Plastic Pollution | 12 Ways on How to Stop Using Plastic

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Plastic pollution is notoriously expanding. Given the expected doubling of plastic production by 2040, the waste will surely go up.

So, the, question is, how to stop using plastic? or, how to reduce plastic waste?

Well, there are numerous ways in which it can be done, ranging from taxes from the government and forcing industries to stop plastic production to taking action on an individual level.

Whichever path we choose, there’s a lot to do. Fortunately, governments and industries are realizing the extent of the problem, and they’ve started taking action.

The only issue is that there’s still a lot to be done, and the current actions aren’t on par with what’s required to rid the planet of plastic and save it from this poison’s atrocities.

In this post, we have shed light on this matter in detail. We’ve covered what is plastic pollution, what are its impacts on air, water, land, wildlife, and human life, and what are some ways to stop using plastic. Let’s get started!

What is Plastic Pollution?

Plastic pollution is the impact caused by the waste of plastic objects and particles on humans, wildlife, land, water, and air.

Plastic is a polymeric material, i.e., a material made up of very large molecules. They resemble long chains comprising endless interconnected links.

Due to its composition, the decomposition of plastic is extremely difficult, which coupled with the material’s excess use, makes it one of the biggest pollutants on Earth.

Plastic takes somewhere between 20 to 500 years to decompose, depending on the type of plastic and its structure. The decomposition of this material depends on its exposure to the sun. However, since most of the plastic waste is dumped into the oceans, it becomes even more difficult to break down.

What is the Impact of Plastic on the Environment?

Our planet is swimming in plastic waste with almost all the items in all forms of industries having some plastic content in them.

The question is, how far have we damaged our land, air, oceans, and wildlife?

Let’s find out!

What is the Impact of Plastic on Air Pollution?

As per the report on Effects of Methane On Climate by the University of Reading, human activity has contributed to approximately 33% of climatic disasters. Studies show that methane is the primary source of trapping greenhouse infrared gases produced by the earth’s atmosphere.

According to a study conducted by the Centre for International Environmental Law, in 2019, It was expected that over 850 million tons of CO₂ equivalent will be linked to plastic. By 2030, it is expected that this number will cross 1.3 billion, which is almost as much as coal power plants.

Let’s talk a bit about plastic bags. They damage the agricultural industry by blocking the photosynthesis process. Studies suggest that a single plastic bag takes around 1000 years to decompose, which, if left in the ocean, releases GHGs, contributing to global warming and climate change.

In addition to this, the burning of plastic, which happens 12% of the time in handling plastic waste, releases toxic gases like dioxins, furans, mercury, and polychlorinated biphenyls aka BCPs. These gases are highly dangerous for humans, animals, crops, and other vegetation.

Furthermore, when polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is burnt and mixed with the air, it produces hazardous halogens which are the primary cause of climate change.

What is the Impact of Plastic on Water Pollution?

Up to 70% of our land is occupied with water with oceans being the largest ecosystem on the planet. Unfortunately, we are destroying them by dumping waste, which leads to the contamination of water and destroys nature’s substantial assets.

One of the biggest threats posed by plastic is microplastics that make their way to our stomachs through numerous food and drink sources ranging from drinking water to fruits and vegetables.

In addition to this, plastic waste often clogs drains and blocks the water flow, a serious concern, which needs to be addressed by imposing some strict laws against plastic usage and disposal. This waste then makes its way to the oceans and strangles marine life and releases toxic chemicals, causing climate change.

Let’s look at some of the atrocities done by plastic waste to our oceans:

• More than one million seabirds and 100,000 aquatic animals get victimized by plastic pollution.
• Approximately 5.25 trillion macro and micrexistre present in our oceans, rivers, and sea. Around 46,000 pieces weighing 269,000 tons approx occupy every square meter of our ocean.
• The major reason for this pollution is plastic packaging; it produces 80 million tons of waste annually.
• The stats show that the world creates an incredible figure of nearly 381 million tonnes of plastic waste every year, with the US producing 38 million tonnes and the UK producing 1.7 million tonnes of plastic waste every year.
• Approximately, 79% of the plastic waste is dumped on the land or in the ocean, 9% gets recycled, and 12% is incinerated.
• By 2050, plastic pollution in the oceans will outnumber fish.
• Scientists have found that almost 44% of all seabird species, 43% of all marine, and 86% of sea turtle species have microplastic fragments in their bodies.

You can learn more about the impact of plastic pollution on the oceans in ‘18 Pollution Facts About the Ocean‘.

What is the Impact of Plastic on Land Pollution?

Approximately 33% of the plastic waste either enters the freshwaters or gets absorbed in the soil.

The break-down procedure transforms it into microplastic, and then into nano-plastics, which can’t be seen, even with advanced microscopes, let alone the naked eye.

As a result of plastic contamination in the soil, many insect habitats are affected. Let’s take the example of Earthworms. These poor creatures are forced to change their burrow-making technique due to the presence of microplastics, which not only has an impact on their health and fitness but also alter the soil condition.

Another research published in the Royal Society Publishing discussed that microplastic pollution interferes with the food web of the various soil species, which in turn negatively impacts the soil’s fertility and nutrient concentration.

Similarly, a study conducted in Germany found that plastic in any form, especially, microplastics, can affect creatures on lands in an identical or even more problematic manner than the oceans.

What is the Impact of Plastic on Wildlife?

Wildlife is a notable victim of plastic pollution. In addition to causing extreme harm to marine life, plastic waste is also taking quite a toll on land animals. While grazing for food, they pick up items that include micro pieces of plastic, which get stuck in their stomachs and cause digestion issues.

Plastic also causes severe injuries to animals, specifically marine animals and birds, sometimes leaving their body parts non-functional. Animals like raccoons often get tangled in the plastic rings which ends up in serious cuts and damage.

In addition to injuring them, plastic also kills them. there have been many incidences of land animals dying due to plastic pollution. For example, in January 2018, a 20-year-old elephant expired from eating the plastic waste dumped by millions of pilgrims who pass by the forest to pay homage to Hindu god Ayyapan in the heart of Kerala’s Periyar Tiger Reserve every winter.

Now let’s talk a bot about marine animals. Sea turtles and other marine species harm themselves by not only ingesting the plastic but by suffocation and choking that usually forces them to starve for several days. Sometimes, they don’t make out of it alive!

For instance, A green sea turtle, named Alvi, was found in Struisbaai with a plastic bag in his throat that almost choked him. Fortunately, he was rescued by the Two Oceans Aquarium Education Foundation‘s team at the right time.

In another incident, a baby loggerhead sea turtle washed up in Boca Raton, Florida, taking his last breaths. He passed away despite the efforts of the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center. Later it was found that this baby turtle, which easily fit if the hand, had 104 pieces of plastic within it.

What is the Impact of Plastic on Human Life?

Plastic intake causes deadly diseases. We use various forms of plastics in literally everything ranging from our clothes to cutlery, leading to numerous health threats. Let’s take the example of hot beverages in plastic cups and glasses; they can lead to cancer due to the leaching of bisphenol A (BPA).

Plastic debris contributes to chemical pollution in many different ways. It consists of components that can easily penetrate the human body, and many of them turn out to be poisonous.

In a recent study, it was found that humans consume about 0.1 to 5 grams of plastic per week. This plastic enters our bloodstream and is even found to harm the placenta, including the fetus. It was found that approximately 77% of the population has microplastics in their blood.

Plastic-made products contain chemical additives that cause serious health problems such as cancer, infertility, and neurodevelopment disorders like ADHD and autism.

When plastic and microplastic mix with our environment, they are consumed by micro-organisms such as pathogens. When these microplastics containing pathogens attack our bodies, they are likely to spread infectious diseases.

The plastic-contaminated water is an easy breeding place for many insects, like mosquitos, who spread malaria, zika, and dengue.  The more plastic debris, the greater the risk of infections. For instance, in tropical areas, where the rainfall occurs in notable amounts, the stagnant water containing floating plastic waste majorly spreads the cholera bacteria.

According to research on toxic pollutants, exposure to burning plastic waste is a serious threat to human health. It causes heart diseases and intensifies respiratory illnesses like asthma and emphysema, which ultimately damages the nervous system.

12 Tips on How to Stop Using Plastic

We hope by now you would have understood the atrocities of plastic and why we need to stop using it. So, let’s move on to how to stop using plastic, make a positive change, and steer our planet towards a healthy environment:

1. Avoid Single-us Plastic

We all are aware that single-use plastics are made up of fossil fuels. The whole procedure from extraction to transportation for the preparation of plastic involves the emission of 12.5 to 13.5 million metric tons of greenhouse gases.

In addition to this, single-use plastic products generally stay in our environment for somewhere between 20 to 500 years depending on their type. The sad part is that most of them are usually used for mere minutes, such as a plastic bag, which is used for 12 minutes on average.

Here’s how you can avoid single-use plastics:

• Use reusable bottles
• Purchase bamboo products in place of plastic ones
• Avoid using straws
• Buy bulked items and abstain from purchasing over-packaged food items.
• Replace plastic crockery with glass or steel
• Avoid plastic packaged items
• Replace plastic garbage bags with biodegradable or compostable ones. Head over to our post on ‘7 Best Biodegradable Garbage Bags of 2022 (Contains Compostable Options)‘ to make a change!

2. Use Reusable Bags for Shopping

This is the most significant tip in reducing plastic pollution. Shopkeepers these days, specifically in developing countries, hand over plastic bags for the smallest of things, which get discarded as soon as their purpose is served. They, then end up in landfills or oceans and contaminate the air, land, and water for centuries to come.

Many countries have initiated campaigns to reduce plastic pollution by imposing plastic taxes, which has led to a rise in the prices of single-use plastics, specifically plastic bags, leading to a reduction in their usage.

However, everything isn’t the government’s responsibility, we need to take action ourselves as well.

For example, in India, an environmentalist, named Dr. Ruby Makhija, is getting fabric bags stitched and distributed among vendors. The vendors lend it to their customers for a low price and the borrowers get their money back by returning the bags to their destined stalls. All of this is achieved through a QR code pasted on the bags.

If you want to get your hands on a trendy, sturdy, environmentally-friendly, and functional reusable grocery tote bag, then head over to our post on ‘9 Best Reusable Grocery Bags 2022‘.

3. Avoid Purchasing Plastic Packaged Products

In the commercial world, the buyer has the ultimate power. If we start resisting plastic packaging, it will build pressure on the companies and manufacturers to change their strategies toward packaging.

Paper and compostable materials are excellent alternatives in thiMany companies have that have started embracing these options, but their prices are slightly higher due to the added cost of alternative packaging.

You can support the transition from plastic to environmentally-friendly packaging by reducing your purchases and gthe environmentally conscious ones conscious. In this way, you’ll not only reduce waste, but you’ll also contribute to the betterment of our planet.

4. Avoid Micro-plastics

Microplastics are poisoning our land, water, and air. It’s very important to eradicate this problem at this stage as the damage done to the oceans and environment is more than enough. Here’s how:

1. Detach yourself from disposable products like straws, coffee cups, and disposable plates.
2. Carry your water bottles instead of buying the plastic-packaged ones from the market.
3. Replace beauty products with microbeads with natural ones.

5. Stop Using Plastic at Your Workplace

Many of us carry a lot of plastic-made products to our workplaces like water bottles, plastic-packaged food, and the trusty Starbucks (how can we forget that!). Unfortunately saying no to all these things is one of the essential ways to stop using plastic.

Organizations should impose a ban on carrying plastic boxes and promote the use of water coolers fitted in the offices. Also, they should encourage people by introducing incentives for taking such steps. Another great idea is a waste audit as it will help maintain a record of the waste generated by the employees.

If you are a business owner, looking to incorporate sustainable and green practices in your business, then head over to ‘Sustainable Business Practices | 10 Tips to Make Your Business Sustainable‘. We’ve covered comprehensive tips for all types of businesses regardless of their size!

6. Make Sustainable Seafood Choices

The tip of making sustainable seafood choices might seem misplaced in how to stop using plastic suggestions, but it’s actually very relevant.

Greenpeace report shows that more than 640,000 tonnes of nets, pots, lines, and traps are discarded in the ocean on an annual basis, which equals the weight of about 55,000 double-decker buses.

Similarly, it was found that 86% of megaover excess of 20cm) in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch are fishing nets. This number is 70% of the overall ocean plastic pollution.

Sustainable choice of seafood ensures minimal impacts on the environment and society. It counters aspects like overfishing and incidental impacts on marine species. There are many ways to identify whether your seafood is sustainably sourced or not. Below are the links which are working religiously towards this goal:

• Ocean wise
• EDF seafood selector  
• WWF Seafood Guides

7. Create Awareness Regarding the Harmful Impacts of Plastic

This tip includes educating people through various means, physical or digital, to fight plastic pollution. Many concerned authorities, and even people on an individual level, are working hard to spread the message.

You can’t force someone to do as instructed but you can make them realize the importance of their take on this matter. You can create awareness in numerous ways, some of them are:

• Practice a sustainable lifestyle yourself, so that people can take inspiration.
• Share your thoughts with your friends and family.
• Create awareness through social media.
• Take part in campaigns, such as beach cleanups.

An excellent example in this regard is Anuj Ramatri, an ecowarrior, who is doing exceptionally great by circulating video messages on environmental prevention and promoting organizations and real-life heroes who are working in this area.

8. Practise 5 Rs of Waste Management

5 R’s is one of the best answers to how to stop using plastic because you can do it with minimal effort possible.

So, what are the 5 Rs?

The 5 Rs are refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, and recycle.

Let’s discuss them with regard to plastic consumption.

Refuse is to say no to anything that has plastic. Such as not purchasing items that are packaged in plastics.

Reduce involves reducing the use of items that contain plastic and you have no choice but to use them. The best example in this regard would be to purchase bulk amounts of food so there’s less packaging involved.

Reuse involves reusing plastic items, such as plastic jars or food containers again.

Repurpose is using an item for something different so that you don’t have to throw it in the bin, such as turning a plastic bottle into a decoration piece.

Lastly, recycling is collecting and processing the materials so that they can be used again. The best thing you can do from your home for this R is to place plastic items in the correct recycling bin, which we’ve discussed in detail in the next section.

9. Place Plastic in the Correct Recycling Bin

This might seem like a small and simple task but it can help in this campaign a lot. If we place the plastic in the correct recycling bin, it will become easy for recycling facilities to sort the waste and directly send it to the concerned authorities.

Currently, only 9% of the waste is recycled, which shows we are lacking big time in this area. We, consumers, can bring this number quite high, if we educate ourselves on what’s recyclable and what isn’t and place the right waste in the right bin.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that you should place just anything into the recycling bins because this might severely damage the machinery. Statistics show that 30% of the products found in the recycling bins aren’t supposed to be there. So, there’s definitely vast room for improvement!

10. Purchase Biodegradable Products

Before cautioning y’all on buying biodegradable products, we insist you always look at the tags of what you are purchasing!

In this way, you’ll not only know what you are buying but you also won’t be greenwashed by false promises.

Another great way to ensure that you are purchasing a biodegradable, eco-friendly, or sustainable product is to check for third-party certifications. Major ones include Green Seal, B-Corp, Fair Trade, and UL ECOLOGO®.

11. Check Clothing Labels for Plastic

Do you know what is one of the biggest contributors to the microplastics in the oceans?

Well, it’s your clothes!

Approximately 35% of all the microplastics present in the ocean are the synthetic microfibers from your clothes, which we drain into the waterways during laundering.

To put this in context, 80% of the harmful impact of a garment on the environment takes place when you launder it.

So, never forget to check labels while purchasing clothes so you don’t end up getting synthetic fabrics with high quantities of polyester in them.

To learn more about how you can practice sustainable fashion, head over to ‘Sustainable Fashion: A Complete Guide‘.

12. Do a Trash Audit

Self-assessment is always the best way to stop creating excessive waste. If we conduct a trash audit on a regular basis, It can help us keep a record of the waste we create, especially, the plastic that we have used.

For added efficiency and maximum benefit out of the process, you can set goals for yourselves based on previous waste audits.

Here’s what you can do:

1. Take a paper, and pen, or open notes on your phone (whichever suits you best, we recommend the phones, as the paper comes from trees!) to prepare a list, based on 5 Rs, of the trash you are going to dump like cartons of milk, papers, paper towels, ice cream cups, etc.
2. Segregate the waste based on the list that you’ve created.
3. Place all the items that have the potential to be reused or repurposed somewhere safe so that you actually use them rather than forget.
4. Use the organic waste for composting. This generally involves kitchen waste and yard waste.

If you want to learn more about how to lead a sustainable life, alongside cutting done on plastic, then head over to ‘15 Sustainable Living Ideas to Incorporate in Daily Life‘.

We hope by now you would have learned quite a lot about how to stop using plastic. Let us know in the comments below that which of these tips you practice. Also, don’t forget to share any other techniques you have in mind. Let’s take action against plastic before it’s too late!

About Post Author

Fauzia Tabassum

Fauzia is the Founder and CEO of The Enviropreneur, with an MSc in Civil Engineering (Environmental Systems) degree from University College London as a Commonwealth Scholar. She worked as an Environmental Engineer at EcoNomad Solutions Ltd., during which she founded her own company. She is an Environmentalist who aims to support businesses in becoming carbon-negative by being an advisor on sustainability, climate, energy transition, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) – throughout their supply chain and from the factories to the boardrooms.

fauzia@theenviropreneur.com

https://theenviropreneur.com/

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