Could we live without plastic?

12 January 2018

Julie Gibson has drawn attention to an extended Facebook post by someone who has had a very serious try.  Something for us all to aim at?

The author,  Alice Guy,  sums up her account like this:

So, there it is … some meanderings and ramblings on how we can live our lives with less plastic in it.  I appreciate it might sound a little extreme. But if we all only followed the first few rules, we would make an incredible difference.  Start small and then bit by bit take on new challenges. I promise you it’s addictive!

And in the meantime, here are some things to think about…
On this trajectory, by 2050 there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish. There are desert islands full of trash.  Recycling is no longer enough.  It’s estimated that nearly 1.2 million tonnes of plastics packaging are consumed by households in the UK each year.  From this 1.2 million tonnes, it’s reported that 440,401 tonnes is collected for recycling – an overall 37% recycling rate only.

A million plastic bottles are bought around the world every minute. Every minute! And that number’s expected to rise 20% by 2021. More than 480bn plastic drinking bottles were sold worldwide in 2016.  It’s estimated Americans throw away at least 50 million plastic bottles a day.  18 tonnes of rubbish wash into the sea every year from the River Thames.

This article  from The Guardian is well worth a read - As is this  from the BBC.

Lastly, pretty much every bit of plastic you’ve ever consumed, that has gone into landfill, still exists. How is that sustainable??

Sea of plastic in the Caribbean  -  photo by Caroline Power

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Something for us all to aim at?