by Alyson Breisch

Southern Conference Minister

for Health and Wellness

Single-use plastic items are one of the biggest offenders when it comes to plastic pollution. Ninety percent of the plastic items in our daily lives are used once and then discarded. Examples include grocery bags, plastic wrap, disposable cutlery, straws, coffee cups and lids, plastic-wrapped vegetables and meats in supermarkets, wet wipes, cotton swaps, sanitary products, and cigarettes. Americans throw away around 25 billion Styrofoam coffee cups every year! Noticing how prevalent these items are in your daily life is a good first step. Take note of how often you rely on these products and then explore ways to replace them with reusable versions. Ask yourself whether you need a particular product or whether you can use something else. Two examples: keep silverware in your office desk to avoid use of plastic cutlery; take a travel mug for filling at your favorite coffee vendor rather than getting your coffee in a Styrofoam cup and plastic lid.

Plastic water and beverage bottles: Each year, close to 20 billion plastic bottles are tossed in the trash rather than recycled. This means that 80 percent of the plastic water bottles purchased end up in landfills and break down into tiny toxic particles that contaminate the soil and waterways, and enter the food chain. Instead of purchasing single-use water bottles, carry a reusable, refillable bottle with you. If there are concerns about the quality of your local tap water, look for a reusable model with a built-in filter.

Plastic bags: A whopping 2 million plastic bags are used every minute worldwide. While plastic take-home bags from grocery and convenience stores can be recycled, too many are discarded instead. An earth-friendly alternative is to bring your own reusable bags to stores. You can also buy cloth or mesh bags to carry fresh produce to the cashier. Keeping them in a convenient spot in your car makes it more likely you will remember to take them with you into the store. Purchase canvas shopping bags and leave them in your car for use when you go shopping for clothing or household items.

Food packaging: When possible, buy in bulk rather than purchasing single-servings of food. When possible, purchase meat and seafood selections wrapped in paper instead of plastic containers, bags, and wrap. When cooking at home, use glass and metal containers for left-overs rather than zipper-closing plastic bags. When ordering food in, tell the restaurant you don’t need any plastic cutlery. You can also ask if items can be delivered in non-plastic containers. When dining out, you might bring your own food-storage containers for leftovers.

Recycle: less than 14 percent of plastic packaging is recycled. It can be confusing on what can and can’t go in the recycle bin. Look for the number on the bottom of a container. Most beverage and liquid cleaner bottles will be #1 (PET), which is commonly accepted by most curbside recycling companies. Containers marked #2 (HDPE; typically slightly heavier-duty bottles for milk, juice, and laundry detergent) and #5 (PP; plastic cutlery, yogurt and margarine tubs, ketchup bottles) are also recyclable in some areas. For the specifics sites where various types of items in your area can be recycled, check out Earth911.org’s recycling directory.