Last week (or maybe the week before last), I was at my parent's home and they subscribe to Consumer Reports magazine. The article on the front cover is titled, "How to eat LESS plastic" and it intrigued me. It also said "You may be consuming as much as a credit card's worth of plastic a week! WOW! Inside, the article says, "Think you don't eat plastic? Actually, you do. Scientists say we may be ingesting it through contaminated food and water, to the likely detriment of our health." My dad let me borrow the magazine so I could finish reading the article--so interesting!
The article discussed the history of plastic, "the material of a thousand uses." Today, the plates we eat from, the straws we drink through, furniture we sit on, the toys our kids play with, it's in bags, the clothes we wear, in the cars we drive, even in the lifesaving medical equipment in our hospitals. And, more than anywhere else, plastic is in our packaging, encasing everything from laundry detergent to our prescription pills, from the food we eat to the beverages we drink.
In fact, the world has produced more than 10 billion tons of the stuff, mostly since the 1950s, and we just keep making more! In 2018, manufacturers created almost 400 million tons of new plastic, which is expected to TRIPLE by 2050. The vast majority of plastic ends up piled on the planet somewhere. When it does break down, it can become small particles of plastic, called microplastics, that spread further across the planet, entering our food and water supply.
So why is this a problem? After all, manufacturers and regulatory agencies have assured us that plastics are safe for our health. It's not just a growing concern with animals in the oceans that we see such as sea turtles with stomachs clogged with the stuff, or the stories of ocean vortexes of plastic litter from around the globe. Reliable research now shows tiny bits of plastic are in our food, drinking water, the air we breathe, and yes, inside our bodies.
Senator Tom Udall, from New Mexico, held up a credit card before legislators hoping to reduce plastic production during meetings in February. He was referencing a preliminary estimate by some scientists stating that the average person may be eating and drinking as much as 5 grams per week. A research review published in 2019 calculated that the average person eats, drinks, and breathes in more than 74,000 microplastic particles each year. Ingesting plastics exposes us to harmful chemicals. Chemicals such as bisphenols (BPA) and phthalates can leech into foods touched by the plastic, especially when plastic is warmed. Tearing a wrapper off of a sandwich or popping open a new plastic bottle releases fragments of plastics that we may end up ingesting. Household dust can be full of microplastics, and we may kick it up into the air from your carpet and breathe it in!
Many people think plastic is clean, that a sterile object won't come apart. I think we have all seen plastic bins, boxes, and lids that have cracked. People are becoming more aware of this issue, and the production of plastic is still growing. One of the shocking things that the article said was, "HALF OF ALL OF THE PLASTIC EVER MADE WAS MADE IN THE LAST 13 YEARS!" After reading this article, I believe it, because plastic is everywhere! On the playground, in the car, bottles, dispensers, squeeze bottles in the fridge, bowls, plates and plasticware to eat from, decorations, plant pots, pens, notebooks, bags, bags and more bags, etc.,
What we know raises serious red flags about chemicals used in plastic containers, one researcher states. They affect brain and organ development in children and are linked to infertility and cardiovascular problems. Many people may be familiar with popular villains, such as BPA, which has been used since the 1950s to make hard, clear plastic like that used to make beverage bottles. But many other chemicals in plastics such as bisphenols (same family as BPA), phthalates, and styrene has been linked to serious health effects. The chemicals can seep from packaging into food and then into the human body. The shape and structure of chemicals interfere with the endocrine (hormonal) system. Even a low dose of BPA or other endocrine disrupters are a focus of medical concern. Styrene has been linked to nervous system dysfunction, hearing loss, cancer, and more.
In 2008, after public outcry, manufacturers started to remove BPA from certain products. However, when companies removed it (you see many things now which say BPA free), they replaced it with other chemicals structurally similar to BPA, such as bisphenol S and bisphenol F, which have similar effects as the original chemical. These replacements face less scrutiny since the framework for regulations is fairly lax. A lot of our federal agencies use a risk-assessment system that hasn't been updated since the 1950s. Chances are that most of us are not going to fall into a large vat of a plastic chemical and have high exposure. But Environmental Health says that they don't take into account how low doses of a chemical over time can affect the endocrine system and disease risk.
Many people need to strive to use less plastic, companies need to commit to efforts that would truly improve reuse and recycling and legislation that would eliminate ost single-use plastics such as shopping bags for health and environmental concerns. The new "Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act", from Senator Udall, would phase out many single-use plastics, put a pause on new plastic production and require sellers of plastic to cover the cost of collection and recycling.
I first became aware of plastics leaching into liquids when I began to use essential oils. It has been recommended that if you use essential oils in your drinks, that you should always use a metal or glass container. I am very careful about using essential oils with plastic. I've also noticed some of our plastic plates, bowls and lids breaking down over time. Several years ago, I bought glass containers for leftovers and got rid of most of the plastic containers. The glass containers still have plastic lids though. We have only broken a few of the Pyrex bowls, but I feel better knowing it is not breaking down in the microwave. We very rarely buy plastic water bottles, we just use refillable ones with tap water. We eat fresh food as much as possible and use our own mesh bags for produce. I have been trying to microwave less in plastic, or warming food on the stove. Vacuuming regularly also gets rid of plastic particles in your home, and dusting does too. You can try to buy food in glass, silicone, or foil. Try not to store food in plastic. Recycle as much plastic as you can. Most supermarkets have a dispenser to recycle plastic bags near their front entrance. I bring plastic bags to the grocery store often-- and not just grocery bags, but also produce bags, torn Ziploc bags, bags from packaging such as nuts, fruit, etc., -- anything that is relatively clean.
What do you think? Can you reduce your use of plastic daily? Can you recycle more? Try not to throw away plastic but recycle or reuse it! Buy less of it, such as yogurt in glass jars. Every little bit can make a difference!
“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”
Joshua 9:13
And these wineskins that we filled were new, but see how cracked they are. And our clothes and sandals are worn out by the very long journey.”
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
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