Some people have no qualms about discarding a piece of dental floss, a plastic bag, or whatever non-biodegradable trash they want to get rid of. While it is an eyesore along our highways and byways, when it gets into storm sewers and carried out to sea, it assumes a life of its own. An article in the New York Times highlights how serious this problem is. Below is a section from that article and the link to the article itself.
In 2002, Nature magazine reported that during the 1990s, debris in the waters near Britain doubled; in the Southern Ocean encircling Antarctica the increase was a hundredfold. And depending on where they sample, oceanographers have found that between 60 and 95 percent of today’s marine debris is made of plastic.
Plastic gets into the ocean when people throw it from ships or leave it in the path of an incoming tide, but also when rivers carry it there, or when sewage systems and storm drains overflow. Despite the Ocean Dumping Reform Act, the U.S. still releases more than 850 billion gallons of untreated sewage and storm runoff every year, according to a 2004 E.P.A. report. Comb the Manhattan waterfront and you will find, along with the usual windrows of cups, bottles and plastic bags, what the E.P.A. calls “floatables,” those “visible buoyant or semibuoyant solids” that people flush into the waste stream like cotton swabs, condoms, tampon applicators and dental floss.
The Encyclopedia of Coastal Processes, about as somniferously clinical a scientific source on the subject as one can find, predicts that plastic pollution “will incrementally increase through the 21st century,” because “the problems created are chronic and potentially global, rather than acute and local or regional as many would contemplate.” The problems are chronic because, unlike the marine debris of centuries past, commercial plastics do not biodegrade in seawater. Instead, they persist, accumulating over time, much as certain emissions accumulate in the atmosphere. The problems are global because the sources of plastic pollution are far-flung but also because, like emissions riding the winds, pollutants at sea can travel.
For the whole article, go to:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/22/magazine/22Plastics-t.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Monday, June 30, 2008
Thursday, June 12, 2008
When a Walk is More Than a Walk
Okay, we’re all busy, but we can still do something worthwhile—make that two things worthwhile. My multi-tasking of choice has always been to combine a good aerobic walk with something else, whether meaningful conversations with my son or spouse or a good friend, practicing a speech, brainstorming a new article, or, in some cases, picking up trash.
We spend five months a year in the pristine high plains of the Colorado Rockies. Semi-pristine would be more accurate, because where there are people, there is trash. Even here where people live for the majestic mountains and fields of wildflowers, there are idiots who think their little bits of trash won’t hurt anything, or probably don’t think at all.
I have a friend who is like-minded and happens to raise llamas. So our multi-tasking consists of going on long walks with pack llamas outfitted with saddlebags. They get training in packing and we have someone to carry the trash we pick up because there is always too much to carry. Two days in a row, we returned with four saddlebags stuffed with ten bags of trash, which we then sorted into recyclables and trash-trash. Climbing in and out of gullies, along with all the reaching, gave us a great workout, and our “neighborhood” looks a lot better.
In the interest of making this translatable into something you might like to do, we’ll subtract the llamas. When you go out for a walk, which you should do often, take used bags with you and pick up the trash. Everywhere has it. Nobody likes to look at it. Since I’m the plastic bag lady, I snag plastic bag litter and then use it to hold other trash I find. Trash is trash. But don’t count on finding bags. Take some with you. Then remember to recycle as much as possible so we can minimize the impact on landfills. We’re out walking anyway. Let’s include the planet in our outings.
We spend five months a year in the pristine high plains of the Colorado Rockies. Semi-pristine would be more accurate, because where there are people, there is trash. Even here where people live for the majestic mountains and fields of wildflowers, there are idiots who think their little bits of trash won’t hurt anything, or probably don’t think at all.
I have a friend who is like-minded and happens to raise llamas. So our multi-tasking consists of going on long walks with pack llamas outfitted with saddlebags. They get training in packing and we have someone to carry the trash we pick up because there is always too much to carry. Two days in a row, we returned with four saddlebags stuffed with ten bags of trash, which we then sorted into recyclables and trash-trash. Climbing in and out of gullies, along with all the reaching, gave us a great workout, and our “neighborhood” looks a lot better.
In the interest of making this translatable into something you might like to do, we’ll subtract the llamas. When you go out for a walk, which you should do often, take used bags with you and pick up the trash. Everywhere has it. Nobody likes to look at it. Since I’m the plastic bag lady, I snag plastic bag litter and then use it to hold other trash I find. Trash is trash. But don’t count on finding bags. Take some with you. Then remember to recycle as much as possible so we can minimize the impact on landfills. We’re out walking anyway. Let’s include the planet in our outings.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Finding Substitutions for Your Old Plastic Bags
While trying to wean ourselves from plastic shopping bags, we come up on some conundrums: What can we do to replace the plastic bags that we recycle for use at home? If we have no plastic bags, what do we use in their place for other purposes? That’s a snag that my kids and I have grappled with.
1. For instance, my son has two large dogs. When they take them for a walk, they take the used plastic bags along to pick up the doggie poop. Without those, they have to buy poop bags, also plastic. What’s the alternative?
EcoChoices makes a biodegradable poop bag that can be thrown out with yard waste and decomposes completely, eliminating them going to landfills. You can order these bags on their website: http://www.ecoanimal.com/poopbags.html at $7.49 for 50 bags and discounts for larger orders.
2. I line bathroom and kitchen wastebaskets into which we may put wet things, with plastic bags to keep the wastebaskets clean. What should I use instead?
For the tall kitchen wastebasket, EcoChoices also makes a totally biodegradable and compostible kitchen garbage bag. You can order them here: http://www.ecokitchen.com/shop/biodegradablekitchenbags.html 24 bags for $13.99. As far as the bedroom and bathroom wastebaskets, choose a washable surface and just wash them out when you empty them. Even plastic bag liners trap odors, so unless you use a different plastic bag all the time (and where will you get those??) they will not be pleasant.
3. What about toting refrigerated and frozen foods from place to place so they don’t leave wet spots everywhere we put them down?
That’s what your waterproof lining totes are for. After carrying food in them, just sponge them out with warm water and turn wrong-side out to dry.
When is a Walk not Just a Walk?
When it’s a walking trash pick-up. Lots of communities clean up for Earth Day, but what about the other 364 days of the year? Make it a habit once a week to pick up trash and recyclables as your walk. The bending the stretching can be part of your fitness routine and your environment will look a lot better. If someone has discarded a plastic bag, use that to collect the trash and then sort recyclables, including the plastic bag.
1. For instance, my son has two large dogs. When they take them for a walk, they take the used plastic bags along to pick up the doggie poop. Without those, they have to buy poop bags, also plastic. What’s the alternative?
EcoChoices makes a biodegradable poop bag that can be thrown out with yard waste and decomposes completely, eliminating them going to landfills. You can order these bags on their website: http://www.ecoanimal.com/poopbags.html at $7.49 for 50 bags and discounts for larger orders.
2. I line bathroom and kitchen wastebaskets into which we may put wet things, with plastic bags to keep the wastebaskets clean. What should I use instead?
For the tall kitchen wastebasket, EcoChoices also makes a totally biodegradable and compostible kitchen garbage bag. You can order them here: http://www.ecokitchen.com/shop/biodegradablekitchenbags.html 24 bags for $13.99. As far as the bedroom and bathroom wastebaskets, choose a washable surface and just wash them out when you empty them. Even plastic bag liners trap odors, so unless you use a different plastic bag all the time (and where will you get those??) they will not be pleasant.
3. What about toting refrigerated and frozen foods from place to place so they don’t leave wet spots everywhere we put them down?
That’s what your waterproof lining totes are for. After carrying food in them, just sponge them out with warm water and turn wrong-side out to dry.
When is a Walk not Just a Walk?
When it’s a walking trash pick-up. Lots of communities clean up for Earth Day, but what about the other 364 days of the year? Make it a habit once a week to pick up trash and recyclables as your walk. The bending the stretching can be part of your fitness routine and your environment will look a lot better. If someone has discarded a plastic bag, use that to collect the trash and then sort recyclables, including the plastic bag.
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