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DO YOU REALLY WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO THE PLASTIC PROBLEM?
Nov
if I really wanted to make a difference to the plastic problem Should Plastic straws be my focus?
A lot of attention has been given to removing plastic straws from our every day life. I wanted to see if this focus is justified, or is there something else I should be focused on?
So I started looking for data… the numbers that would answer two questions:
- What are the biggest plastic pollutants in the ocean?
- What plastic items do oceanographers want to ban?
…and this is what I found.
A visit to Google floated some interesting results. Firstly, the plastic problem is both serious and getting worse. Secondly, a group called the Ocean Conservancy record all of the items they find on beaches. The summary page of their 2018 report, below, shows that straws are not even on the top 5 list of ocean pollutants.
Also, while smokers may have some explaining to do, plastic bottles and their caps are the most numerous plastic polluters, FOUR times more than straws and stirrers.
A group of 13 Oceanographers were asked what plastic items they would like to see banned
Of the 13, ONLY TWO, suggested that plastic straws would be first on their list.
The top issue for these scientists were (in order of most frequently mentioned):
- Microfibers/ micro-plastics
- Single use plastics (which does include straws) ,and,
- plastic bags
What should we do?
The plastics problem is so large, we are going to need to address plastic in all areas. But some starting points (looking at the largest contributors) are:
- No plastic bottles… just don’t do it! Get reusable bottles and take your water with you. That would stop the largest contributor to ocean pollution in its tracks!
- Avoid plastic wrapped food.
- Get re-usable shopping bags and avoid cling wrap. There are some great alternatives that really work and don’t produce plastic pollution.
We are actively trying to find products that help us in all of these areas…. products that meet our goal of being SIMPLE, SENSIBLE and SUSTAINABLE.
See below some of the products that are already in our store.
