By Maria Millers
How often are you overwhelmed by the amount of waste your household generates on a weekly basis?
With three dedicated bins you would think there would be no problem.
But there is a problem of what to do with the ever growing plastic waste and how to dispose of it.
Australians are the biggest consumers of single-use plastic waste globally, producing an average of 59kg of plastic waste per person a year.
The more plastic that we use, the more fossil fuels we need, and in turn, we exacerbate climate change.
And while plastics disposal is not the only waste issue with E-waste, food waste, textile and fast fashion waste, plastic pollution remains of major concern because of its longevity.
It can take hundreds if not thousands of years to break down and tiny particles now contaminate air, water and food with unknown long term health effects.
Plastics have been around for a long time but it was during the post war boom that they became a staple in everyday life replacing glass, metal and wood in packaging, household goods and construction.
And lately there has been an explosion in the use of single use of cheap, disposable plastics.
You call it a gift,
this plastic that surrounds you.
You wrap it around everything,
and throw it, carelessly,
into the spaces that could have been free.
But now, it’s us.
We are the plastic,
we breathe it in.
Excerpt: We Are The Plastic by Shivanee Ramlochan
In this age of online shopping we constantly face the problem of how to dispose of not just cardboard but a variety of plastics of various grades, some like the bubble wrap and polystyrene beads used for cushioning fragile items.
But it’s not just online shopping that contributes to the growing worldwide problem.
There is an over packaging of most supermarket items.
Even fresh produce is now more likely to be encased in a plastic container.
Similarly non-food items are packaged purely for ease of display.
And then there’s the convenience factor.
It’s so much easier to grab pre -packaged fruit than to select from a container of loose ones.
A roll of cling film is found in most kitchen drawers and it’s the easy go to item to store food, cover leftovers and many other uses.
Thin and contaminated with food residue and, unlike hard plastics, it has a low market value, so there is little incentive to recycle.
And then there’s the out of sight out of mind attitude, and why so much ends up in landfill.
I wonder what it would be like
To live in a world where plastic does not reign—
Where we could breathe without choking
On the weight of the things we’ve made.
Excerpt: Plastic by David Berman
There are now five plastic accumulation zones in the world’s oceans, the largest The Great Pacific Patch is located halfway between Hawaii and California and is three times the size of France.
It’s estimated that 1.15 to 2.41 million tonnes of plastic are entering the ocean each year from rivers, eventually breaking down into microplastics which end up in the food chain and in our bodies.
We call it the patch,
but it’s not fabric,
it’s not something you sew or mend,
it’s plastic,
breaking down in the ocean,
tangled in the currents.
The sea holds it in her mouth
Excerpt: Abigail Chabitnoy, Great Pacific Garbage Patch
It is estimated that about 148 kilograms of plastic is discarded per person annually, it seems obvious that reducing plastic use is needed, as well as improving recycling and developing biodegradable alternatives.
Several countries have already successfully taken steps to ban, tax, or reduce plastic waste.
It may surprise you to see that leading the way are countries like Rwanda. Kigali, Rwanda’s capital, is one of the cleanest cities in the world.
But plastics are a billion dollar business tied to the fossil fuel industry which carries a lot of political influence and lobbying power.
Waste has always been a human challenge, but our present economy is based on overproduction and a disposable culture and this is most visible in the plastic waste we are surrounded by.
The following poem draws our attention to the wasteful consumerism that leads to the invasive nature of plastic waste in our surroundings.
It is the wrapping of the world,
invisible but there,
clinging to everything,
a second skin we don’t see
but are shaped by.
Plastic by Julia Copus
There are grass root groups aware of the problems that plastics cause and some are making conscious decisions to curb discretional spending and avoid having to dispose of plastic packaging.
At first this may be seen as not good news for small businesses.
The key is to rethink how businesses can make money—focusing on longevity, services, efficiency, and sustainability rather than sheer volume of sales. It’s possible to reduce consumption while keeping businesses profitable and people employed.
It’s already happening with companies like Patagonia encouraging and providing customers with the means of mending and repairing.
However, despite the environmental concerns, plastic play a crucial role in many areas where its properties—like durability, flexibility, and lightweight nature—offer benefits that alternatives can’t easily match: healthcare and medicine, renewable energy, space exploration, electronic innovation.
In the end waste is a critical global issue requiring coordinated efforts from individuals, businesses, and governments. Just addressing one aspect of the plastics problem in our daily habits is a step in the right direction.
Plastic has infiltrated both the environment and our consciousness, becoming a symbol of consumerism and waste.
The dreams of our ancestors were never wrapped in plastic.
But we’ve become used to it—
to the flicker of synthetic promises,
to the rustle of bags in the wind.
Our future is moulded,
shaped in the plastic that never fades.
Excerpt: Melissa R. Sipin Plastic Dreams
