Plastic Polluting our Lives

By Sandra Phan
Staff Writer

Plastic has become a part of our daily lives, whether that be the plastic bags from the grocery store, the straws in our drinks, or the bottles of water we casually buy.

Plastic Oceans and The Last Plastic Straw state that annually across the globe, approximately 500 billion plastic bags are used, 500 straws discarded, and, in 2014 in the U.S. alone, 100.7 billion plastic beverage bottles were sold. The amount of plastic being made is gigantic, and it’s increasing every year.

These numbers only account for three plastic products produced, and there are many more products being made. The sites further mention that we produce a massive 300 million tons of plastic produced every year. It’s time for us to be more aware of the magnitude that plastic has ingrained itself into our lifestyles and take action to reduce the amount of polymers used.

Consider food, like chips, candy, or juice. They come in polymer packaging. Looking beyond food, there’s makeup, shampoo, food containers, furniture, binders, and mechanical pencils.

There are actions you can take to reduce the waste from using these plastic materials. Some people opt for a zero waste lifestyle, reducing the waste they produce to the point where all of the trash they create can be stuffed in a mason jar. However, you don’t have to completely alter your lifestyle to make a difference. There are simple good habits you can pick up to show your love to mother earth:

1. Invest and actively use a reusable water bottle.
   

1. Buy reusable shopping bags.
   

1. Refuse straws in restaurants, or use a reusable straw.
   

These habits are just a few ways to reduce the waste we leave behind.