Plastic is everywhere!

My Nephew and his wife inspired me to investigate as they do not let their son play with plastics. This made me wonder can we really give up plastic?

At face value, you would think it’s easy. But then after watching my granddaughter drawing with some Crayons, it made me the question, ‘What are Crayons made from?’ So I did what I always do – grabbed my phone and Googled.

Every time WE LEARN to see differently.

was horrified to see that listed are Wax (paraffin, microcrystalline, polyethylene, beeswax, ozokerite, Japan, carnauba), colorant (pigment or dye), stearic acid (palmitic acid), tallow (beef), filler (kaolin, talc). Water-soluble wax crayons contain emulsifier wax and polyethylene glycol. So, what on face value seems like a learning toy, has in fact both paraffin wax and polyethylene (which is plastic) and for the vegetarians, beef!

This made me question what other everyday things have plastic in them? Here are just a few of the everyday items that contain plastics.

GLASS JARS & LIDS

You might think a good alternative to storing food is the humble glass jar and lid. Think again, because whilst the jar itself doesn’t contain any plastic, the lid has a thin layer of plastisol, a PVC product that produces the plastic seal which helps resist corrosion from the acidic ingredients! Which is good for food storage, but not so good if you are trying to reduce the use of plastics.

So rather than throw away old used jam jars and lids, offer them free to collectors. Alternatively, you could use them for flowers, especially in the summer for alfresco dining. I am sure anyone making jam or chutneys would snap them up and reuse them!

What else contains PLASTIC

Drinks cans…

We all know that single-use plastic bottles are bad to use, but drink cans must be OK, YES? Sadly NO it turns out that whilst the can itself is made from recyclable Aluminium the can itself is lined with a plastic resin! Which is used to stop the drink from corroding the Aluminium – read this article by ReAgent for the full story! Without the epoxy coating inside the can, Coke would corrode the can within just three days!

The epoxy used is bisphenol-A or BPA – read the health implications of using this product then read here.

Chewing Gum

Yes I know, it’s hard to believe, although there is a part of me that is not surprised by this. I can recall a conversation with my father the first time I had gum. He said ‘DO NOT SWOLLOW’as chewing gum is made from plastic and it will stop your heart! Slightly dramatic I know but I can still remember swallowing some and being terrified that I was going to die!

Manufacturers do not disclose their ingredients as they consider this to be a ‘trade secret’, but if you look at the labeling ‘gum-based ingredients’ and the majority of gum-based ingredients contact polyethylene, which is the same plastic that is often used in tea bags, plastic bags, and bottles!

Clothing

One of the biggest disasters facing the planet is plastics in our oceans and waterways, and one of the biggest contributors is all the clothing made from man-made fibres.

Polyester, acrylic, nylon, and microfibres are all made from plastics, and every time they are washed the microplastics get released into the waterways.

As people buy cheap clothes to keep up with fashion, the greater the impact is on the planet. From washing and because they are cheaper they get thrown away sooner. Once in a landfill site unable to break down!

If you want to read more about the impact of clothing on the planet then there is a fab article by Stacey Dooley here.

Coffee Cups

I will be the first to admit that one of the highlights of any road trip is stopping off at the services to buy a coffee.

And whilst our love of the takeaway coffee isn’t changing our attitudes to the disposable cup lined with plastics are! Fortunately, just as it is now becoming second nature to take your own bags with you when you shop, we are now starting to take our own reusable cups when we buy a coffee!

PLAs and Corn-Based Biodegradable Packaging

I am not sure about you, but I get really mad at the amount of packaging in my weekly shop! And because we eat a lot of fruit we always have a lot of plastic packaging.

Globally, supermarkets are looking at ways in which they replace conventional plastics with PLAs and corn-based biodegradable packaging in a bid to be more environmentally friendly.

However, whilst at face value, it may seem that they are doing their bit. The reality is they are difficult to recycle, and many local authorities are unable to recycle them!

Whilst they can be composted down, it is only achieved by industrial composters! So no good in your home composter! And they do not break down in Landfill either.

So the Greener alternatives are not as GREEN after all.

Tetra PAKS

oxed water has to be better for the environment, YES NO? Think again, as this diagram shows – they are in fact lined with aluminum and polyethylene and many local authorities still have a problem recycling them so they end up in Landfill site!

In CONCLUSION…

Photo credits

Crayons by Kristin Brown on Unsplash
Jam Jars by Humphrey Muleba on Unsplash
Drinks Cans by Ja San Miguel on Unsplash
Chewing Gum by Aleks Dorohovich on Unsplash
Clothing Photo by Lauren Fleischmann on Unsplash
Coffee Photo by David Lezcano on Unsplash
Packaging Photo by Priscilla Fong on Unsplash
Boxed Water Photo by Boxed Water Is Better on Unsplash

Can we give up on plastics?

What started as a quest to see if we can really give up on Plastics? Has shown to me that it is almost impossible to live without plastics in our lives, from the humble tea bag to the paint we put on our walls, it would seem that some of the obvious and less obvious all contain plastic in some form or another!
While supermarkets worldwide are looking at ways that they can replace traditional oil-based plastics with eco-friendly alternative bio-plastics made from plants. So these alternatives are still causing an increase in greenhouse gases as many of the alternatives head to a landfill site because they can’t be recycled.
The other problem with bioplastics is they are in fact contributing to a global food crisis, as more and more land that was used to grow crops for human consumption is now being used to create bioplastics.
One thing that is certain is we have to play our part in tackling a global problem, and one town in the UK that has been challenging this is Faversham in Kent where they have become plastic free!