Plastic is everywhere – from its massive production it goes into our homes, from there into rivers, oceans, hungry animals find it and ingest it, some of them we catch and eat, and the cycle repeats. Sometimes people do it purposefully and other times accidentally. It has become a massive global issue, and we all need to get more involved in the steps for a better future, in order to preserve the resources our unique planet gave us.
We, the people living in the region of Canterbury, are all well aware of the beauty our lands have. We have stunning beaches, mountains, endless coastlines, rivers and it makes no wonder why so many people are taken by our landscapes and desire to spend holidays here, or maybe even settle permanently. Suppose we want to maintain this gem for our future generations. In that case, we must take actions and try and educate ourselves as much as possible about the global issue of plastic pollution.
Recycling
Not the whole amount of plastic people discard throughout the day is recycled, which might be due to various reasons. It may be inconvenient for some, especially when it comes to all the people without recycling pick-up point near their houses. Moreover, many people we talked to have the willingness, but lack of space in their homes makes it hard to manage and separate their waste. Shockingly, big portion of our society had even given up on this matter. For others, the struggle is to understand the recycling system and find the whole thing a bit too overwhelming. And what happens quite often too, is that people have the desire to do the right thing, but not separating the recyclable items from others in the right way and creating a costly trouble. When not separated the whole portion properly is considered as contaminated and eventually sent back.
We were thinking of all the possible plastic items that majority of people use daily. So, what is a house without milk? An item found in almost every store, used by many regularly and available in easy to carry plastic bottles and lighter than the glass bottles, becomes the most common product in many homes. Probably because if it gets dropped on the ground, it has a bigger chance of survival, rather than the glass one. In our busy schedules, while trying to fit a breakfast meal in the brief time we have at home, before going to work, many of us like to prepare a quick cereal, porridge, smoothie or even just to splash some milk in the morning coffee. But does it all get recycled? This is why we would remind people about it and point out that cleaning out milk bottles is a vital part of recycling and eliminates possible contamination with the dry materials when done properly.
The Sustainable Initiatives Fund (SIFT) helps funding initiatives in the Canterbury region, and they have done some great work funding machinery for recycling plastic milk bottles. They’ve been involved in environmental sustainability and helping raising funds for also numerous projects.
The Effects of Plastic Pollution
Our lowland rivers and streams right now are generally polluted. Some of the aquifers are being overdrawn and the Canterbury mudfish, also known as kowaro, has become an endangered species. Over 50 types of fish have been revealed to consume our plastic junk at sea around the globe. There was a terrifying case of a sea turtle with a stuck plastic straw up its nose, thank god the poor creature was found, the straw removed and the team released the animal back into its natural habitat.
The digestion of plastic from all animal species is extremely dangerous, as it gives them a false belief that they are full, leading them to unrealised starvation and dead for many. Some of the fish surviving with bellies full of plastic are getting caught and later on eaten by us and the plastic goes into our bodies. And here goes the saying “you are what you eat”, so maybe we can now call ourselves plastic people. Even by being on a vegan diet we probably won’t escape the consumption of some plastic, as particles were found present on many of tap or bottled water sources around the globe.
A big concern with plastic pollution everywhere is its connection to climate change. The greenhouse effect determines the average temperature of our planet and this is caused by gas that is absorbing and releasing radiant energy within the thermal infrared range. Warming effect has been produced by the increase in the atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. More than 40% higher emissions are reported today, in comparison to 1990. We had the hottest decade recently and this year might even be one of the warmest.
The amount of plastic on our lands that is either littered or inadequately disposed of is even more concentrated than the plastic waste in the water. This is polluting our soil and posing a threat to plants, all animal species and again – to us.
