Deadly Convenience: Can we ever give up damaging plastics?

We are sharing with you another thoughtful piece by Humanists Australia member, Elizabeth Dangerfield, the purpose of which is to encourage reflection and dialogue among our members, and supporters more generally.

I never drank coffee until later in life because I hated its taste. Then I discovered expresso capsules and a wide choice of colour coded pods which meant I could have it just as I liked it. My guilt of using such a luxury product was assuaged by the fact that the well-known company that makes the explosive little pods of flavour will take them back and recycle both the spent coffee inside and the colourful metallic encasement. However, a friend recently went to the shop to return her pods for recycling and found she was the only one doing so who had used a paper bag to transport them, other people used plastic bags. Not only that, she had to tip her used pods into a cardboard box lined with a plastic bag!

In the last ten years, we have produced more plastic products than in the last 100 years.

You have to make sure your capsules are well drained before you transport them in a paper bag. Paper bags get soggy with moisture and disintegrate; not so good when you are walking to the bus stop. Plastic bags and liners are much more practical. I suppose you could take the capsules to the shop in a metal bucket, not so convenient but thoughtful; although you would look a bit like Dorothy from Kansas.

Does it matter if the plastic bags and liners were biodegradable? Unfortunately, this is cold comfort as biodegradable plastics just break down into microplastics and smaller nanoplastic particles which are incredibly durable and mobile. We now know that these unseen microscopic bits of plastic are not benign. After only a few human generations, they can be found in environments all around the planet and are passed up food chains in ecosystems. Recent research cited in Science Alert suggests that the average person ingests 74,000 tiny plastic particles a year and they can accumulate in our intestines and other tissues of the body such as the brain and even placentas. It is possible that they may cause inflammatory effects, such as the release of cytokines linked to serious and painful inflammatory bowel disease.

The dilemma with plastics is they are incredibly useful and convenient, all pervasive in our everyday lives, and at the same time harmful and hard to get rid of. Can we give them up for the sake of the environment and for the sake of the health of all organisms living on the planet?

It is only in the last 100 years that plastics have offered us so much and taken so much from us.

Imagine a world without synthetic plastics. That is what the world was like for almost all of human history and prehistory. For most of our time on Earth, we used only what could be found in our natural environment or traded with others. There really wasn’t a concept of rubbish as unused stuff would eventually decompose. Plant and animal materials could be made to suit many purposes but how would you carry a day’s worth of water for the family? Although some natural materials had plastic properties because they could be moulded and formed under heat and pressure you couldn’t use them to make a plastic bucket.

As we settled down, we learnt to make pottery, to make tools and weapons out of metal, but still, they were all the result of products found in the environment. Even at the start of industrialisation, the materials used were those taken from the environment. As mass production grew some people, such as supporters of the Arts and Crafts Movement, regretted the loss of artisan products and tried to reverse the trend of everything being the same. But it was unstoppable, as mass production meant many items of the same quality could be produced quickly and cheaply, but the process still relied on natural materials even if they were refined by the manufacturing process, and they were often heavy and cumbersome, wore out fairly quickly and there were limitations on what could be made.

It is only in the last 100 years that plastics have offered us so much and taken so much from us. At first, synthetic plastics were made from natural materials. Celluloid (cellulose nitrate) invented in the mid-nineteenth century was made from cotton fibres dissolved in nitric and sulphuric acids and then mixed with vegetable oil.

Plastics helped to even out the differences between the rich and not so rich.

The Belgian chemist, Leo Baekeland, patented the first fully synthetic plastic in 1907. It was called Bakelite, and combined two chemicals, formaldehyde and phenol, under heat and pressure. It caused a revolution because it could be mass produced and therefore was cheap and Bakelite products looked like more expensive and desirable products. In that respect, plastics helped to even out the differences between the rich and not so rich. Nylon was patented in 1935 and was a true polymer, that is, a chain of repeating smaller molecules. All modern plastics are polymers. Women’s stockings made of nylon at the beginning of World War Two were extremely popular. They were more affordable and elastic than the expensive silk stockings.

Nylon was produced by Du Pont, a chemical company. Such companies formed alliances with fossil fuel companies to produce plastics from the waste products of fossil fuel production. One such waste product was ethylene. In 1933 polyethylene was marketed as a wonder product because it was strong, flexible and heat resistant and could be made into an enormous number of products. It is now the world’s most abundant plastic. Other types of plastics followed and the range of uses of plastic expanded. These wonder products became so cheap that they could be thrown out after a single use.  

Plastics started to become popular in the 1960s but even in the 1970s plastic grocery bags were a rare novelty. By 1985, 70% of supermarkets in America offered customers plastic bags but most people preferred brown paper bags. There was a big push by plastic manufacturers to replace paper bags with plastic ones. In the 1990s plastic bags superseded paper grocery bags; not surprisingly as plastic grocery bags had handles, they could be held in one hand, they were stronger than paper bags and did not tear so easily and they did not get soggy if something spilt, and they were cheaper.

Plastics have made our modern lives possible and contributed to the quality and equality life 

A shopping bag is a humble convenience, but plastic items have made our modern lives possible and contributed to the quality and equality of life. There are things that would not exist without plastics. For example, plastic joints in our bodies and artificial arteries. The value of plastic items should not be underestimated. It is hard to imagine a television or computer that is not made of plastic of some sort. If you want convincing, just do an audit of your own home. Count the items that are wholly or partly made of plastics and the number of items that have no plastics at all. Could you replace any of the plastic items you possess with non-synthetic items?

The problem is not that plastics are convenient and useful; the problem is that many of us want something so convenient that we use it once and throw it away. Single use products create a need that didn’t exist before.  Australia has excellent quality tap water, its quality is tested, and it is readily available, but Australia has one of the highest consumption of bottled water.  Around 600 million litres of bottled water are purchased every year, generating 60,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. According to the Billi website, it can take up to 3L of water and 250ml of oil to produce 1L of bottled water and bottled water is expensive.

Basically, 100% of all plastics we have created still exist in one form or another

The Sydney Morning Herald reported early this year that the world’s population used 139 million tonnes of single-use plastics in 2021, up from 133 million tonnes in 2019 – an increase of one kilogram per person. Unfortunately, the fossil fuel industry, far from concentrating on recycling, is increasing its production of plastics.  National Geographic reported in 2019 that half of all plastics ever manufactured were made in the previous 15 years and that production increased exponentially, from 2.3 million tons in 1950 to 448 million tons by 2015. Most disturbing is that production will double by 2050. If this happens it will be a tragedy of epic proportions.

By 2050 plastics in the oceans are likely to outweigh all the fish in the sea.

We used to think that the 70% of the planet covered by water was so vast that anything we discarded would be just a drop in the ocean. Now the drops have added up to billions and billions of items of plastic rubbish clogging up our rivers, accumulating in our lakes, covering our beaches, and overwhelming our oceans. It is a worrying fact that basically, 100% of all plastics we have created still exist in one form or another but what is even more sobering is that by 2050 plastics in the oceans are likely to outweigh all the fish in the sea. The oceans are not as big as they seem after all which is not surprising given that in the last ten years, we have produced more plastic products than we did in the last 100 years.

According to a 2022 UNESCO article: plastic waste makes up 80% of all marine pollution and estimates that 8 to 10 million metric tons of plastic end up in the ocean each year. Currently, there are about 50-75 trillion pieces of plastic and microplastics in the ocean.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is about 3 times the size of France.

Much of the plastic floats around the world and ends up in huge accumulations in the oceans. There are five huge patches of this plastic rubbish and the biggest, called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP), is in the North Pacific between Hawaii and California. This patch moves around a bit with the seasons but estimates from extensive sampling indicate Since the 1970s it has been growing significantly, in fact exponentially as the population and use of plastics grows. If we do not change our behaviour then soon all oceans will be covered by rafts of plastic. Already the central area of the GPGP contains more than 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic that weigh around 80,000 tonnes.

Around 92% of the mass of the GPGP plastic debris is found floating in the top few metres of the ocean but 94% of plastic items are microplastics and they can be found from the surface to the floor of the ocean. The plastics in these accumulations on the surface can take 500 to 1000 years to degrade, usually into microplastics.

Plastic debris in the oceans can get anywhere. A study reported by Clean-up News reveals that a plastic bag, like the kind given away at grocery stores, is now the deepest known piece of plastic rubbish, found at a depth of 10,975 meters (36,000 feet) inside the Mariana Trench.  The Ocean Blue Project reports that microplastics are found in all ocean deep places and in the guts of animals that live there. They are found on Mt Everest and the pristine (or so we thought) Antarctic and even inside us.

Most of the plastic debris in the GPGP is hard plastic, plastic sheet or film, plastic lines, ropes, fishing nets, cylinders, spheres and disks of plastic and fragments of plastic foams and 75% to 86% comes from fishing activities. 

Fishing nets account for 46% of the mass of debris in the GPGP.

This plastic ocean debris impacts hundreds of species of animals including a significant number of which are already threatened with extinction. Animals often ingest plastic debris and sea turtles found near the GPGP have been found to have 74% of their diet made up of plastic.  As you can imagine this diet is not very nutritious. 84% of this plastic debris has one or more persistent bio-accumulative toxic chemicals attached to it. Not only can that poison be a deadly danger to that particular animal but it is concentrated up the food chain and can eventually be ingested by humans. Animals also get entangled in fishing nets which account for 46% of the mass of debris in the GPGP, and so they are choked or slowly starved to death.  As well as a devastating effect on wildlife and ecosystems and possible health effects on humans, marine plastic debris has been estimated to have an economic cost of between $6-19 billion USD due to its impact on tourism, fisheries, aquaculture and the need for clean-ups.

Over a million ocean going animals a year could be killed by plastics.

I have described just one area of the world where plastic debris accumulates in the world. There are four other large areas in the ocean and also plastic debris also accumulates close to the shoreline, on beaches and in our rivers, lakes and estuaries. Eighty one out of 123 marine mammal species are known to have eaten or been entangled in plastic, and all seven sea turtle species are affected. The World Wildlife Fund reports it is estimated that plastic pollution kills 100,000 marine mammals every year. But that is just the tip of the iceberg as it does not take into account the deaths of other types of animals such as birds, reptiles such as turtles, and fish, not to mention the impact of plastics on invertebrates. The figure could well be over a million animals a year killed by plastics.

We are sinking under the weight of our own plastic rubbish and if we don’t do something as individuals and collectively we are going to drown. 

But if plastic is all pervasive and useful what can we as individuals do to help stop the terrible consequences of plastic waste?

One thing you can do is to help stop the huge increase in single-use plastics and throw away items that has occurred over the last decade or so. We didn’t need these things before so we can live without them now. Just reducing your use of these items would make a huge difference because none of these things in the table below need to ever reach the oceans or for that matter end up in landfill, or just casually litter the environment.

We didn’t need these things before so we can live without them now.

Imagine sitting down for dinner and being served a plate full of washed plastic bags with a side of bottle tops. Imagine what they do to your intestines as they just sit in the digestive system causing putrefaction and inflammation because they don’t pass out easily. Would you go back for a second helping? Unfortunately, animals don’t have this choice because no one ever told them that plastic bags were not funny looking fish or squid. So avoid plastic bags like the plague, even those that are biodegradable because they usually biodegrade into microplastics.

Every year, Australians consume more than 5 billion disposable High-Density Polyethylene plastic bags according to the Australia Plastics Recycling Survey. 

Take your own bags shopping and not just grocery shopping. Do not accept plastic bags at shops but ask for an alternative. If enough people do this, firms will start to pack their goodies into sturdy paper bags, or even cloth bags, as some already do. If you end up with a plastic bag, reuse it over and over again. When it cannot be reused any more make sure you secure it in the rubbish so that it cannot escape and be eaten by, or entangle, some unsuspecting animal. Email companies and shops encouraging them to do away with plastic bags or congratulating them for already doing so.

Australians buy almost 15 billion plastic water bottles every year

According to I’m Plastic Free, Australians buy almost 15 billion plastic water bottles every year and many of these end up in landfill or in our waterways. This seems a lot but drinking 2 or 3 bottles of water a day over a year adds up. This terrible waste-producing, animal-killing, environment-destroying habit is clearly unconscionable. Plain tap water from a glass is good for you. Soft drinks often have a high amount of sugar or sugar substitutes so you will be doing yourself a favour switching to plain water and it is much cheaper. Water quality is excellent in Australia but if you are worried about it you can always filter it. Get a reusable glass or ceramic water bottle for when you are at work or exercising. If you like sparkling water then make your own using a soda syphon. You can even add flavourings so you will never have to buy another soft drink or drink out of cans. If you feel like a pick me up take your own mug to the café and get a coffee or buy something in a glass bottle.

It is no wonder we like takeaway food. Many of us are time poor, stressed, feel like we need time off cooking, and some of us are addicted to the irresistible sweetness, saltiness and crunchiness of takeaway. By definition, takeaway food has to be packaged for transport. A lot of the packing is plastic and much of it is contaminated by all that juicy, fatty, stickiness that makes takeaways so enticing but which also makes their containers unsuitable for recycling.

Australia leads the world in takeaway food consumption.

Next time you order a takeaway meal do an audit of all the packaging material. Each type of food will have its own packaging material, some will be wrapped in aluminium foil or cling wrap, then there will be extra packaging for sauces and plastic spoons, forks, knives and stirrers. The drinks often come in plastic containers with lids and plastic straws with Styrofoam or cardboard trays to hold them upright. This equates to an enormous amount of waste plastic that has to be thrown out after one use.

Sustainable Review reported in 2023 that in 2018 an estimated 2025 million takeout containers were used in the European Union alone.  Australia leads the world in eating takeaway food. Kids News reported in 2022 that research commissioned by Deliverect, a global online food company showed that Australians are eating more takeaway food despite the downturn in the economy. 60.47% of Australian consumers were purchasing up to three takeaways in a week. Changing our takeaway habits would have a significant impact on the environment not only because tasty takeaway litter entices animals to eat it, could choke or poison them but because the production, transport and disposal of such packaging contribute significantly to greenhouse gases (around 29% overall) and therefore global warming.

Here are some things you can do to help

1.     Avoid single-use plastic and reduce the ever-growing amount of damaging waste resulting from these unnecessary products. See the RACV article for 20 sustainable alternatives.

2.     Look after plastic items you already have so they have a longer useful life, and reuse plastic items in your home, for example, wash zip lock bags after use and reuse them.

3.     Take the time to find out what facilities there are in your area for recycling plastic items. You might be surprised at how many things can be recycled and help increase the low rate of recycling these items in Australia at present. See the City of Sydney article on recycling as an example.

4.     Spend time sorting out your rubbish so that you can recycle as much as possible. Don’t be guilty of wishful thinking and shove something in the recycled bin because it seems like it should be able to be recycled. Check first or you may contaminate a whole load of otherwise recyclable waste. Don’t put your recycled items in plastic bags and clean out food from items to be recycled as it contaminates otherwise useful recycling products. 

5.     Where you have a choice buy items that are made from recycled material. You will be surprised how many things are. For example, you can buy beautiful clothing made largely from recycled plastic. See the Mindset website for 26 cool things that can be made from recycled plastic.

6.     Avoid items packaged in plastics as far as possible or find more eco-friendly alternatives. The Guardian reports that we currently only recycle 18% of plastic packaging that can be recycled.

7.     Volunteer to help clean up Australia, or just pick up rubbish as you see it when you go for a walk – a pair of tongs comes in handy for this. Tell your family and friends what you are doing to reduce plastic waste. Tell businesses and politicians what you would like to see happen to save our world from plastic pollution. One Planet gives some insight into how we can encourage people to reduce plastic consumption.

It may sound crazy, but for an individual or family, giving up plastic bags, plastic water bottles, and takeaway containers may actually require a lifestyle change such as reducing your activities and commitments, including work (many Australians work long hours, work in stressful environments or are required to work unpaid overtime), so that you have time to bottle your own water, shop more thoughtfully, make your own meals and become an advocate for the environment.  The question is – can you give up or reduce your use of deadly plastics or are they just too convenient? It is worth remembering before answering this question, that our greatest weapon in bringing about change is our buying power. If we don’t buy it, they can’t sell it and they won’t make it. It shouldn’t be the case, but it seems it really is up to us.

In a Single Year, the Average Aussie Discards 130 Kilograms of Plastic.

Elizabeth Dangerfield trained as a zoologist and then became a science teacher and served as Secretary of the Australian Science Teachers Association. She was series editor for a secondary science text for Cambridge University Press. She was an innovative curriculum developer and worked on the first national science curriculum and became a secondary science consultant. Her work has always focussed on social justice and equity. She wrote two books for teachers on how to make science relevant to girls and other students. She worked in social justice areas in the Australian Capital Territory Public Service and also in the Commonwealth Department of Education. As a Director in the Indigenous Branch she was tasked with negotiating education targets for Indigenous students with the states and territories and reporting on outcomes to the Australian Federal Parliament. She has always had a keen interest in protecting the environment. She has written many articles for magazines on an eclectic range of issues and has also edited the Australian Humanist.