The Plastic Issue and a Call to Action

from March 2020 Gallup Journey Magazine

A Chaco Visit Sue Carlson

By Jenny Tamminga

My heart has been aching in the past months as I have seen videos of Third World countries with plastic trash covering entire beaches, of rivers and bays with so much plastic trash you can only tell there is water because the trash is undulating up and down with the waves, or it is slowly flowing away with the clogged current of the river. Many communities in these areas have no trash collection systems and no place to bring their trash, so people throw their trash in the rivers or bring it to the beach. The western world doesn't have this severe of a problem, thanks to our collection systems, but we still have people using pristine areas to dump trash and larger items. I recently saw 5 couches, a stack of plastic chairs, lots of household trash, and a broken hot tub out in the desert near Phoenix, and my husband told me of mounds of trash in our own Superman Canyon that he saw on a recent bike ride. Empty water bottles and other plastic items can be found wherever we go: on the ground in our majestic redwood forests, in our deserts, and in even in and around our most pristine rivers and lakes. A lot of this plastic, in third world countries and western world alike, then flows on down to our oceans harming the earth at every step of its journey. We have a world that is an amazing treasure. It has unboundless beauty and provides us with all we need to thrive, yet we seem to be determined to destroy it with plastic.

A few months ago, I listened to a podcast about recycling, which explained that most of our recycling in past years was being sent to China along with plastic from other countries, but China closed its ports to the world's plastics in 2018. The western world then had a great dilemma: what to do with the tons of plastic we previously sent away to be recycled—letting others deal with our mess.

With further research, I discovered that, after China closed its ports to outside plastic waste, western countries began looking for another place to send it. Since Hong Kong was the gateway to the Chinese recycling facilities, Hong Kong now has fields and warehouses full of plastic that nobody wants. The Americas and Australia then found markets for their plastic in Malaysia, but these have now been shut down by the Malaysian government and Malaysia has stated that they will not be the world's garbage dump (good point). Poland also has sites full of foreign plastic that are not getting recycled. Now, there are mountains of plastic, in hundreds of sites, not getting recycled around the world all because the UK, Canada, the United States, and Australia (these are just the ones I read about) want to export their waste instead of building infrastructure and regulations to reduce its use and recycle it.

The amount of plastics produced each year is increasing at an alarming rate, one site predicted that plastic production would increase 75% by 2022, and we are already producing 350 million tons a year! Plastic is durable and lasts a long time, but every phase of its life impacts the environment and our health. Plastics are made from crude oil and natural gas (according to ICIS, 20% of the world's oil production is used to manufacture plastic), extracting these products produces greenhouse gasses and pollutes fresh water sources and its production adds more greenhouse gasses and pollution. When food is sold, purchased, and stored in plastic in our homes, some of the chemicals it contains leaks into our food. Its disposal adds even more greenhouse gasses and pollutants: over one-third of plastic waste goes to landfills, some gets burned (burning plastic emits toxins known to cause respiratory ailments and stress human immune systems), only 9% of the world's

plastic actually gets recycled and one-third ends up polluting the environment.

According to the Children's Health Network, styrofoam, which is a brand of expanded polystyrene foam (recycling #6), is a particularly noxious type of plastic and its principal component, styrene, is listed on the CDC's website as a toxic substance. Styrofoam's production releases hydrocarbons that, when mixed with other pollutants in the air, produces ground-level ozone which can lead to respiratory problems. Disposing of styrofoam causes other problems as it doesn't break down, and so its is often incinerated which releases styrene gas into the atmosphere which can lead to nervous system impairment. Storing our food in it is dangerous because the styrene that it is made of can leak into our food when heated. Hence, it is suggested that you never put any hot food/drink into styrofoam containers and never microwave it or any other plastic products, yet we drink coffee in styrofoam cups all the time and have our food put into it at some restaurants! What are we thinking?

Plastic can take 500 years, or longer, to decompose. Since we started making plastics in the 1950s, all the plastic that has ever been produced still exists in the world. If it is exposed to sunlight it starts breaking down into smaller pieces until very small pieces are left called microplastics, but these stay in the environment and in us for a very long time.

Since 40% of plastic production is disposed of in some way within a year of it being made, we can make a big difference in the world's greenhouse gas problem (from the production of plastics) as well as ocean pollution if we can eliminate singleuse plastics!

Most of us have heard about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, but what I did not know prior to this research is that there are four more Ocean Garbage Patches; there is one in the South Pacific, one each in the North and South Atlantic, and one in the Indian Ocean. Ocean currents are also washing up plastic trash onto shorelines in every part of the world, even Easter Island, whose closest neighbor is 1,200 miles away, has a serious problem with trash washing up on their rocky shorelines. Along the California coast, I have seen pieces of plastic from Japan! Since 70% of earth's oxygen is generated by the ocean, suffocating the ocean with plastic may end up suffocating humankind. Effects on Ocean Wildlife

Birds are dying at an alarming rate, approximately one million per year, because they eat the bits of plastic in the environment or become entangled in the plastic. With pieces of plastic clogging the digestive system, the bird feels full, does not eat, and starves to death. Sea birds, like the albatross, are currently the ones that suffer this fate the most. One species of albatross that nest on the Midway Atoll in the Pacific have been studied and it was found that 40% of their chicks die before fledging due to stomachs filled with plastic (World Wildlife Fund). Parent albatross skim the top of the ocean for food and regurgitate it to feed their young. Since plastics tend to float in water, much of what they pick up are plastics, and the chicks have bottle caps, plastic forks, and many other plastic items in their stomachs. Adult albatross carcasses that are found in many countries have things as large as toothbrushes and golf balls in their systems.

Birds are not the only creatures effected; the UN estimates that 380,000 marine mammals are killed each year by ocean plastic, either by ingestion or entanglement. One whale was found with 90 pounds of plastic in its stomach! Fish are suffering

as well; they are eating plastic and getting tangled in abandoned fishing nets. One in four ocean fish have plastic in their systems, and in one lake tested, Lake Ontario, every fish tested had plastic in its system (PBS special: The Problem with Plastic). As many of you have seen on the news, sea turtles are also suffering from the ocean's plastic waste: they are getting tangled in the discarded fishing nets, inhaling straws and other plastic when they surface to breathe, and eating floating plastic bags which they confuse with the jelly fish that they eat.

In the United States, we have about onefifth of the world's population, yet we produce approximately a third of its waste. It is easy for us to be complacent and not think about what happens to our waste once it is taken away from our homes, but we all need to become aware of what our waste is doing to the earth. We do not want to leave a plastic wasteland for our children and grandchildren to inherit. The earth is in a state of crisis that humankind has created, and since we all participated in creating the problem, we all need to participate in its recovery.

Solutions

40 countries around the world have banned the use of plastic bags due to their environmental impact. Canada and Costa Rica plan to ban all single-use plastics by 2021. Australia also has many areas that are banning various single-use plastics. Meanwhile, in the United states, 12 of our states have banned the use of plastic bag bans! Yes, that it what it sounds like; no city in those 12 states can ban plastic bag use in their cities! Yet, in the United States it is estimated that one plastic bag is disposed of per person every day. The United States does have many cities in the other 38 states that have instituted plastic bag bans, and Seattle has banned single use utensils, bags, and straws. California is the only state that has banned the use of plastic bags statewide and has 26 cities that have banned the use of styrofoam food containers. Styrofoam is being banned in other cities in the US as well (see The Story of Stuff Project). Maybe we can add Gallup to the list of cities that ban styrofoam!

Companies and individuals all over the world are working on the plastic issues: development of sustainable alternatives to reduce the use of plastic, more and better options for recycling, ocean and river cleanup projects (see Ocean Rescue and Ocean Voyages Institute), beach clean-up, and finding organisms to help degrade plastic more quickly. In a few countries, waste plastic is being used in road building and the production of roofing materials, where its durability is an asset.

Many individuals around the world are dedicated to working on reducing plastic waste in their homes, are participating in trash clean-up in their communities and wild places, and are lobbying and protesting for the environment in their communities.

For years I have been bringing my own shopping bags to the grocery store, reusing plastic produce bags, and recycling what I could, but it is no longer enough. I need to do more! Below are some of the ideas that I found and am working on:

How you can help

As you read this list, work on the easiest thing first or on the area where you generate the most plastic trash. Don't try to make too many changes at once. Also, use up what you have before making changes (throwing it away only produces more waste), then when you need that product, you can look for more sustainable products and packaging.

Refuse and/or don't buy single-use plastic products: single-use plastic water and drink bottles, plastic straws, plastic utensils, plastic shopping bags, plastic produce bags, takeout coffee cups with lids (not only is the lid plastic, but the cup is lined with plastic), Q-tips with plastic stems, plastic razors, ziplock bags, and cling wrap.

Bring your own reusable water bottle/coffee cup, take-out/leftover containers, straw (if you need one), flatware, grocery bags and produce bags. You can make produce bags from old sheets or t-shirts (if you don't sew, just cut off the sleeve of an old long-sleeved t-shirt and knot one end—you just made a produce bag!). Keep these items in your car or bag so they are available wherever you go.

Choose vegetables not wrapped in plastic. Bring your own bags to put them in or just set them in the bottom of your cart, they don't need to be corralled.

Refuse and avoid anything made out of styrofoam—egg cartons, take-out or leftover containers, coffee cups, and plates. Even better, lobby to get styrofoam food containers banned in Gallup!

Look for TP which is not wrapped in plastic film and, while you are at it, TP that is made from recycled paper—27,000 trees are cut per day to make toilet paper!

Buy as many items as you can from the bulk bins found in grocery stores. In Gallup, we have a some available at La Montanita Co-op on Coal Ave. Remember to bring your own bags or jars for each product to avoid the plastic ones—have the cashier weigh your containers prior to filling and note the weight (this is called the tare) on the bag/jar so you are not paying for the weight of the container when you check out. When traveling you can find stores that sell from bulk bins by using the bulk store app found on the Zero Waste Home website.

Avoid, when you can, buying products with plastic packaging—look for alternatives with sustainable packaging (glass and metal and cardboard).

Look for bamboo or wooden toothbrushes and kitchen scrubbies instead of plastic when you need them.

Use bar soap at the sink instead of plastic pump bottles, as well as a bar shampoo and conditioner.

Don't buy or use wet wipes, they contain plastic and are wrapped in plastic. While we are on the subject, don't flush any kind of wet wipes (yes, even "flushable" ones), they clog sewers and water-treatment plants, but if you don't buy or use them that shouldn't be an issue.

Look for sustainable feminine products without plastic. The cups can be re-used for years.

Recycle your electronics and extra cords— they have lots of plastic and other toxic substances; Best Buy and Staples both have processes for this, check their websites for particulars.

Buy used and refurbished electronics instead of new ones.

Shop at our local thrift stores—buying things you need (clothing and household items) at a thrift shop means a new one does not need to be made and also eliminates production waste.

Recycle everything you can.

Educate yourself by watching various documentaries and videos on the plastic problem that can be found on Youtube: PBS's The Plastic Problem, The Story of Stuff, Sky New's The Plastic Tide, One Month Without Single-Use Plastics.

Share what you learn with others; the more people advocating for sustainability and trying to reduce their waste, the more we can stem the tide of plastic.

Write the companies that make products you buy from to ask for more sustainable packaging, or to let them know that you are switching to a more sustainable product.

Write letters or call senators and legislators to advocate for key environmental and climate decisions. You may even want to join protests and marches to advocate for the environment.

Save this list for trying more ideas later.

Buy less—the less you consume, the less you discard.

nope, tried to find one and they didnt send one

Advocate Law Center, P.A. is excited to announce that local attorney Lucas B. Babycos has become our newest partner, effective January 1, 2020. As a partner, Mr. Babycos is committed to upholding the firm’s legacy of nearly 25 years of professional and passionate legal representation throughout the Gallup community. Mr. Babycos is originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, and moved to Gallup with his wife, a Gallup native, and son in 2017. Mr. Babycos and his family have enjoyed being welcomed into the community and look forward to continuing to serve Gallup and the surrounding areas. Mr. Babycos earned his bachelor’s degree from Loyola University of New Orleans and his Juris Doctor from Southern University Law Center. Mr. Babycos is licensed to practice law in the State of New Mexico, Navajo Nation, Pueblo of Zuni, Louisiana, and the 5th Circuit Federal Court.