While the “plastic problem” feels overwhelming, simple steps taken by individuals can add up to make a difference, according to Kathy Raiz of Beyond Plastics.
Representing Bennington, Vt.-based Beyond Plastics, an organization founded with the goal of ending plastic pollution, Raiz was the featured speaker at the Garden Club of Dublin’s meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 19.
Raiz presented facts about the ongoing impact of plastics on the environment and wildlife, the level of saturation in the oceans and the implications for human health.
“The plastic island in the North Atlantic is now five times the size of Texas, and that’s mostly from household items, items we all use every day,” Raiz said. “Only about 20 percent of all plastic gets recycled. Most of the rest of it ends up in the ocean, and every single ocean now has a garbage patch.”
Raiz said that microplastics, fragments of plastic less than 5 millimeters in diameter, have been found in the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the deepest and more remote place on Earth, and in human tissue and organs, including brain tissue and placenta.
“We all have microplastics inside us, and they are not going anywhere,” Raiz said. “Microplastics been found in snowflakes; it’s in groundwater, it’s airborne. There are even smaller particles, called nanoplastics, which can pass through the blood-brain barrier.”
According to fact sheets from Beyond Plastics, over 16,000 chemicals are known to be involved in the production of plastic, and over 3,200 of these are known to be “chemicals of concern.” Microplastics have been linked to cardiovascular disease, reproductive health issues, inflammation, cell death, lung and liver effects, changes in the gut microbiome and altered lipid and hormone metabolism.
Raiz traced the history of the three-arrow recycling symbol, which she said is “misleading.”
“What happened is that plastic manufacturers co-opted this symbol from the early recycling movement and took it over. It does not actually mean the products are recyclable, which is what we are led to believe. The numbers just show what kind of plastic it is,” Raiz said. “It’s very misleading; they want people to think plastics are recyclable, and they’re not.”
Raiz said that the “reduce, re-use, re-cycle,” the motto of the recycling industry, needs to be turned upside down.
“It also needs one more ‘R’, which needs to go right at the top, and which is ‘refuse,’ ” Raiz said. “The single most important thing we can all do is to not buy plastic, and to seek alternatives for products we use in our homes. If we can’t avoid plastic altogether, we can cut back, or ‘reduce,’ and then we can try to re-purpose plastic items and keep them out of the landfill.”
Raiz said “recycle” is the least effective action that can be taken to reduce plastic pollution.
“We cannot recycle our way out of this mess we are in,” she said. “There is too much.”
According to Raiz, plastic production, despite known public health risks, is steadily on the rise. She described some of the ways the plastic industry continues to push plastics on consumers.
“The whole ‘wait to potty train your child’ thing was actually funded by the diaper industry. They make diapers for older children, they make pull-ups, they put out information that you should wait to potty train. And diapers are one of the single worst things for the environment,” Raiz said.
Raiz mentioned some specific items which are especially harmful contributors to microplastics, including tires, single use plastics and synthetic textiles.
Raiz also called out tea bags, washing machine and dishwasher pods, plastic straws and any black plastic items, such as take-out food containers, which can’t be recycled.
“The black plastic food containers contain flame retardants and heavy metals,” she said. “And if you take one thing from today’s talk: never, ever eat microwave popcorn.”
Raiz gave suggestions for local action, including introducing local bans on plastic bags and black plastic food containers and banning plastic straws.
“I’ve introduced some of these bans in my town; once people are aware of the risks, they are much more likely to get in board. People just don’t know, and that is deliberate, because the plastics and petroleum industries do not want the information out there. But the impact has gone beyond what we can ignore,” Raiz said.
For information about Beyond Plastics go to beyondplastics.org.