green witch/bitch

Today, every which way you turn, you will be aware of the many usage of plastic in our life. Just about everything we use has plastic in them. They are also the many source of problems that are plaguing the environment nowadays. When Leo Baekeland invented Bakelite in 1909, he could not have realized what a profound effect this and other plastics were going to have on the future of earth. The very virtues that make plastics so useful (strength and durability), are also the what make them such appalling problem. The problem is that we use plastics (long-lasting materials) to make objects which we promptly throw away. E.g. take-away carrier bag ~material used can last for centuries but we discard it right after we reach home. We have many plastics objects that have useful lives that are measured not in hours but in minutes or even seconds(foam polystyrene). Although all plastic is similar, chemically they may be as different from me and you. So….what is plastic ?

Here’s a quick breakdown of plastic resin types:

#1 polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE) = Product examples: Disposable soft drink and water bottles, cough-syrup bottles

#2 high density polyethylene (HDPE) = Product examples: Milk jugs, toys, liquid detergent bottles, shampoo bottles

#3 polyvinyl chloride (V or PVC) = Product examples: Meat wrap, cooking oil bottles, plumbing pipes

#4 low density polyethylene (LDPE) = Product examples: Cling wrap, grocery bags, sandwich bags

#5 polypropylene (PP) = Product examples: Syrup bottles, yogurt cups/tubs, diapers

#6 polystyrene (PS) = Product examples: Disposable coffee cups, clam-shell take-out containers

#7 other (misc.; usually polycarbonate, or PC, but also polylactide, or PLA, plastics made from renewable resources) = Product examples: Baby bottles, some reusable water bottles, stain-resistant food-storage containers, medical storage containers

Safer Plastics = #2HDPE, #4LDPE and #5PP

These three types of plastic are the healthiest. They transmit no known chemicals into your food and they’re generally recyclable; #2 is very commonly accepted by municipal recycling programs, but you may have a more difficult time finding someone to recycle your #4 and #5 containers.

#1 PET

#1 bottles and containers are fine for single use and are widely accepted by municipal recyclers. You won’t find many reusable containers made from #1, but they do exist. It’s also best to avoid reusing #1 plastic bottles; water and soda bottles in particular are hard to clean, and because plastic is porous, these bottles absorb flavors and bacteria that you can’t get rid of.

PLA

PLA (polylactide) plastics are made from renewable resources such as corn, potatoes and sugar cane and anything else with a high starch content. The starch is converted into polylactide acid (PLA). Although you can’t recycle these plant-based plastics, you can compost them in a municipal composter or in your backyard compost heap. Most decompose in about twelve days unlike conventional plastic, which can take up to 100 years.

Plastics to Avoid

#3 PVC

#3 polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is often used frequently in cling wraps for meat. However, PVC contains softeners called phthalates that interfere with hormonal development, and its manufacture and incineration release dioxin, a potent carcinogen and hormone disruptor. Vinyl chloride, the primary building block of PVC, is a known human carcinogen that also poses a threat to workers during manufacture.

#6 PS

Extruded polystyrene (#6 PS; commonly known as Styrofoam) is used in take-out containers and cups, and non-extruded PS is used in clear disposable takeout containers, disposable plastic cutlery and cups. Both forms of PS can leach styrene into food; styrene is considered a possible human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. It may also disrupt hormones or affect reproduction.

#7 PC

#7 Polycarbonate (PC) is found in baby bottles, 5-gallon water bottles, water-cooler bottles and the epoxy linings of tin food cans. PC is composed of a hormone-disrupting chemical called bisphenol A, which has been linked to a wide variety of problems such as cancer and obesity.

Source : National Geographic ’s The Green Guide

What prompted me into writing this article is the many messages I’ve gotten regarding cancer and also melamine. The term “melamine” may also be used to refer to the plastic melamine resin. The recent milk scare and just about everything that contain milk has gotten alot of people work up. Women are advice not to leave their water bottle in car under the sun because according to singer “Sheryl Crow” she got cancer by drinking water from plastic container that she left in her car. Then the scare of “BPA” especially used to make drinking containers and also milk bottles. Hence, the research on explaining the difference types of plastics. Is plastic a good invention ? I believe the answer is “YES” but the reason for it’s bad reputation to the environment is because human did not think of the consequences when they used the substance to create other objects like plastic bottles, bags etc.

Some fast facts about water bottles

1. “1.5 million barrels of oil are used every year to make plastic water bottles for bottled water. This is enough oil to fuel 100,000 cars for a year.

2. 36 billion bottles are sold each year, only 7 billion make it to recycling. The other 29 billion bottles end up in landfills, incinerators, litter in streams, oceans and rivers.”

When you throw away your plastic product, those that are buried which contain cadmium as pigment will get wash away by rain water into groundwater that may end up in the public water supply. Even in our homes, building materials do contain plastic like PVC that gives off vinyl chloride gas that are found to cause liver cancer. Rubbish burning or some that catch fire can sometime burn for weeks aspecially if PVC and polystyrene foams are involved. Anyone who has breathed the smoke from this 2 substances knows how acrid it is (hydrogen fluoride), very poisonous and contributes to acid rain. Getting rid of plastics is not so easy. As long as we use petrol in our cars, plastics will be with us. The sooner we learn to reduce or refuse, reuse then more prudently and find some way of re-using(re-purpose) them, the better our life will be.

POSITIVE ACTION : How to cut down on waste plastic

• Don’t buy fresh food pre-packed in plastic

• Refuse plastic containers for takeaway food

• Choose natural materials in clothing

• Avoid disposable plastic in the kitchen

• Ask for biodegradable packaging

Doing research for this post was really an eye-opener for me in term of the devastation of plastics to the environment. Education is key. Teach the young about the pros and cons of plastic products so that they may in future think before they create a short-life product using plastics.

Bottomline : as long as there is demand, there will be supply. greed will destroy this planet.

” THE WORLD CAN FEED EVERYONES NEED, BUT NOT EVERYONES GREED.” `~ GANDHI

green witch

Below are some photos of plastic products being reuse or repurposed.

I use my plastic waste mostly in the garden.

Plastic bag turn into a ball.

Below are more professional looking products by designers and artists who embrace the RE-CREATE, RE-DESIGN, RE-PURPOSE and incorporate them in their work. Enjoy.

1. http://www.ryterdesign.ch/recycline/frame.htm

2.http://miwa.metm.org/PET_project/

3.http:// www.michellebrand.co.uk

4. Studio Verissimo

5. http://www.dezeen.com/2007/12/12/drop-chandelier-by-stuart-haygarth/

Reuse, Recreate & Repurpose!