Plastic: Past, Present, and Future
If you have been following my first two blogs, you may now be more aware about plastics in our oceans and how dangerous they are for sea animals…and maybe us too. Hopefully, you have also taken some ideas with you on what you can do to help make a difference, regardless of how small your deeds may seem. If you are like me, you may be wondering, how we all got into such a mess. I will be the first to admit that I love some of my plastic products. However, as I learn more about our dilemma, I have been taking a closer look at my actions and what I use.
I am starting to constantly ask myself these 3 questions:
1) What am I willing to give up until my supplies are gone?
2) What other practices or techniques can I put into place in my life to get along differently?
3) What other more sustainable materials can I use?
Allow me to share a true story from 1992.
A fierce storm raged in the western Pacific Ocean on January 10, 1992 while a cargo ship was making its way from China to the United States. Gigantic waves pummeled the stacks of containers on board and some actually fell overboard. When some of the containers burst open, the contents were scattered into the raging sea. Imagine 28,000 plastic bath toys released into the sea…it basically became a giant bathtub!
Can you imagine the thousands of yellow rubber ducks, green turtles and frogs bobbing and scattering all over the ocean? Now that would have been a sight to behold. Within months, some were found on the beaches in Alaska as conscientious people were roaming the beaches to pick up trash. What a surprise! The toys were still intact, some with their colors a bit faded, but otherwise all were as good as new. Unfortunately, stories like this one happen more often than we are aware of and sometimes with different kinds of plastics involved.
This month’s book is: Plastic – Past, Present, and Future by Eun-Ju Kim, illustrated by Ji-Won Lee.
Plastics have been an amazing invention since as early as 1869 when celluloid was created to make billiard balls, which had previously been made out of ivory from elephant tusks. This particular book traces the history of plastics, how it’s produced, its many uses, and how our use has skyrocketed out of control. A fun exercise for you and your family could be to take a stroll through your own house, room by room and notice just how many things you have that are made of plastic.
This book does a good job at giving background as to how our plastic use has evolved from the good to the bad. Some products, in fact, have helped us to lead healthier lives. You may find all the plastics in the medical industry quite eye-opening. You may also be interested in learning how plastics in transportation have been beneficial.
As our plastic usage has increased exponentially, so has the amount of plastic waste in landfills and various habitats. If you take a minute to look at how different materials compare in the time it takes each to biodegrade, the realities are quite shocking.
Do you know how many years it takes plastics to biodegrade? With plastics, recycling works pretty well, but you may be surprised at what a small percentage of our plastics actually get recycled. Much more of our plastic waste ends up in our oceans. If you read last month’s book, Ocean Soup, you will be familiar with some of this author’s commentary on what is ending up in our oceans.
In Plastic: Past, Present, and Future, Eun-Ju Kim gives her readers a great deal of factual information in a manner that is easily understood. The examples of actions being taken by communities to reduce their own use of plastics and inventions being pursued by scientists and young people are an enlightening bonus that can inspire even the youngest of us.
Though the text reading level is more suited to older elementary children and teens, the illustrations can be enjoyed by younger children while hearing this story and learning from it.
Understanding how we got ourselves into a particular situation is the first step to making us truly aware of the problem and its magnitude. So what are some next steps? For me, it is taking a good look at all the plastic products I continually use and find better sources to replace that plastic that will meet my needs. One small step at a time.
What are your ideas on how to reduce plastic waste in everyday life? Please let me know in the comments below!
Many places around the world are trying to make a difference with plastic. Next month let’s look at what the women of Gambia, Africa are doing with One Plastic Bag at a time.