because plastic is Chemicals in plastic which give them their rigidity or flexibility (flame retardants, bisphenols, phthalates and other harmful chemicals) are oily poisons that repel water and stick to petroleum-based objects like plastic debris. So, the toxic chemicals that leach out of plastics can accumulate on other plastics.
dangerous plastic for World
Plastic pollution causes harm to humans, animals and plants through toxic pollutants. It can take hundreds or even thousands of years for plastic to break down so the environmental damage is long-lasting. ... Toxins work their way up the food chain when plastic is ingested and can even be present in the fish people eat.
How to celebrate Plastic Free day
July 3rd
Begin by avoiding single-use plastic such as straws, water bottles, and plastic produce bags. Use more reusable products such as glass jars, metal utensils, and use metal tin lunch boxes and containers for storage. Avoid highly processed foods and begin using homemade recipes. Learn how to make your products like toothpaste, deodorant, and mouthwash. Share this holiday to your friends online by using the hashtag #plasticfreejuly and see if you can convince them to join you in your efforts to stop using plastic.
Shop your local farmers market.
Farmers markets are a great way to buy fresh, local produce without plastic, as long as you remember to bring your own bags. Normally, the fruits and vegetables at farmers markets don’t even have those little plastic stickers on them. And for small fruits like berries and cherry tomatoes, use your own container or bag and hand the vendor’s plastic container back to reuse. Read more about farmers markets going plastic-free.
Return containers for berries, cherry tomatoes, and other small fruits and vegetables to the farmers market to be reused.
One reader asked what I do about cherry tomatoes or berries since they can get crushed in a reusable bag. I buy them at the farmer’s market in the green plastic basket and then return it to the farmer each week for a refill, so I never have to take new ones. Don’t have a farmers market nearby? Ask your local grocer to take them back. Or empty your berries into your own container before leaving the store and leave the plastic basket behind. If enough of us do this, perhaps merchants will take note.
Bring your own container for meat and prepared foods.
I take my own containers with me to the butcher counter at Whole Foods or local butcher shop. (While the humans in our house don’t each much meat, the kitties do.) The butcher can weigh the container and deduct the weight, just as is done with bulk foods. The servers at the deli/prepared foods counter can do the same thing. Just ask. (Read about Buying and Storing Meat without Plastic and Plastic-Free Beef Jerky.)
Buy fresh bread that comes in either paper bags or no bags.
At the farmers market or natural food stores, I can buy bread that comes in only paper. At the bakery down the street, I can have my bread placed in my own cloth bag and avoid all packaging. Bread keeps fresh when stored in the cloth bag inside an airtight tin. I reuse a popcorn tin that was sent to me as a gift several years ago. Often, thrift stores have more of these tins than they know what to do with. Fresh bread is a bit more expensive than its plastic-packaged cousins, but to me, it’s worth it. And since I buy so few new things, I can afford to spend more for quality, plastic-free food. See my post, Fresh Bread: Buy It, Store It, Keep It Fresh Without Plastic.
Choose milk in returnable glass bottles.
Many areas have local dairies that provide milk in returnable glass bottles rather than plastic or plastic-coated cardboard (yes, all cardboard milk containers are coated inside and out with plastic, not wax.) In my area, I buy Straus milk, which is available in natural grocery stores. Unfortunately, the milk bottle does contain an unrecyclable plastic cap. But I would rather buy milk in a glass bottle capped with plastic than milk contained in plastic on all sides.
Buy large wheels of unwrapped cheese.
They can be hard to find, but when I do come across plastic-free cheese, I buy the whole thing. Going in on it with friends can make it more affordable. Check out my instructions for storing cheese without plastic.
Choose wine bottled in glass with natural cork stoppers.
This is kind of a trial and error project since you can’t see the stopper until you open the bottle. There’s a mobile website called Corkwatch you can use to see what kind of stopper–plastic or natural cork–is in a particular wine bottle before you purchase it. If you haven’t already, please read this post about endangered cork forests and why it’s important to support them by choosing natural cork over plastic stoppers or metal screw caps (which contain BPA in the lining.)
Learn to love the bulk bins.
Look for stores in your area that sell foods from bulk bins and allow you to use your own bags or containers. In the SF Bay Area, for example, stores include Rainbow Grocery, Berkeley Bowl, and Whole Foods.) When I lived there, I could get almost all dry foods as well as some personal care products from the bulk bins. These foods included rice and other grains, pasta, beans (learning to cook dried beans is an important part of plastic-free living), seeds, nuts, all kinds of flour, baking soda and other dry baking ingredients, cereal and granola, pretzels and chips, some candy, tofu, oils, nut butters, olives, herbs, tea & coffee, and more things than I can think of right now.
But you don’t think you have to live in a crunchy place like San Francisco or Berkeley to shop bulk bins. They are everywhere. You just have to look. My new favorite grocery store is MOM’s Organic Market in Maryland. The BULK Mobile app can help you find stores in your area. Goods Holding Company offers a kit to make zero waste bulk buying even easier!
The key is bringing my own reusable bags and containers with me to the store. You can carry the same kind of cotton bags for bulk purchases as for produce (see above.) Glass jars and other containers work great as well. Why shop from bulk bins and take new plastic bags?
Concerned about cross contamination for people with allergies? Check out my post on avoiding gluten while still living plastic-free.
Even if you live in an area that does not have bulk food stores, look for non-perishable goods in large size packages, which will decrease the amount of plastic used overall.
Choose plastic-free chewing gum.
Did you know almost all chewing gum is made of plastic? That’s right. When you’re chewing gum, you’re chewing on plastic. But plastic-free chewing gum options do exist. Read more about plastic in chewing gum and healthier alternatives here.
Clean with vinegar and water.
I use a mixture of 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water as an all-purpose spray cleaner (storing it in a reused spray bottle) and produce wash. I buy Spectrum vinegar which comes in a glass bottle. Only the cap is plastic.
The Plastic Free Challenge asks people to refuse disposable plastic and lead by example by promoting to their circle of friends on social media. The goal is to raise awareness and create a demand for sustainable products and services
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for comment, we try better