My anti-plastic manifesto
Soon the mass of plastic in our oceans will be greater than that of aquatic life (apparently). Either way, the world's oceans, particularly the Pacific and (more particularly) the South Pacific are filled with ecocidal, biotoxic, aesthetically disgusting plastic pollution (http://www.abc.net.au/…/plastic-pollution-on-hender…/8527370), endangered turtles are choking en masse, and, aside from destroying ecosystems, plastic pollution also poses a major danger to human health: phthalates, found in various kinds of plastics (and therefore also in cosmetics), are endocrine disruptors whose increasing prevalence in our bodies over the last thirty years may have played a role in declining male fertility over the same period, and when plastic is burned (which happens in Third World landfills, as well as during accidents in First World cities (i.e. Grenfell)) it releases toxic, highly carcinogenic fumes into the atmosphere, shortening the lifespans of those exposed.
Here are my corollary commandments:
1.) Always take your own bags to any shop whose default bag type is plastic or of whose bagging customs you are ignorant. Always take enough of your own bags to cover all potential purchases. It doesn't matter if the shop is not a supermarket; employees at stores like Myers, David Jones, Kmart and Target all allow you to use your own bags (it's not an insuperable burden for anyone).
2.) Don't buy bottled water or supermarket water containers unless you have lead pipes. Don't buy plastic bottles of any kind. Don't drink softdrinks; they're bad for your health and if you drink them you are childish and should feel ashamed (also, Powerade and Gatorade are never necessary if you have water and the right kind of food (ok, if you're severely dehydrated it is a good idea to take in water with electrolytes, but it's usually not too hard to avoid becoming severely dehydrated)).
3.) If you are in the habit of getting takeaway coffee, purchase a Keepcup immediately. Baristas are perfectly happy to fill a cup you bring along, as long as it's of the right size that they can charge you a standard rate (thanks to S.M.).
4.) Avoid getting smoothies, milkshakes or Easy Way-type iced teas. If you really like these things, you can probably get your own big re-usable cup for employees at such places to fill (if it has the same volume as one of their plastic containers, it should be no problem).
5.) Minimise garbage so you can minimise garbage bag use. Try composting if possible.
6.) Try to avoid plastic-wrapped foods at the supermarket.
7.) Try to avoid plastic packaging in general, as much as is reasonable.
8.) If you are a parent, don't buy new toys for your kids. You almost certainly have family friends with spare toys, and you can also find stuff at Vinny's and antique stores.
2.) Don't buy bottled water or supermarket water containers unless you have lead pipes. Don't buy plastic bottles of any kind. Don't drink softdrinks; they're bad for your health and if you drink them you are childish and should feel ashamed (also, Powerade and Gatorade are never necessary if you have water and the right kind of food (ok, if you're severely dehydrated it is a good idea to take in water with electrolytes, but it's usually not too hard to avoid becoming severely dehydrated)).
3.) If you are in the habit of getting takeaway coffee, purchase a Keepcup immediately. Baristas are perfectly happy to fill a cup you bring along, as long as it's of the right size that they can charge you a standard rate (thanks to S.M.).
4.) Avoid getting smoothies, milkshakes or Easy Way-type iced teas. If you really like these things, you can probably get your own big re-usable cup for employees at such places to fill (if it has the same volume as one of their plastic containers, it should be no problem).
5.) Minimise garbage so you can minimise garbage bag use. Try composting if possible.
6.) Try to avoid plastic-wrapped foods at the supermarket.
7.) Try to avoid plastic packaging in general, as much as is reasonable.
8.) If you are a parent, don't buy new toys for your kids. You almost certainly have family friends with spare toys, and you can also find stuff at Vinny's and antique stores.
For those tempted, note that 'tu quoque' responses to this kind of thing are pointless and irrelevant (even if people who say these things often fail to live up to their ideals, that doesn't mean you don't have an obligation to follow the ideals - i.e. that the ideals are not, in fact, ideals). In any case, I myself have very recently begun to follow these commandments (admittedly, I don't have children and I only just thought of the smoothie one while writing this).
No comments:
Post a Comment