“Let’s Stop the Flow of Plastic Waste.” The Nature Conservancy, 12 Sept. 2020, www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/california/stories-in-california/stop-plastic-waste.
A major contributor to climate change is plastic production, releasing emissions, as well as plastic incineration in landfills. About 12 billion tons of plastic waste will infiltrate waterways, oceans, the food supply, and kill wildlife by 2050 if current trends continue. 530 marine species have so far been impacted by plastic pollution, and 50% of plastic is still single use even after several state wide bans(such as California’s on plastic straws, cups, and bags) on single use plastics. The article delves into some at home ways to decrease plastic use. These include: saying no to plastic silverware and plastic bags at grocery stores, participate in cleanup efforts, and vote for initiatives to ban plastic. While California is in the lead among other states for efforts to decrease plastic pollution, we also maintain a spot as one of the highest polluters because of local producers and nonrenewable energy plants.
The fact that 12 billion tons of plastic waste will be released by 2050 is very scary to me. While California has definitely made an effort to incentivise more environmentally healthy practices, I think we also need nation wide policies, as the previous article stated, “pollution does not follow state boundaries”. If there is only effort in some states, their is no incentive for nation wide companies, or even international companies. I did like reading some ways I personally can attempt to stop worsening the plastic problem. I will definitely be mindful of using plastic silverware and to-go plastics among the pandemic.
I 100% agree with this. If some countries/states make efforts to reduce emissions, but other free riders continue to not change, in the end, the problem is not going away. Plastic has been an issue for a while, and everyone knows the issue. At this point, I feel the best thing to do is to target the companies that are supplying the resources. The packs of 100s of bottles in stores attract consumers. We should be promoting reusable water bottles and using plastic bottles only if we need them, especially in developing countries that rely on these bottles for a clean source of water. My question is if there is a group targeting these large cooperations?
Wow, 12 billion!! I agree with you, thats insanely scary and frankly very concerning. We need to find better ways to decrease the amount of littering world wide. I’m sure sure the pandemic has created a bigger impact due to all the masks and gloves. I always see them laying on the ground and it makes me sad how much trash people leave on the ground.