Why you should care about plastic.

"It began with a line of plastic bags ghosting the surface, followed by an ugly tangle of junk: nets and ropes and bottles, motor-oil jugs and cracked bath toys, a mangled tarp. Tires. A traffic cone. Moore could not believe his eyes. Out here in this desolate place, the water was a stew of plastic crap..." [Description of the North Pacific Gyre. Photo via Oprah.com]

Ever since reading "Our Oceans Are Turning Into Plastic...Are We?," a sense of urgency has invaded my consciousness. Replacing my lukewarm environmentalism is a new conviction that I am now ready to share with you.

As a member of the first world, as someone who lives in a country that makes up 5% of the world's population yet produces 30% of its waste, where the average person now consumes twice as much as they did 50 years ago, where 99% of the stuff we buy is trashed within 6 months, where the average household produces 4.5 lbs of garbage a day, it is time to say ENOUGH. This shit has got to stop. [Statistics from The Story of Stuff.]

"At the same time, all over the globe, there are signs that plastic pollution is doing more than blighting the scenery; it is also making its way into the food chain. Some of the most obvious victims are the dead seabirds that have been washing ashore in startling numbers, their bodies packed with plastic: things like bottle caps, cigarette lighters, tampon applicators, and colored scraps that, to a foraging bird, resemble baitfish."
[Photo via article.]

This isn't just about saving the sea turtles or making our beaches look pretty. We are slowly poisoning our water and the animals we eat with plastic. We owe it to our health and to future generations to stop this madness.

But what about recycling? This was the first thing I thought of, too. After all, I dutifully wash out my milk cartons and shampoo bottles every week. But according to the article, only 3 to 5% of plastic is even recycled. It's due to the fact that it isn't like glass, which can be melted down and reformed easily. Plastic is downcycled, meaning it loses its quality when being melted.

"Except for the small amount that’s been incinerated—and it’s a very small amount—every bit of plastic ever made still exists." [Quote from Moore in the article.]

Every straw I've ever drank out of, Windex bottle I've ever used, toothpaste cap I've ever thrown away--all of it is still out there, probably leeching its chemicals in a landfill, in China, or maybe in the North Pacific Gyre.

The article asks a telling question: "Aren’t disposable razors and foam packing peanuts a poor consolation prize for the destruction of the world’s oceans, not to mention our own bodies and the health of future generations?"

And while we do need legislation to regulate plastics, corporations to re-think how they package their goods, and a better way to dispose of our trash without it getting blown into the ocean, I am not letting this issue fade into the sunset.

In addition to blogging about feminism, etc., I'm going to start writing about the ways that I am reducing my plastic consumption. It will serve as a self-motivator, but I also hope it will challenge you to look at your own trash.

After all, what better way to ensure that your water bottle doesn't end up in the ocean than by not buying one at all? What if we all stopped buying water bottles?

Let me be clear in that I'm not advocating the end of all plastic from our lives. Plastic has worked wonders in medicine and technology. But, let's take a stance against needless plastic by thinking critically about what we buy. Believe me, our consumer-driven culture will notice.

UPDATES ON PLASTIC REDUCTION
Giving up the disposable plastic bag.
Ways to clean your shit without a chemical cocktail.
Finding an alternative (plastic-free) deodorant that WORKS.
Hair-washing, with 2 edible ingredients.