living in a plastic world

Beautiful turtle swimming in deep turquoise water with little yellow fish by MarcelloRabozzi

We are drowning in plastic.

It is everywhere we look and it is destroying our planet.

"Behind each and every piece of littered plastic debris there is a human face. At a critical decision point, someone, somewhere, mishandled it, either thoughtlessly or deliberately. Cigarette filters and cigar tips, fishing line, rope and gear, baby diapers and nappies, six-pack rings, beverage bottles and cans, disposable syringes, tires, the litany of plastic litter is as varied as the products available in the global marketplace, but it all shares a common origin."*

Plastic came into use less than 100 years ago, but it in that time it has revolutionized entire industries and packaging in particular. The terrible irony of plastic is that it's durabilty is so often put to use in creating single-use, disposable products which can take hundreds of years to disintegrate.

Plastic bag – 20 years

Takeaway coffee cups – 30 years

Plastic straws – 200 years

6 pack plastic rings – 400 years

Plastic bottles – 450 years

Plastic cups – 450 years

Disposable diapers – 500 years

Coffee pods – 500 years

Plastic toothbrush – 500 years

But the worst part is that scientists have realized that decomposing plastic creates even more of a problem: the smallest particles, or microplastics, never actually break down completely and are now working their way up through the food chain via sea creatures into the food we eat.

We have to change our habits.

We can't rely on manufacturers to stop producing plastic. The only way to stop this endless cycle of consumption is by making better buying choices. Even though every product we buy should be carefully considered, there are enough alternatives available now for it to be possible to avoid purchasing single-use plastics altogether. New ideas are appearing all the time as consumers search for eco-friendly alternatives to replace our dependance upon plastic. The more we support and encourage these innovations, the more likely we are to see them being adopted by major corporations.

Eventually, we could reach a point where the manufacturing of single-use plastics will come to an end and we can start to clean up the mess we've made of our beautiful world.