusable bottles and cups
Bottled water produces 1.5 million tons of plastic waste per year, and these bottles require 47 millions gallons of oil to produce, according to Food and Water Watch
8- Bring your own container for take out
9- Use matches instead of a disposable lighter
10- Skip the frozen food section
11- Don't use plasticware! Reduce your carbon forkprint
12- Return reusable containers
13- Use cloth diapers
14- Don't buy juice- make your own
15 - Clean green - vinegar and baking soda go a long way!
16- Pack a greener lunch
The full article here!
and for more info on the impact of plastics read here
and most times we can get all the grocery in one trip when it's the re-usable bags. I hardly put my produce in plastic bags because it is easier to put them away when I dont have to deal with the million bags.
you should have seen the dutty look mi gi both a dem afta mi have nuff sack bout the place..
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