Reuse – Page 2 – Health4earth

World Plastic Treaty

Plastic is a problem not just because it becomes litter but because it poses a real and immediate threat to human health. We must reduce the plastic we consume! Please sign the petition below from Earthday.org

Please sign the petition calling for a strong Global Plastics Treaty.
SIGN NOW

Plastics have a huge impact on human health, leaching harmful chemicals into our food, water, and air leading to hormonal issues,² increased cancers risks,³ and developmental issues.⁴ As the plastics breakdown into micro and nano-plastics they are able to penetrate every aspect of our lives and their production pumps emissions directly into the atmosphere further exacerbating the climate crisis.⁵ That’s why Earth Day 2024’s theme is Planet vs. Plastics, which we believe embodies the struggle we all face for human and planetary health. We must demand action from world leaders to address the issue. The Global Plastics Treaty is the first step to united global action⁶ — but we need to make sure that they commit to effective measures instead of just do lip service.
Please sign the petition calling for a strong Global Plastics Treaty.
SIGN NOW

As with any international treaty, success is impossible without strict enforcement and commitment by participating countries.

Here are our demands to the United Nations and World Government Organizations:

-Support a highly ambitious Global Plastic Treaty that binds all to the same standards
-A 60% of reduction of all fossil fuel-based plastic production by 2040
-Require producers and retailers of plastics to be liable for the cost of any environmental or health-related damages in accordance with the “producer pays” principle
-Public and private sector investments in innovation to replace all fossil fuel-based plastics
-Ban all plastic-related tobacco products including, but not limited to tobacco filters and e-cigarettes
-Ban the export of plastic waste
-End the incineration of plastic waste
-Support innovative solutions and alternatives to plastic in all sectors
-Fully finance education and public awareness campaigns to inform the public about reasons and strategies for ending plastic pollution

Footnotes:

1. The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/22/microplastics-revealed-in-placentas-unborn-babies

2. The Harvard Gazette: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/01/plastic-additive-linked-to-excessive-reproductive-abnormalities/

3. The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/29/plastics-cause-wide-ranging-health-issues-from-cancer-to-birth-defects-landmark-study-finds

4. National Institutes of Health: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5615581/

5. Center for International Environmental Law: https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Fueling-Plastics-Fossils-Plastics-Petrochemical-Feedstocks.pdf

6. United Nations: https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/historic-day-campaign-beat-plastic-pollution-nations-commit-develop

Let’s End the Age of Plastic!

Plastic pollutes our Earth and is harmful to our health!

Plastic is made from fossil fuels with many toxic chemicals added.

This post has nothing to do with Greenpeace. I liked this logo

If plastic were a country it would be the 5th largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Plastic pollutes our planet at every stage of its life, it also causes disease and death.

Plastic is made from fossil fuels and also toxic chemicals. Many thousands of unregulated chemicals are added to make plastic soft, hard; fire resistant or whatever chemicals are needed to create the plastic product. These harmful chemicals leach into the food and drinks of the products they package.

Just knowing this about plastic do you really want to package your food or drinks in it? Not only is plastic leaching into our food, but it is also shedding particles everywhere. These particles, called microfibers, can be found every place on Earth and these microfibers carry with them the toxic plastic chemicals contained in plastic. Many of us consume a credit card of plastic particles a week.

More bad news about plastic! Plastic is difficult to recycle. All the chemicals and different types of plastic make it hard to recycle and hard to turn into new markets. Recycling plastic makes it more toxic. Only about 5 to 9 percent of all the plastic produced has ever been recycled.

Every person on our planet needs to reduce their dependence on plastic, most of all our children. We don’t know what the long-term effects will be, but many of the chemical additives in plastic are known to cause cancer and other serious diseases. PFAS, phthalates and bisphenols and many others, added to plastic, should be taken seriously, and the producers and manufacturers of plastic need to be held responsible for the harm they contribute to our health and our planet.

Please sign this petition calling for the US to join the Global Plastics Treaty encouraging the White House to commit to end the production and sale of single-use plastics, combat plastic pollution, and require producers and retailers of plastics to be liable for the cost of any environmental or health-related damages.

Most important, start this moment to reduce your plastic exposure/ footprint.

Always carry a reusable glass or metal water bottle, and reusable shopping bags with you.
Learn to refuse single-use plastics, such as plastic water bottles and coffee cups, straws, plastic bags and plastic utensils.
Purchase fruit and produce in the bulk section, and don’t place items in plastic bags.
Always search out products in glass jars instead of plastic containers.
When you must buy plastic products, choose ones that you can recycle rather than ones you must put in the trash.
Bring your own containers and shop the bulk section of your local food coop.
Purchase clothing made from cotton and wool instead of polyester or poly fibers. https://www.npr.org/2023/07/19/1188343293/is-toxic-fashion-making-us-sick-a-look-at-the-chemicals-lurking-in-our-clothes
Store food in glass containers instead of plastic.
Ditch the baggies!

Reading list

https://scienceinfo.net/how-much-plastic-do-we-eat-every-day-every-month-and-all-our-life.html

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/new-zealand-ban-plastic-fruit-vegetable-bags-world-first-carrier-bags-environment-b1091015.html?ref=futurecrunch.com

Press Release | Press Releases | News | U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon (senate.gov) Plastic Action Month

How plastics are poisoning us – The Daily Climate

How Plastics Are Poisoning Us — Beyond Plastics – Working To End Single-Use Plastic Pollution

The missing science: Could our addiction to plastic be poisoning us? (unep.org)

“It’s As If They’re Poisoning Us”: The Health Impacts of Plastic Recycling in Turkey | HRW

http://defendourhealth.org/blog/the-chemical-footprint-of-a-plastic-bottle-webinar/

Earth Day 2024

https://www.npr.org/2023/07/19/1188343293/is-toxic-fashion-making-us-sick-a-look-at-the-chemicals-lurking-in-our-clothes

End Plastic Pollution

Please sign the petition calling for the US to join the Global Plastics Treaty, you can help encourage the United States to end the production and sale of single-use plastics by 2030, introduce measures to combat plastic pollution by regulating the entire life cycle of plastic, and requiring producers and retailers of plastics to be liable for the cost of any environmental or health-related damages.

Reuse, Reuse, Refill, Repeat

It is World Refill Day! One of the best ways to reduce your plastic footprint is to refill your own containers. Grains, nuts, beans, and spices are so easy to purchase in bulk. From my experience, food coops are the easiest places to bring and use your own containers. Yesterday, my husband and I filled over ten of our own containers at a food coop. That’s a huge reduction in packaging! Don’t start with more than two or three items. Those at the coop will be glad to help you get started. Usually you begin with a tare weight of your container, fill your container with the item you want, label the number of the product on the container with the tare weight. Your coop might have a different process, but it will be similar to this. It sounds confusing, but it is easy when you see the entire process.

As a global movement, we have the power to create a wave of change. By choosing to reuse, we’re saving millions of pieces of plastic and sending a message to the rest of the world that the solutions to plastic pollution and the climate crisis are there – and together we can keep our environment, oceans, cities and communities plastic-free for the future.

Our throwaway culture is polluting our planet and we need to turn off the tap when it comes to single-use plastic. Globally, we use millions of tonnes every year and it’s becoming clear that we can’t recycle our way out of our plastic problem. Plastic is not only polluting our planet, impacting communities around the world, and contributing to the climate crisis, but it’s making its way into our bodies through the air we breathe and the food we eat.

We urgently need to shift from our disposable, single-use culture to a more sustainable, circular future, with reuse & refill at the centre. World Refill Day – Refill – Join the Refill Revolution

TOGETHER WE ARE POWERFUL

Reuse and Reduce

Refill your own containers.

Refilling an olive oil bottle.

Refill soaps, body lotion, and shampoo, too!

Buy Nothing!

Recycle or Landfill?

It is America Recycles Day. Is it a joke or is it real?

Producers of plastic need to be held responsible for the environmental disaster they have created! What do all those recycling numbers (1-7) mean?

Are we living in a fantasy world about recycling? For many years I have been so hopeful and happy as recycling has become the norm, but now new studies show it is not as wonderful as we had hoped. Only 5 to 9 percent of plastic produced has ever been recycled. The fact is, a lot of plastic packaging, even with those silly 1-7 numbers, is NOT recyclable! Companies and plastic producers **greenwash by claiming to recycle more than they do, and they greenwash by claiming their product is recyclable.

What about recycling paper, metal and glass? Are these recyclables? Paper, metal, and glass are valuable to recyclers, and do have a new life when recycled. Paper, glass and metal all have markets for their recycled material and can be recycled over and over.

Plastic is another issue. Markets for plastic are scarce. Also, plastic is loaded with harmful chemicals, and after being recycled the toxics become more concentrated. Even though the plastic chemical industry says they are recycling their products, the reality is very different. It makes me very sad, but I’m afraid the recycling of plastic is becoming a myth

“There’s a long history of corporations, and especially plastic makers, touting their products as recyclable to prevent regulation and public backlash. Many plastic items in the grocery store have a set of three arrows forming a triangle with a number in the middle—but it’s not a recycling symbol. It’s a resin stamp indicating roughly the type of plastic it is. The petrochemical industry created it to make consumers think the item is recyclable.” Greenpeace Report: ‘Most Plastic Is Just Not Recyclable’

Landfill or recycle: Working to recycle is still better than sending the packaging to the landfill. The plastic will sit in the landfill 5oo or longer years, where at least with recycling there is a chance, maybe someday, it will be turned into something new. Officials where I live claim collected plastic is turned into decking, siding, and lawn chairs. I still hope that is the case!

As a society we need to hold the producers of plastic accountable to create a product that can be recycled, a product that doesn’t contain toxic chemicals. Producers of plastic need to be held accountable for their product’s end of life.

Please recycle as much as you can, but also reduce the plastic that you use and plastic. Our planet and your health will be better for it! Thank you.

**What is Greenwashing? Pretending to be greener than in reality you are.

TerraCycle Collects Plastic Waste. Does It Really Get Recycled?

(bloomberg.com) Greenpeace report finds most plastic goes to landfills as production ramps up : NPR

Plastic is not Recyclable

If plastic were a country, it would be the fifth largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Plastic is stuffed with harmful chemicals, and even though we are told it is recyclable this report shows how plastic recycling is NOT working!

Greenpeace report finds most plastic goes to landfills as production ramps up : NPR

Greenpeace Report: ‘Most Plastic Is Just Not Recyclable’

“More plastic is being produced, and an even smaller percentage of it is being recycled,” says Lisa Ramsden, senior plastic campaigner for Greenpeace USA. “The crisis just gets worse and worse, and without drastic change will continue to worsen as the industry plans to triple plastic production by 2050.”

Coca Cola produces 3 million tons of plastic packaging a year – equivalent to 200,000 bottles a minute. That needs to change.

How about a dose of chemicals?

Halloween Creativity

Halloween is a great time to be creative. I love the original costumes that parade to my front door. For me the challenge is how to be plastic-free? I don’t like candy packaging that can’t be recycled and will lie in a garbage dump for 5oo years and struggle every year to find a sustainable treat. Beyond Plastic has some terrific decorating, costume and treat suggestions for a plastic-free Halloween:

First, create a reusable bag to carry with you. turn a washable shopping bag inside and decorate your bag. A perfect way to have your original candy collection bag!

Turn your clean reusable bag inside out and decorate.

Plastic-free ideas from Beyond Plastic:

Pick plastic-free packages. If you need to stick to packaged candies, there are some options that come wrapped in foil or small thin cardboard boxes. Candies like Dots, Milk Duds, and Junior Mints come in small cardboard boxes, Tootsie Rolls and other fruit chews and Dubble Bubble come wrapped in paper, and there are many small Halloween-themed chocolates that come wrapped in foil that, at least in theory, could be collected and recycled

Costumes

Try to avoid buying new costumes in one of those desperate last-minute trips to the seasonal Halloween Stores that pop up like mushrooms in October because they are cheaply made and are almost always made entirely from plastic.

Instead, plan ahead and visit your local thrift store to find they key elements you need to make your own costumes. Most thrift stores also have pre-loved costumes for sale and you may find a great ready-made costume that way if you start looking early enough. You can also try to borrow either a whole costume or the key elements you need to create your own from a friend or family member. I’ve found that social media can be a big help in crowdsourcing costume ideas, entire costumes, or just certain “ingredients” for them.

Likewise, if you have costumes your kids have outgrown or that you’ve grown tired of, snap a few photos of them and invite your friends to use them this year. Hopefully, they’ll return the favor and you can all save some time, money, and material from the landfill this way.

Decorations

If you want to deck out your house, go for it! But do your best to steer clear of single-use and cheap plastic items that are likely to end up in the trash after a single use. Fortunately, nature makes a gorgeous line of non-toxic, fully compostable Halloween decorations in the form of pumpkins and other decorative gourds along with hay bales, reeds, and ornamental corn.

Here are a few ideas to try, all of which are great activities to do with kids:

Carve pumpkins (this one goes without saying!)
- Consider inviting some friends to join you outside on a sunny weekend day and serve (reusable) mugs of mulled cider and donuts to make it a party.
- After you’ve scooped out the seeds from your pumpkins, assign someone to clean the goop off them and then roast them for a nutritious and tasty fall snack. Scroll down to the end of this post for the simple directions to make roasted pumpkin seeds.
- Click here for some great jack-o-lantern ideas. One fun switch can be to cut the bottom of the pumpkin off rather than the top and rest it on a plate with the cut side down. This allows you to retain the stem which you can turn into an interesting hairdo feature. We also love the “puking” pumpkin concept in which you use the “guts” of the pumpkin.
- Help younger kids to draw their designs on and make sure to handle any tricky knife-work.
- Provide candles or LED lights for each pumpkin and light them up when night falls for all to enjoy.
Make your own scarecrows. Dig through your ragbag to find some old clothes, buy a bale of hay, stuff the clothes with with hay, and top with a pumpkin head or a burlap or paper grocery bag on which you’ve drawn a funny face. When you’re through with the scarecrows, remove the hay, wash the old clothes and either return them to the rag bag or donate them if there’s still life in them, and compost the rest of the materials. If you live near a farm, note that many farm animals love to eat discarded pumpkins.
Choose LEDs. If you want to light your house up at night beyond the jack-o-lanterns, make sure you purchase LED string lights as they use significantly less energy (hence lower carbon emissions) and will also last longer than incandescent bulbs will.
Make “Halloween Trees”. This idea comes from a project that our digital director grew up doing and that she now does with her own kids. Search outside for fallen branches that mimic the look of gnarled spooky old trees. “Plant” the tree branch in a pot of dirt. Then let the fun begin! Make decorations by cutting bats, black cats and witches out of construction paper and hanging them from the branches with string. Search for small rounded or rectangular stones to serve as gravestones that you can write or paint on “RIP So and So”, “Here Lies…”, and half bury them in the dirt. If you feel like getting really creative, bust out the clay and sculpt some pumpkins, a witch or a skeleton to sprinkle around the ground below the tree. This can keep kids entertained for hours and you can save the best decorations for years to come and continue building on your spooky scenes. Beyond Plastic
Make Halloween Plastic-Free! — Beyond Plastics – Working To End Single-Use Plastic Pollution
More plastic-free Halloween ideas.

Too Much, Not Enough

Drought, famine, flooding, storms, hurricanes. We are living at a time of extremes. There is either not enough water or too much water? Is our beautiful fragile planet paying us back for all the abuse it takes? I think the warming of the oceans has a lot to do with our extremes. Our oceans absorb the carbon dioxide and pollution causing them to warm and oceans have a lot to do with weather systems. Climate change also impacts the intensity of Hurricanes. In recent years, a higher proportion fell into Category 4 and 5, a trend that is expected to continue.

We aren’t doing enough to stop polluting our air. I love this climate poster but it is missing one crucial aspect: Use less plastic! Plastic production is a big contributor to more air pollution. Plastic is made from fossil fuels and contains many harmful chemicals. Also, there is new evidence that plastic pollution is making our oceans more acidic. https://health4earth.com/2022/07/26/how-about-a-dose-of-chemicals/

Our planet needs everyone to do their part. Start by driving less and buying less, and many of the others will fall into line! Individual action is a powerful tool for reversing the climate crisis, especially when millions of us unite together.

Reading list:

Amid a massive American clean energy shift, grid operators play catch-up – Minnesota Reformer

House Committee Investigates the Role of PR Firms in Spreading Climate Disinformation | Sierra Club

Dutch City Is World’s First to Ban Meat Advertising – EcoWatch

Climate Change Leaves Flood Maps Outdated, FEMA Says – EcoWatch

Pakistan Floods: What Role Did Climate Change Play? – EcoWatch

Tell President Biden and U.S. climate negotiators: The world must address climate losses and damages (sierraclub.org)

The Planet | Alexander Verbeek 🌍 | Substack

Plastic Free July

Welcome to Plastic Free July

Be healthier and avoid the chemicals contained in plastic!

Plastic Free July is about creating awareness about our plastic problem and to encourage individuals to move to a plastic-free lifestyle. Working together we can make a difference to reduce our plastic use and create a world free of plastic pollution.

Other than being light weight, plastic is not a good product. It is made of fossil fuels, and the production of plastic creates air pollution. It pollutes our waterways and land. Plastic also contains toxic chemicals which can poison our food and health. https://azchemistry.com/list-of-chemicals-in-plastic

Plastic particles have been found in the air we breathe and the water we drink. Plastic has been found in our blood, lungs, and the clothes we wear and food we eat. A study says we eat a credit card of plastic a week. https://www.onegreenplanet.org/environment/study-finds-we-eat-a-credit-card-worth-of-plastic-every-week/ Doesn’t this make you want to reduce your plastic?

Plastic reduction is not easy, start small with one thing to eliminate. I have 4 ideas for your #plasticfreeJuly: Start your #plasticfree month by deciding to bring your own bags and decide “no plastic bags” or use a reusable water bottle and choose not to purchase bottled water or soda. Or decide every bit of plastic you purchase must be recyclable (a lot is not), and then make sure it is recycled. Maybe, bare purchase your produce or meat without plastic. You know what plastic you use. Look at the plastic waste you create, what can you eliminate? Good Luck!

I challenge you to a July without plastic bags or plastic bottles.

States and Countries are changing the discussion on plastic:

Maine shifts the cost of recycling and trash to the manufacturers. Shifting the Costs of Recycling to Manufacturers, Not Consumers | Sierra Club

Landmark legislation in California will reduce single-use plastic by 25% over the next ten years. The ambitious law requires at least 30% of plastic items sold or bought in California are recyclable by 2028 and economic responsibility falls to producers. It’s the first state in the US to approve such sweeping restrictions. Guardian

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-59357222 Ban on single-use moves forward in England

London theatre to ban visitors from bringing single-use plastic bottles | Royal Court theatre | The Guardian

Recycling Myth of the Month: Those numbered symbols on single-use plastics do not mean ‘you can recycle me’ – Oceana

2022-tips-to-use-less-plastic | Choose to Reuse (hennepin.us)

Plastic In Our Food and Air

Do we have too much plastic in our world?

Do we really want to ingest plastic microbeads every time we eat and drink?

Currently I am participating in a community plastic challenge working to reduce the plastic we send to landfills. I’m challenging myself to think of new ways I can reduce plastic in my home and for my family. It is impossible to eliminate all plastic, but we can be healthier by reducing plastic’s impact in our homes and lives.

These are the things I am working on to reduce plastic in my home:

1. Purchase fresh unpackaged produce. Always travel with reusable bags and reusable bottles and containers.

2. Store leftovers in glass containers and jars.

3. Never purchase take-out unless their containers are reusable or compostable.

4. Only cook in glass or metal pans

5. Purchase glass containers over plastic containers. Good examples are mustard, honey, and vinegar.

6. Make a conscious effort to purchase clothes, towels and sheets made of organic cotton and wool, and keeping our surroundings dusted and vacuumed will eliminate some of the microplastics we breathe.

What are the facts we know about plastic?

-Plastic production pollutes our water and air

-Plastic microfibers have been found in the food we eat.

-Micro fibers of plastic are in the clothes we wear and therefore in the air we breathe.

-Plastic is the most common litter found in the oceans.

-Studies are just beginning on how harmful plastic is to our health.