2018 the year of plastic awareness but…

Well 2018 has probably been the year when the issue of plastics and plastics in the oceans in particular has taken off.  So surely it’s been a good year for those trying to avoid plastic packaging with manufacturers clamouring to meet this new world order?

Sadly no.

It’s been a year of manufacturers trying to prove how good they actually are without generally doing much about the problem.  A memorable moment was in a disposable coffee cup maker (of conventional plastic lined cups) saying over and over again how the cups were ‘recyclable’.  OK, yes it’s true they are but the reality is they are hard to recycle and it’s only a tiny percentage that actually are.  It’s time we stopped hiding behind the recyclable concept and embrace the use of alternative less damaging products.  As we leave 2018 the hope has to be that at last, at long last, manufacturers will stop talking and actually do something positive in 2019 to reduce waste and then ensure recycling is not just possible but a reality.  The government seem to be getting this idea, come on corporate world join in!

Reminding ourselves why

If we look out for news on plastics and their effect on oceans and marine life then it won’t take long to find it.  A couple of days ago it was reported that a dead pilot whale had 4kg of plastics inside it while back in 2013 a sperm whale washed up dead in Spain contained 17kg of plastics, including a range of recognisable items such as bags, rope and a flower-pot.

Meanwhile last month it was reported that corals were found to ingest microplastics and being unable to expel them again are likely to end up starving.  This was preceded by reports on the quantity of plastics afloat on our oceans back in December 2014.  The research was carried out during 2013 showed that over 250 000 tonnes of plastic are floating on the oceans spread over 5 trillion fragment and this is just what is floating; the total amount of plastics in the ocean may be as much as 150 million tonnes and rising by a further 20 million tonnes annually. The scale of the problem is huge but sadly unsurprising when you consider how ubiquitous plastics have become and how poor are the facilities to deal with the mountain of waste.  Globally plastic recycling efforts are so poor as to make them largely irrelevant yet we turn more and more of our packaging into plastic whether it be for domestic or commercial use.  Hiding from the facts is an easy thing to do and most of the world currently seems content to do so but hopefully there is a slight turn now occurring as the problem gets ever more coverage. Ultimately, however, something will only be done when it starts making distinct commercial sense to do so, whether that be in dealing with the cost of damage or in the consumer turning against plastics.

Made it to Radio

We made it to Radio Newcastle a couple of days ago.  Duncan was on just before 5pm explaining about going plastic free and some of the reasons why we see it as important.  The programme is available to listen again (for a few weeks) by following this link and going to 53.24 on the time bar at the bottom of the picture.

No going back

Storage jars filled with loose bought produce

Now that our challenge has been published in The Journal there can be no going back.  Some products are bought in preparation, others will have to be sought as the month goes on.  So far we have had quite a lot of understanding from some of the smaller shops we have tried, with some good examples which we will highlight over the next few weeks.  Larger shops seem much less to even comprehend why we should be interested in reducing plastic waste, so there is clearly a lot of work to be done (more on this later).  So far questions to packaging manufacturers have drawn a blank when questioned as to whether the product contains plastics or not, a simple enough question on the face of it.

Why?

Why plastic free? 

Plastic debris poses a direct threat to wildlife, with many species documented as being negatively impacted by plastic items. The main dangers associated with plastic objects are around the entanglement in and ingestion of plastics.  This is particularly acute in the sea where larger items pose an obvious danger but where smaller fragments of partially degraded plastic are spread throughout the worlds oceans with dire consequences for some marine and coastal species.  The plight of albatrosses on the remote Pacific island of Midway has been well documented but the problem is clearly much wider.

Plastic debris also appears to absorb chemical pollutants such as  polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organic pesticides such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).  Some of these   pollutants have been linked to and are associated with many severe health problems.  Ingestion of fragments of plastic can therefore affect the health of marine organisms through increased chemical uptake as well as the immediate effects of attempting to digest plastics.

There is a long running debate as to whether it takes less energy to make a plastic bag than a paper one but this is missing the point.  Plastics are a convenient but ultimately not entirely degradable product that affects our oceans and also our land for centuries to come.  Plastics have forced their way into our lives and in less than 100 years have been ubiquitous in societies throughout the world, and sadly in our environment too.