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Plastic. The biggest environmental challenge of the 21st century, according to the UN.
8 to 13 million tons of plastic is what we discard daily. It seems shocking right? But just take a look around you and the bin of your house to see how much you actually use and how it is contained almost everywhere.
Not many people know but plastic, a material once created to save lives, today is responsible for the death of 100,000 marine animals each year. One million plastic bottles are produced per minute in today's world. Of all the plastic produced in the world to date, only 9% has been recycled. If we continue this way, by 2050, there may be more plastic than fish in the seas.
Alarming data, no? But unfortunately numbers don’t generate the impact they should on our lives unless we see the problem through our own eyes.
I can say that one of the most shocking things I've seen in Southeast Asia over the last few months has been film-worthy beaches, with its sands and seas filled with plastic trash. In southern Thailand and Cambodia, I've found everything from plastic toothbrush to plastic toilet seats thrown on the beach. The surprise was not so unexpected, since I had seen the exorbitant amount of plastic that is used in people's daily lives. Coconut water, served inside a plastic bag, with a plastic straw. Oh, and one more plastic bag to carry all that plastic.
Unfortunately, environmental awareness in Asia is still moving slowly, just as in South America. For this to happen a bit faster, we need to do our part and spread more information so that people understand the consequences of what they consume today in the world of tomorrow.
We can all begin to do our part by taking measures sometimes simpler than we imagine. Here are some suggestions for you to get inspired and reduce, little by little, the amount of plastic waste you produce.
SAY NO TO STRAWS
Straw is something so superficial and made of plastic. The raw materials of straws, polypropylene and polystyrene, are not biodegradable and may take up to a thousand years to decompose.
ECOBAG
Try replacing your plastic bags from the market with returnable bags or a bolda or backpack you already have at home.
REUSABLE WATER BOTTLE
Have your own stainless-steel, reusable and insulated bottle of water and avoid having to buy a plastic bottle every time you need water.
PERSONAL HYGIENE
Liquid soaps, which generate tons of packaging, can be exchanged for solids. Cups or menstrual pads replace absorbents - in the long run, it comes out cheaper. Although biodegradable diapers are expensive and cloths need water to wash, they are still environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional diapers.
"INVISIBLE" PLASTIC
The oceans are infested with microplastics less than 5 mm in diameter. This material is present in cosmetics, especially in exfoliators, in glitter (biodegradable glitter already exists in the market), in cleaning products and even in clothes with synthetic materials.
PLASTIC POTS
Replace plastic containers with glass containers. They are more expensive but, because they are much more durable, even compensate in the pocket. There are plastics that release a substance called Bisphenol-A, which increases the incidence of endometrial and ovarian cancer and can even harm male fertility.
AVOID FROZEN FOOD AT THE SUPERMARKET
In addition to not having many nutritional benefits, the frozen food is full of unnecessary packaging that fill our dumps.
BUY PRODUCTS PACKAGED BY CARDBOARD OR GLASS
In the supermarket, in general, the brands have several types of packaging for the same product. Whenever you have an option, avoid plastic, even if it is cheaper. Both glass and cardboard are much easier to recycle and, if discarded incorrectly, take less time to decompose.
Would you like to calculate how much plastic you consume on average per day? Find out now your plastic footprint
*National Geographic has a very interesting session for those who want to read more about the issue and solutions. Click here to take a look!
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