Combating the Effects of Plastic on the Environment
The usage of disposable plastic is prevalent in the modern 21st century and can be seen in almost every grocery store, restaurant, and household in America. Plastic is convenient, cheap, and easy to access. With plastic being so readily available, it is no wonder that everywhere we turn we find evidence of it littering the streets and our waterways. The detrimental environmental impact of the plastic revolution is most likely to remain for years to come as the average plastic bottle takes approximately 450 years to decompose in the environment, as stated by the Mote Marine Institute. While many people are aware of the negative effects of our landfills, they are unsure of how they can fix it. One of the best ways to combat this environmental degradation is to look at our own plastic consumption.
Many don’t realize the harmful impact something as simple as their daily coffee can have on the environment. Coffee cups that many believe to be recyclable are lined with a thin layer of polyethylene that can only be recycled in specialty facilities. Thus, the act of recycling most coffee cups is futile, as it will most likely end up in a landfill and take more than 20 years to decompose. This can also be seen in numerous plastic containers as they may be listed as recyclable, yet if not properly cleaned or contain additional plastic packaging, cannot be recycled. In addition to this caveat, while some plastics are recyclable, they require much more energy than glass, making it a less sustainable option. Therefore, when you’re out grocery shopping or buying coffee to-go, take a step back and think about the packaging involved.
With the increase of technology comes the decline of our connection with the environment as fewer individuals are aware of the impact of their daily lives. According to the University of Georgia, there has been an estimated 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic produced since the 1950’s. The production of plastics requires little energy and is cost effective, making it perfect for single use materials (North, 2013). Due to the ease at which plastic is produced, manufacturers are more likely to choose plastic than stainless steel or glass which is easier to recycle. The widespread use of plastics has also led to an increase of waste in our city streets and parks. While more individuals are becoming aware of the adverse effects of littering on the environment, the tendency to litter has increased between the years 2001 and 2006 (Thompson, 2018). Effects of littering can easily be seen walking through the streets of Austin, particularly in West Campus. Throughout the week, West Campus is filled with trash from students too lazy to throw out their items in the proper waste containers. Furthermore, following each weekend, the streets are lined with cans, plastic cups, food containers, and broken beer bottles.
Littering is one of the main contributors of waste pollution in the environment. Most of the population’s trash ends up not only in landfills, but oceans and waterways, effectively killing our marine life. In 2014, an estimated 268,940 tons of plastic particles were floating on the ocean’s surface (Eriksen, 2014). This value is thought to be much larger since ingestion by animals, decreased buoyancy, and degradation are common. The ingestion of plastic by marine animals can cause deformation, maiming, suffocation, and death (Axelsson, 2017). However, waste pollution not only affects animals, it affects us as well. The ingested plastic particles are passed up the food chain, right onto our dinner plates.
A good example of daily waste is the use of disposable plastics in a hospital setting. In 1992, before the many advancements in plastic production, it was found that as much of 85% of the waste from hospitals was single use plastic (Gilden, 1992). A team composing of D.J. Gilden, K.N. Scissors, and J.B. Reuler was able to identify three ways to reduce the amount of disposable plastic being used daily: substitution, minimization, and recycling. Utilizing these three techniques in daily life can help decrease the amount of waste we produce. We can transfer and apply these practices to our lifestyles. Substitution can be achieved by simply swapping out every day products with those that are sustainable and recyclable. Good examples of this are switching from plastic toothbrushes to those made of bamboo which can then be composted. The most popular substitution that’s being adopted by many across the world is reusable water bottles made of stainless steel instead of plastic. Simply minimizing the amount of packaging, specifically plastic, that we purchase goes a long way in reducing our impact on the environment. Rather than purchasing a bag of dried beans at the grocery store, going to a bulk store and filling up a glass jar to purchase beans means one less package going directly to our landfills.
Bea Johnson, a supporter and member of the zero-waste movement, practices the same three methods as the previously mentioned team. In her interview, she states that simply saying no to free, promotional items decreases the demand for such items while keeping clutter out of our homes. In addition to this, she advocates for finding alternatives, or substitutions, that work for your needs yet follow a zero-waste lifestyle. The City of Austin recognized the harmful impact of single use plastic bags on the environment and imposed a city-wide bag ban. This encouraged Austin citizens to bring reusable bags when out shopping, effectively keeping thousands of plastic bags from our landfills. Unfortunately, this was later deemed a violation of state law and removed.
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the average American citizen produces around 4.4 pounds of trash a day. That’s 1,606 pounds of trash a year. Multiplied by the number of individuals living in America, that’s a lot of trash that is likely to end up in landfills and/or the oceans. One of the best ways to positively impact the environment is to refuse plastic, rather than just recycling. Switching to a zero-waste or low-impact lifestyle can decrease the amount of trash an individual produces in their day to day life. The definition of zero waste varies from each individual but the general consensus is reducing your overall impact of waste production on the environment.
While I do appreciate the scope of a zero-waste lifestyle, I recognize that it relies on being affluent and having the means to completely switch your lifestyle around. An example of this is the lack of access to bulk stores in low income neighborhoods. Due to this, individuals are more likely to have to purchase foods and ingredients that come in plastic packaging. To experience the viability of a zero-waste lifestyle, I attempted to live waste free for an entire week. This meant using reusable items rather than disposable and not buying food that was wrapped in plastic.
During the week of September 23rd to September 29th I attempted to live low-impact. Life as a working college student leaves little time to reflect on the environmental impact of your purchases. When buying a loaf of bread for homemade lunches, you think of how much healthier you’re being by not buying lunch every day and not about the sheer number of packages you acquire throughout the year. Purchasing bread without packaging can be complicated at times. You have to visit a bakery, many which pre-wrap their loaves in plastic, and specifically ask for a loaf without packaging. Many college students do not have the time to go through this entire process as it is easier to simply grab a loaf off the shelf. Going into this experiment, I did not realize how often I was offered free items and food on a weekly basis, many of which were wrapped in plastic. Since I was already observing my plastic use throughout the week, I was aware of the amount of trash I was producing on a daily basis. If I were to have taken all of the free items offered to me, my amount of trash would have easily tripled.
Since I am a college student, I heavily rely on pre-packaged foods for snacks to get me through long days spent on campus. The majority of my trash was produced due to the consumption of snacks. On the first day of the experiment, I was on campus for 10 hours and had forgot to bring any food with me. My initial thought was I could buy an apple from one of the on-campus dining locations to not produce any plastic waste. But since all dining halls were closed at that time, my only choice was to eat from the vending machines which contain foods that are solely packaged in plastic. Spending the week reflecting on my trash production has led me to recognize my direct impact on the environment. Moving forward, I will continue to incorporate zero-waste techniques into my life to live as low-impact as possible.
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1 2 3’s of Zero Waste — 10 Simple Swaps to Reduce Your Waste, YouTube, 9 Mar. 2017,
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University of Georgia. “8.3 Billion Metric Tons: Scientists Calculate Total Amount of Plastics Ever Produced.” Phys.org — News and Articles on Science and Technology, Phys.org, phys.org/news/2017–07-billion-metric-tons-scientists-total.html.
