Photo by Anne-Marie Bonneau
From the extraction of the fossil fuels necessary to make plastic; to the manufacturing of the material itself; to its disposal in recycling facilities, incinerators, or the natural environment; to the emissions and chemicals released when plastic degrades, plastic harms the environment all along its lifecycle.
These activities disproportionately impact low-income people and people of color. Because of a history of racist redlining policies, people of color are more likely to live near polluting facilities like incinerators that poison the air.
While consumers did not create this problem—responsibility lies with Big Plastic and Big Oil—we individuals can mitigate the plastic pollution crisis by reducing our plastic consumption. Hundreds of millions of people around the world will attempt to forgo plastic for a month during Plastic Free July.
We can’t recycle our way out of the plastic pollution crisis
Industry promotes the recycling system it dreamt up as the best (and really only) solution to the plastic pollution crisis it created. Shifting responsibility for plastic pollution onto consumers diverts attention from the true source of the problem and forces us to foot the bill through our taxes, which fund recycling programs.
In reality, plastic pollution is a production problem, not a waste problem. Corporations produce much more plastic than our recycling systems can possibly handle. Regulations such as mandatory refill programs would prevent industry from polluting with abandon.
So what can we do?
Divest from fossil fuels
Plastic is made predominantly from fossil fuels. Without access to cash, the fossil fuel companies extracting the raw materials for plastic cannot operate. Slow the flow of cash to fossil fuel companies by moving out of any fossil fuel investments you may hold. To learn how to get started, visit gofossilfree.org.
Break up with Chase, Wells Fargo, Citi, Bank of America and other big banks that invest in fossil fuels
Since the signing of the Paris Agreement in 2016, big banks have invested nearly $3.8 trillion into fossil fuel companies. Move your bank accounts and credit cards to a smaller bank, such as a not-for-profit credit union.
Persuade your workplace or municipality to reduce plastic waste
An entire organization or municipality cutting even the most basic types of plastic waste will make a big impact quickly. To get started at your workplace, convince your employer to conduct a waste audit and examine the company’s supply chain for areas ripe for plastic reduction. Use Break Free From Plastic’s toolkit to lobby your municipality to ban single-use plastics.
Reduce your plastic footprint
For the entire month of July, hundreds of millions of people around the world will forgo plastic. If you’ve never attempted Plastic Free July and don’t know where to start, begin by cutting the four very common types of plastic waste.
1. Plastic bags
In the US, we use 14,000,000,000 single-use plastic bags per year. Choose reusable shopping bags if you haven’t already and make or buy reusable cloth produce bags. Plastic shopping bag bans are important, but most of us fill our reusable totes with plastic produce bags. You can buy reusable produce bags at health food co-ops, ecofriendly shops, and online. You can also make very simple produce bags out of scrap fabric. Stow your produce bags in your shopping bags and keep everything in a convenient location so you remember to take the bags with you shopping.
2. Water bottles
Americans consume 1,500 plastic water bottles every second to drink something that most of us can get out of a tap for free. Of course, you can’t drink unsafe water. But clever marketing, not actual need, is what motivates millions of Americans to buy bottled water. And according to Food & Water Watch, 64 percent of bottled water is merely filtered municipal tap water. To avoid buying bottled water, take a reusable water bottle or mason jar with you wherever you go.
3. Takeaway coffee cups
Thin plastic lines the inside of paper to-go cups in order to prevent coffee and tea from leaking. Bring a mug or thermos to your café or brew your coffee and tea at home. Although some cafés still do not allow customers to bring reusables because of the pandemic, these regulations have begun to ease up.
4. Straws
Experts estimate that at least 170,000,000 straws are used in the US every day. Even that low estimate is far too high. And although people cutting their plastic may start by refusing plastic straws, they won’t stop there. Straws, like the other items on this list, are a gateway to reducing more plastic.
Recycle
Because recycling does play a role in the plastic pollution crisis—but as a last resort and not a first line of defense—please continue to sort any recyclables you accumulate during the month. As you sort those, note the most common items going into your bin and seek out plastic-free alternatives.
Contact your representatives
The Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act proposes a national beverage container refund program, sets minimum recycled content standards, and phases out unrecyclable materials. If passed, the legislation would also prohibit exporting US plastic waste to developing countries. Please tell your representatives to support this legislation.