The Personal Problem of Plastic

The versatile nature of plastics means that they have become a ubiquitous element of our modern everyday existence in various forms.

However, aside from the benefits plastic provides for society the rapid increase in production and disposal over the last 60 years needs to be curbed due to the various negative impacts it holds for the environment.

Plastics are organic in nature, produced from natural resources such as crude oil and natural gas and thus responsible for GHG emissions with the combustion and processing of fossil fuels. However the environmental impacts of plastic isn’t limited to their contribution to climate change.

You’ve seen Happy Feet right?

Remember this guy?

Lovelace, from Happy Feet (2006)

This is Lovelace, the love guru of the penguin world.

Notice the can-rings around his neck? That’s the result of plastic pollution on the marine ecosystem, a growing area of concern for ocean researchers such as Fendall and Sewell (2009) as it ‘affects at least 267 marine species by ingestion or entanglement’.

Marine pollution of plastic bag - ingestion by turtle

Once processed, plastic continues its path of environmental damage and destruction. As a non-biodegradable material, plastics have a long life and thus a large ‘killing capacity’ when it comes to both the marine and terrestrial environment (Planet Ark, 2012).

A plastic product that has received much attention in recent years is ‘7% of wind borne litter escaping from landfills’, the plastic bag (Planet Ark, 2012). Which since its emergence in the 1960s has become a fundamental member of daily life.

Today there is a general consensus that ‘plastic bags are becoming a victim of their success’ and a global effort has been launched to rid society of the ‘culture of the bag’ we’ve become accustomed to (Roach, 2003)(BBC, 2015).

However, changing consumer habits associated with shopping since the 1960s will be a tricky task.

Are the general public up for the challenge? Or will decades of habit prevail?

Let me introduce you to this statistic featured in the BBC News (2015):

‘In 2006 the Environment Agency calculated the 82 bags required to carry the average person's monthly shop would produce as much carbon dioxide as travelling five miles by car.’

That’s the power of plastic - or should I say problem?

The environmental issues associated with plastic bags

Alerting the public of the environmental damage caused by our plastic bag greed is one way to generate reflexive changes in our consumption habits, however Fogg (2014) has voiced concern over the effectiveness of environmental awareness, stating: ‘One of the more depressing truths for anyone with green leanings is that awareness of problems does not in itself change behaviour’.

So what next?

A familiar feature of various news media has been the implementation of the 5p plastic bag charge in England last month to encourage the purchase of re-useable bags – bringing the problem of plastic directly into the domestic arena (Howell, 2015).

This approach applies the logic that "When there is an economic disincentive involved, consumers tend not to use a product" (BBC, 2015). However, although money is generally the language that (unfortunately) speaks loudest to society, it has been argued that 5p is ‘not a punitive amount’ and that it ‘merely acts to pay off one’s conscience, and is not a long-term solution’(BBC, 2015)(Fogg, 2014).

So if we can’t motivate society to change their consumer habits through education or economic punishment, then what can we do?

Check out this blog post: http://www.momscleanairforce.org/whats-plastic-got-to-do-with-clean-air/. Aside from the GHGs emitted when plastic is produced, this blog raises awareness of the health implications created by our demand and over-reliance on these handy plastic products.

Have you ever wondered what the secret recipe for a plastic bag is?

Ever marvelled at how soft, flexible, yet enduring they are?

Well my friend, this is due to clever chemicals that go by the name of “Phthalates”. However these chemicals have an alter ego which they are keeping secret from you. They are also endocrine disruptors which are ‘associated with a whole host of healthproblems’ including:

• ·         lower testosterone levels
• ·         decreased sperm counts & poor sperm quality in males
• ·         obesity
• ·         reduced female fertility
• ·         preterm birth & low birth weight
• ·         worsening of allergy & asthma symptoms
• ·         behaviour changes

Of course I’m not suggesting that any of you ingest plastic bags, but you know that “new car” smell? That’s the smell of the phthalates “off-gassing” and migrating into the air we breathe because they are ‘not chemically bound’ to our plastic bags.

I don’t know about you, but this horrified me.

So perhaps, if environmental issues and 5p charges aren’t enough to make you change your shopping habits, then maybe we need to start speaking to the egoistic sides of humanity and make the problems of plastic personal.