The prevalence of plastic is the apex of human idiocy.
It’s everywhere from the bright packages that line grocery shelves to the acrylic thread of that shirt you’re wearing. With plastics surrounding us everywhere we go, it’s got to be an innocuous substance, right? Wrong. The latest trends in reusable grocery bags and water bottles show that the truth about the toxicity of plastic is going mainstream. But in case you haven’t heard, let me enlighten you.
Even as I type this article, my plastic computer, heated from use, is releasing chemicals that then invade my skin and might cause multiple chemical sensitivity syndrome or a multitude of cancers. The plastic container from my lunch will soon degrade in a landfill into tiny pieces which will become airborne and trigger asthma in an infant or eczema in my classmate.
The source of these modern plagues is not unknown. It’s in the pen you’re holding or the water bottle you’re sipping from.
Plastic isn’t only compromising human health. According to the Integrated Waste Management Authority (IWMA), every year, more than one million aquatic animals die from ingesting or being entangled in plastics. So you cut apart your six-pack rings and consider your job done. Too bad those rings only account for a miniscule portion of the estimated 100 million tons of plastic debris in the world’s oceans. This plastic releases chemicals into the ocean that then accumulate in the tissues of marine life, such as tuna fish and seaweed. Thus plastic finds its way into the foods we eat. Perhaps plastic should be designated as its own group on the food pyramid.
The question is no longer if plastic is poisoning us, but rather, in how many ways and how quickly?
I used to believe that recycling was the answer to the plastic-planet problem. And then I got a sickening dose of reality: On top of recycled plastic only accounting for a pathetic 2 to 5 percent of all used plastic, the majority of a recycled product ultimately ends up in a landfill anyway due to unusable additives. After separation, the recycled plastic is too weak to be used on its own so new plastic and additives are mixed back in. Excuse me, but how is that any better than a completely new product?
Back to the drawing board!
What we really need to do is stop using plastic where it’s unnecessary. I got a burrito the other day: a food that comes ready in its own tortilla packaging. When I received it, it came not only in its tortilla, but with a paper wrapper, a plastic bag and five plastic packages of hot sauce. I politely told the worker that I wouldn’t be needing the plastic bag and that I could simply open up my burrito and pour on some hot sauce before I left, thus eliminating six pieces of plastic waste.
She was dumbfounded.
How could I not take a plastic bag? What if the burrito got messy in transit? What if I needed more hot sauce? I consumed the burrito five minutes later with no mess and no missed hot sauce. I clearly didn’t need a plastic barricade between my food and me, and by not following the impulses of my innate plastic addiction, I had eliminated plastic waste.
We could further reduce our waste by following the canvas grocery bag trend and reusing produce baggies, bringing our own reusable coffee mugs to get our java fix (most stores will even give you a discount), washing out and reusing zip-lock bags, and investing in a reusable, 100 percent recyclable aluminum water bottle. The plastic-saving possibilities are endless.
And because we can’t eliminate plastic completely, it’s time we rethink the composition of plastic as we know it. One solution is being sought out by Whole Foods and other eco-conscious grocery stores. They have begun replacing plastic containers with natural fiber packaging made from sugar cane pulp, corn starch and bamboo. These unbleached packages are free from chlorine and dioxins which eliminate the toxic hazards that are in traditional plastics.Even a few places on campus now carry biodegradable utensils. Now that there is a movement toward smarter plastics, we as consumers need to expedite the process by demanding these products from all stores.
It’s time we realize just how harmful our plastic paradise is to human posterity. Put down the plastic bag. Your lonesome apple will survive the short trip from its barrel to your mouth without first experiencing the frigid toxicity of a plastic blanket. Come on, plastic people. Together we can recover from this lethal addiction.
Ready to kick the plastic habit? E-mail Natalie at nhein@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.