Plastic is everywhere and is difficult to get away from. We can easily do without a plastic bag, cup or cutlery but it is more difficult to deprive yourself of a washing machine, smartphone or computer. Plastic pollution is the biggest flaw of our century!
In today’s society it is difficult not to pollute. However whether it is greenhouse gases, waste, packaging or pesticides, not all types of pollution are the same. Plastic, which never even existed a few centuries ago, is a large part responsible for polluting our planet. You will almost certainly have heard of the Plastic Continent. This is a large patch of waste that groups together and sits on the surface of the ocean making an island of plastic debris. Plastic pollution is everywhere. Think, if you throw plastic packaging on the ground it is the same as throwing it into the sea…
Stop thinking that plastic is recyclable so it doesn’t matter!
We often tell ourselves to make ourselves feel good, that plastic is recyclable so it is okay. However this is not the whole truth. Only a tiny proportion of plastic is recycled. Of all the 8.3 million tonnes of plastic produced from the 1950’s until today only 9% of the plastic has been really recycled. And if this plastic really was recycled, it can only be renewed once unlike good quality materials such as wood, metal or glass, which can be recycled indefinitely. The rest of the plastic evaporates in the form of toxic vapors, is incinerated and dumped… It’s time to put an end to plastic pollution, and quickly!
1/ Coca Cola
With the alarming number of commercialised plastic bottles, it is no wonder that Coca Cola is in first place for the worst plastic polluters. Very rarely do we drink Coca Cola from a glass bottle…
2/ Pepsico
Apart from the cardboard packaging found in it’s cereals like Quakers, (which is all the same lined with a useless plastic bag), the group can not say the same of the rest of it’s brands. Pepsi, Seven Up and Lipton bottles are mostly made of plastic. The same goes for the company’s chips packets like Lay’s or Benenuts.
3/ Nestlé
Nestlé which has 50 brands shouldn’t be pleased coming in third position in the list of the worst plastic polluters. Bottles of water and chocolate packaging from KitKat, Crunch, Galak or Smarties create plastic waste. You have to give a little forced laugh when you hear that the multinational company’s slogan is “Good food, Good life.”
4/ Danone
Danone is every bit as bad as Nestlé when is comes to plastic pollution. None of it’s brands use packaging which is not harmful to the planet! The list is long ranging from bottles of mineral water like Volvic or Evian as well as yoghurt pots from Activia, Danette or Actimel.
5/ Mondélez International
This international company uses plastic for all of it’s brands from Prince, Oreo, Hollywood Chewing-Gums and even Milka, and the list goes on! If you care about reducing plastic waste, boycott them!
6/ Mac Donald
It is hardly surprising that MacDonalds finds itself in the top ten list of worst plastic polluting companies. This giant fast food chain specialises in throw away materials. In every country in the world you will find a crushed plastic cup in street or a sundae cup or straws floating along by the beach.
7/ Tim Hortons
Tim Hortons is a fast food chain from north America which specialises in coffee and doughnuts. However the company is one of the worst for producing throw away coffee cups. It is almost impossible to count the number of cups and lids that are thrown into nature, often found on the side of the road, in parks, beaches and lakes! Starbucks Coffee is just as bad. Put a stop to throw away cups as soon as you can!
Plastic pollution is not going to reduce unless we boycott it. If you don’t make steps for the planet, do it for your health!
Getting away from plastic is not as hard as it might seem: Here are some simple everyday tips
It is important to get away from using plastic as quickly as we can. For this to happen, everyone need to get their hands dirty and it is not as difficult as you might think. Here are some measures to put in place in your day to day life to stop using plastic.
- Do your shopping in a shopping basket;
- Buy food loose to avoid buying packaged products;
- Go to farmer’s markets instead of wasting time wandering around the supermarket.
- Make your own cosmetic products;
- Don’t throw away plastic items you don’t use anymore (toys, kitchen utensils, computer mouse, key board…). Give away these items so that they can be reused as many times as possible if you want do get rid of this products in a more environmentally friendly fashion;
- Use pencils or rechargeable metal pens instead of using plastic Bic pens;
- Stop using throw away products and instead use products that you can wash and reuse;
- Use glass or bamboo tupperware
- Cover your food in the fridge with a plate instead of buying clingfilm.
- Avoid using any products that contain plastic and explain to others the reason why you have decided to boycott plastic products. You never know, it might give them ideas.
Plastic pollution is not a taboo subject. We can overcome this issue if we all do small steps to reduce our plastic waste!
