Who isn’t tired of seeing pictures of dead whales full of plastic washing up on beaches around the world?
Who isn’t tired of pictures of islands of plastic the size of Southwestern Ontario floating on the oceans?
Who does not know that single-use plastic is something we have to address?
We are literally drowning in plastic.
But sometimes oceans seem far away and sometimes we think our individual actions have no effect on the big picture.
“But it’s only one straw”, we may think as we order our drink in a restaurant and have forgotten to preface our order with a request for no straw.
Then we learn that enough straws are thrown away daily in North America to wrap around the earth almost three times. Obviously, individual actions add up.
In 1950, the world’s population of 2.5 billion produced 1.5 million tons of plastic. In 2016 global population was more than seven billion and there were 320 million tons of plastic. And, this is expected to double by 2034.
Every piece of plastic ever produced is still with us in some form. A plastic bottle will take hundreds of years to break down and it slowly fragments into smaller and smaller pieces. It may break up but it never goes away.
Plastic is in our water, in products we use, in the food we eat, and in our bodies. The seemingly miraculous substance developed only decades ago, and which our society has depended on for advancement, in abundance, is not kind to nature.
But isn’t some plastic good? Yes of course. Think of diabetic disposable syringes, joint replacements, or hard hats for construction workers, mobile phones, and cars.
The immediate problem is not with needed plastic but with single-use plastics such as plastic bottles, plastic straws, plastic bags, and Styrofoam. You know, the items that we use for an average of 15 minutes and then throw away.
What about here in Ontario? Our Great Lakes provide over 40 million people with drinking water.
In recent studies it was found that the Great Lakes have twice the amount of surface plastic as the ocean (430,000 pieces per square km).
Much of the plastic in the lakes are very tiny microplastics, which sink to the bottom. Microplastics are so tiny that it is difficult to keep out of the water we drink.
On June 10, the federal government announced a ban on single use plastic by 2021.
So, what do we do as individuals between now and 2021? We continue to Refuse (say no to plastic straws, bags, plastic water bottles, and Styrofoam), Reduce (the amount of plastic we bring into our homes and use on a day-to-day basis), Reuse (cloth bags for our groceries and other goods), Repurpose (find another use for an item), Rot (compost our kitchen waste when possible), and the very last resort: Recycle.
And that is another topic – We also continue talking about the issues, educating ourselves and our friends and neighbours.
From my involvement in Blue Bayfield, Green Goderich, and Eco Exeter, I know that many people are concerned and working hard to learn about and reduce their reliance on single-use plastic on a personal scale as well as working to motivate others in their communities to do the same.
Bayfield has been designated a Plastic-Free Community since 2018 and the majority of businesses and groups in Bayfield are on board with reduction of plastic use.
This has come as a result of a five-year focus on the reduction of single-use plastic water bottles. The focus has now been expanded to getting rid of all single-use plastic.
This year alone, 32 communities across Ontario have approached Blue Bayfield for assistance in tackling plastic reduction.
The newly-formed Green Goderich has gathered people together who want to take action on environmental concerns and specifically the elimination of non-essential plastics in Goderich and area.
In the short time it has formed, over 50 people have attended our meetings. A consumer survey was launched on the website and results indicate that people are interested, are already working to reduce plastic and are willing to take more action.
A business survey is being designed to connect with Goderich businesses on this issue. We are extremely motivated by the huge amount of interest the local community has shown.
Another example is Eco Exeter. In one month, 45 Grade 9 students in Exeter purchased and sold reusable metal straws and produce bags, and educated fellow students.
Students from Mitchell High School learned about plastic pollution, made a presentation to the Climate Change Forum held at Huron County Health office in May, met with their mayor, and their local grocery store manager.
The students are now working on a plan for local businesses to get on board with plastic reduction. Their plan in the fall is to join with five high schools in Huron County to discuss the activities of each school community.
From these three examples, it is clear that people at the grassroots level are already taking action well beyond their elected officials in some cases.
The plastic free movement is well underway whether we have a national policy or not. Now we need to get some political action.
Betty Durst is with Green Goderich