Everything We Buy is Packaged in Plastic

Everything we buy is packaged in large plastic clamshells. Even small printer ink cartridges are packaged in plastic 4 times larger than the item itself. Salads, sandwiches, and meat are sold in plastic containers. Consumerism dictates that goods need to be presented in big, flashy plastic packaging. And as a result, the average American throws away around 185 pounds of plastic per year; that’s 60 million pounds per year.

We don’t recycle plastic in the US; instead, we ship it to Asia where they’re supposed to recycle it.  While they recycle about 5% of our plastic waste, the rest of it is illegally burned at midnight to hide from law enforcement.  Burning plastic emits dioxins that are potentially cancerous and pollute the air. The fumes singe their sinuses and leaves a sickly film in their throats. They don’t exercise or go outdoors anymore.

Now that China will not take our plastic waste, Malaysia has become the new dumping ground for US plastic scrap. Most of this plastic is from America, and a majority of the plastic is for food packaging. What doesn’t get recycled is dumped illegally, burned at night, loaded in waterways, and piled into open fields. Fish and mammals mistake plastic for food and their bodies are filled with plastic.  The food we eat contains plastic and our bodies are not designed to digest plastic waste.

Malaysia is sending a message to America: “America, the way you dump your waste on us … it is very hypocritical. Stop sending your rubbish to other countries and start managing it yourself.” Shame on us!

We need to stop our addiction to plastic that is fueled by the petroleum companies and our need for convenient packaging. Cities in California now ban plastic grocery bags and plastic straws. Consumers need to demand that grocery and retail stores stop selling prepackaged goods in clamshells. Everyone needs to drink fluids in reusable containers. Buy cooking ingredients like flour, nuts, and seeds in bulk using your reusable glass containers instead of single-use plastic containers.  And shampoos, conditioners, dish soap and laundry detergent can be purchased in bulk using your own containers. Check online to see where you can purchase items from zero waste or health food stores.

I am making a video showing how you can stop using single-use plastic containers and I’ll share it with you next week.  If we don’t drastically reduce the amount of plastic we use, plastic waste will consume and kill us.

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