- Mr. McGuire’s advice to Benjamin in the 1967 film “The Graduate”
How many times a day do you use plastic? Your morning toothbrush, your car or bike, the serving utensils at meals, the telephone, gym mats, the remote control. Plastic has made our lives easier in many ways. Imagine food preservation without plastic bags and wrap. Imagine camping without plastic to waterproof. Many medical supplies are made of plastic. And many products have been made lighter and less expensive by using plastic in their manufacture.
But alas, this abundant and inexpensive plastic has a cost beyond the price tag.
First, most of our plastics are made of petroleum products. While only 2.6 percent of the oil used in the United States goes toward plastic production (www.polystyrene.org/news/PSPC_flyer.pdf), this equals 539 billion barrels per day to create plastic in the U.S. alone.
Second, plastics do not readily biodegrade. Degradation depends on the type and thickness of the plastic. Thin sheets may degrade more quickly, but solid objects may be inert for hundreds of years. This means that virtually all of the plastic that has been created is still in existence, unless it has been incinerated, not a great option.
Accumulation of plastic as litter is a problem. As plastic accumulates, it ends up in streams and rivers, which take it to the ocean. Sometimes plastic is dumped as garbage directly in the ocean as a disposal method. This has caused gigantic rafts of plastic garbage to form and float in our seas. For more about plastics and ocean degradation, visit www.coastsavers.org/learn.html.
When you go shopping, don’t choose paper or plastic, bring your own reusable bag. The average American uses six or seven bags per week, adding up to 100 billion plastic shopping bags used - and mostly discarded - per year in the U.S.
Our consumer choices have impact. The production and destruction of plastics creates and releases toxins. Making some plastics creates dioxins, phthalates and other toxins, and releases these toxins again if those plastics are burned. When consumers use a lot of plastics, it pushes the market to create more.
Finally, some plastics are suspect in having negative health effects when used in food storage or toys. Plastics are categorized by Society of the Plastics Industry codes - these are the little numbers in the triangle on the back of plastics. Each number denotes a general family of plastic. In terms of health effects, plastics to avoid in food containers or toys include Nos. 3, 6 and 7.
PVC or polyvinyl chloride, No. 3, is found in plastic wrap, baby bottle nipples and shower curtains. Polystyrene, No. 6, is more commonly known as Styrofoam. Migration of styrenes into foods that then get into our bodies have been found with hot or high-fat foods. “Other” is No. 7. The recently infamous bisphenol A is present in some No. 7 plastics. BPA is a synthetic hormone that mimics estrogen and is used to make hard polycarbonate plastic.
All things in moderation! We have more plastic garbage and more plastic-caused toxins than we can handle. So, for the new year, consider making some changes in your plastic use habits, both for your health and for the health of our natural world.
Here are a few suggestions:
• Don’t heat foods in plastic, and especially avoid plastic No. 3, 6 and 7.
• Avoid purchasing unnecessary plastic - can you buy something that isn’t packaged in plastic?
• Reuse what plastic you can, as long as you can do it safely.
• Do not buy water in plastic bottles; use your own refillable container instead.
• Keep reusable bags handy, and get in the habit of taking them to the store.
• Have a safer new year!
Beth Schenk is a registered nurse and women’s health coordinator at St. Patrick Hospital and Health Sciences Center.
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T R Jacobs wrote on Jan 6, 2009 10:47 AM:
Good article about the plastic thing. Not enough people are aware of the dangers of using plastics.
I question your figures on the daily petroleum production in the U S being used for plastic production. According to US Government records, the current total U S consumption figures are 20,680,000 BBLs per day. That is a long way from 539,000,000,000. I think you misplaced a decimal point.
Thanks "