The Plastic Problem

As time goes on this is becoming a bigger and bigger issue, both environmentally speaking, with the impact it's having on our oceans etc. dramatic and costing us in the pocket too.

Plastic was seen as fantastic as a way of packaging and ensuring food didn't spoil and a massive benefit sold to consumers was the fact that it was non-biodegradable. The chickens have come home to roost in this regard. Plastic is not sustainable and is polluting our waters and landscapes.

Much research has been published in the last several years about the extent of microplastic and its prevalence in rivers and seas being much worse than orginally thought. In the UK, major floods in the area in 2015-16 flushed more than 40bn pieces of microplastic into the sea. These microplastics are swallowed by fish thinking it's food. They also make their way back into our system, absorved by our bodies, due to the micro size of said particles being able to breach the protective membrane, which it's safe to say will have negative impacts on people's health caused by toxicity. Legislation has recently been enacted to ban the use of these micro-plastics( often found in hygeiene products) yet there is a good chance they are found at industry level as well.

The amount of waste that goes into packaging, as I am sure many are aware of from first-hand experience, is shameful. Plastic containers, bottles, coffee cups, coffee capsules etc. There was an article recently about Tesco being accused of having cynical packaging, in that their ribs seemed much bigger than they actually were, with a big gap down the middle, the label obsucifcating this. Once again it was a glaring example of excessive packaging used by supermarkets. Supermarkets need to be held accountable for excess packaging sold to the consumer. People as consumers also need to pay attention to products they buy and how much waste they generate.

We have a sugar tax on the way. We need a levy on plastics that are non-biodegradable, that is put on the manufacturer and strict fines imposed on those who fail to reduce packaging waste by our governments. If you have a travel mug, please use it, the plastic found in coffee cups to keep the cardboard from becoming soggy is very often non-biodegradable. Stop buying plastic bottles for water etc.

On the coffee capsules front, there is a company in Italy who produces biodegradable coffee capsules 30 days from source. We need more companies who care enough about the environment to seek innovative ways to miminize pollution and reduce waste. We collectively need to seek out these products, even if it costs more. It's time for another wave of consumer activism to stem the tide. Our government needs to think about aways to reduce consumption; provide grants to companies who seek ways to do this and lessen the environmental impact. Impose bans on certain products if neccesary. Create initiatives and give-back schemes such as bottle banks ala Germany.

It was announced recently that China has said 'Enough' and will no longer take our waste. These has caused companies like Panda to announce a charge for recyling- http://www.thejournal.ie/panda-recycling-3901850-Mar2018/ So one way or another you're paying for it.

A frightening statistic: 'The amount of plastic produced from 2000 - 2010 exceeds the amount produced during the entire last century'.

What can we do individually and as a collective to do something to help? For anyone interested there have been interesting articles on the likes of The Guardian etc. on the extent of the problem, each one more saddening than the last. It's eco-destruction and shows no signs of abetting.


http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-42264788