Plastic materials should be all banned! Agree?
Plastic represents one of the biggest waste challenges for cities nowadays and in the future. Furthermore, every single minute, the equivalent of a truck full of plastic waste is dumped in the streets, rivers, streams, lakes and worse: in the oceans! What if plastic materials were banned?
Cities and states across the U.S. have been enacting a flurry of restrictions on single-use plastics!
Despite the United States has no federal restrictions on single-use plastics, states and cities have been pushing their own legislation.
Four states, including California and New York, have passed statewide bans, and Hawaii has a de facto ban. More city ordinances have helped influence state-level work.
It's about time to speed up the process of banning plastic products from our life! Time of switching plastic to biodegradable products!
Many companies worldwide are gradually removing plastic products. The idea is to replace plastic dishes, cutlery, straws, and plastic swabs for the biodegradables ones.
“Waste and recycling are by far the most developed and investable today. But one of the reasons we created our incubation network program is to look at other business models for reduction or reuse or alternative delivery models that could become investable someday. Our view is there’s no silver bullet to solving this problem, and you’re going to need recycling, reduction, reuse, regulation–no single agenda will solve this.”, stated a spokesperson for the Alliance to End Plastic Waste.
EU members already have national plans to encourage reuse and recycling. By 2025, the recycling rate of beverage bottles will be 90%. That is one of the big concerns!
Increasing plastic waste dumping in the oceans!
Speaking of the ocean it is estimated that about 13 million tons of plastic products will end up in the oceans. Since plastic-made stuff is considered the most durable material ever, it will take at least 500 to 1,000 years to degrade!
Since the 1950s, when the so-called "Plastic Era" began, about 8.3 billion tons of plastic products have been made worldwide. Nowadays though, less than 10% of this amount is recycled! Isn't that just ridiculous, not mention cruel?
In the first 10 years of this century, more plastics have been manufactured than in the entire twentieth century!
6 plastic products that can be already banned up:
- Coffee, soda plastic cup lids: Junk food fans seem to ignore how much those plastic cup lids pollute! Start getting rid of that stuff!
- Plastic straws: Do you believe that more than 500 billion plastic straws are used every day in the United States? Except for the disabled, it does not justify the maintenance of the plastic straws anymore. Metal straws is the best eco-friendly alternative.
- Plastic packaging: Why not go back to the past by packing vegetables in a newspaper or recycled paper? Biodegradable packaging is another awesome option. Fruit or vegetables get much fresher if packed on paper than in plastic.
- Plastic Bag: Organic fabric-made tote bags are great options to replace the plastic ones. They are even much fancier than plastic-made.
- Plastic containers: To pack food or water in the refrigerator, the best solution is the glass container. Forget the Ziplocs! Vegetable papers, as well as stainless steel containers, are also a good call.
- Water bottles or soda: Plastic bottles pollute and are bad to health if reused. The problem is that the water loses its crystallinity when packed in plastic. It attracts many types of bacteria.
To reduce the plastic bags consumption, the "Source Reduction Activities" agenda may include:
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Redesigning products or packages so as to reduce the quantity of the materials used, by substituting lighter materials for heavier ones or lengthening the life of products to postpone disposal.
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Using packaging that reduces the amount of damage or spoilage to the product.
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Reducing amounts of products or packages used through modification of current practices by processors and consumers.
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Reusing products or packages already manufactured.
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Managing non-product organic wastes (food wastes, yard trimmings) through backyard composting or other on-site alternatives to disposal.
One last word: Compostable Plastic
With every country now declaring war against plastic pollution here’s how you can contribute to getting rid of plastic products: through compostable plastic!
It refers to a material capable of breaking down into carbon dioxide, water, and biomass at the same rate as cellulose. Compostable plastic must also disintegrate and become indistinguishable in the compost and CANNOT leave any toxic material behind.
That means compostable plastic breaks down to a point that it can help in the support of plant growth. Isn't that a big deal?