Plastic Free July 2022

Today, I’m highlighting three key FAQs from Our World on Data on plastic pollution. The whole article is worth a read — it’s a very helpful, consolidated view of all things plastic waste.

In addition to reading the article, your other bite-sized action is to sign the pledge for Plastic Free July!

Let’s begin our Q&A.

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1. How much plastic do we produce?
   
   Plastic production since 1950 has increased ~200x.
   
   ⚠️ Two. Hundred. Fold. ⚠️
   
   In 2015, annual production had reached 381 million tonnes, which is roughly equivalent to the mass of two-thirds of the world population.
   
   Today, with cumulative production from 1950, we have more than one tonne of plastic for every person alive. MORE THAN ONE TONNE. That’s like a cow’s worth of plastic for each one of us. 🐄
   
   
2. Which industry causes the most plastic pollution?
   
   Maybe not a huge surprise, but it’s packaging. The thing that did surprise me is the runner-up: the textile industry causes the second-highest level of plastic pollution. 👕
   
   
3. How much of global plastic is recycled?
   
   In 2015, ~55% of global plastic waste was discarded, ~25% was incinerated, and ~20% is recycled. Historically (since 1950), that cumulative percentage is closer to 10%, but things seem to be looking up for recycling.
   
   Managing plastic waste has been a hot topic as more people have been learning that our precious recyclables are actually often thrown in landfill, so definitely check out the article to get a deeper dive into recycling and waste management.
   
   Plastic pollution affects our oceans, our food systems, our land, and so much else of the planet we live on and love. Check out the rest of the FAQs here to keep yourself informed.

Next week, in our LISTEN module, we’ll talk about what happens to plastics that end up in the ocean and uncover a mystery.

🖊️ If you’re stressed out by the cows worth of plastic you’re representing in this world, make sure to sign the Plastic Free July pledge!

In today’s LISTEN module, we’ll talk about why 99% of ocean plastic pollution is “missing”. Basically, we emit a buttload of plastic into the ocean and we… can’t… find it.

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Vox is here to investigate The Case of the Missing Plastic. Time to learn! Takeaways are below.

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• We can’t find 99% of ocean plastic pollution?!
  
  Scientists believe 800 metric tonnes of plastic are emitted into the ocean each year. But we can only find 1% of it in garbage patches. Where does the rest go?
  
  
• Microplastics will be in the ocean forever. Some is in the seafloor.
  
  Scientists conducted a sediment study and saw microplastics blended into the seafloor. The mystery continues.
  
  
• Maybe some plastic simply sinks to the bottom of the ocean…
  
  ~Half of plastic in landfills is more dense than seawater. This means these plastic objects can sink without breaking down into microplastics.
  
  
• There’s a lot of old trash in garbage patches. New trash doesn’t go so far.
  
  Newer plastic stays close to the shoreline, while older plastic ends up in the deep sea. So it’s likely that a majority of plastic is within 100 miles of shorelines, constantly eroding with the waves. This is good news for beach cleanups — they matter!

There’s no official answer on where exactly the 99% of missing plastic goes, but we have some pretty robust clues: the seafloor sediment, un-broken-down at the bottom of the ocean, the shoreline…

This Twitter account posts regular updates of their simulations of ocean plastic pollution around the world. If you’re a data nerd or an ocean nerd or just a regular nerd, follow them! Also, http://plasticadrift.org/ is an interactive tool for seeing where ocean trash can come from.

So yeah, we’re creating so much waste that we are LOSING IT. Yikes yikes yikes. I’m really looking forward to our ACT module — big problems mean big solutions, and that’s what we’re all here for, right?

Here are 5 actions of varying time commitment, difficulty, and fun-ness.

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• 5 min | Pick ONE plastic replacement to commit to every day
  
  As Linkin Park said, “it starts with one thing”. Pick ONE plastic item you’re committing to replacing in your own life. For me, it’s produce bags. I’ve been doing this (/trying my damn best) since writing about plastic last July and I’ve noticed that just starting with one thing makes the whole process SO much easier, and it also helps me talk about it to friends and family since I’m not trying to tackle a zillion issues at once. Next up, remembering to actually bring my coffee cup.
  
  
• 5 min | Get inspired through stories
  
  We talk about this a lot — Soapbox operates with the lens that hope is really important + imagining the futures we want to live in is key. Take 5-10 min to browse Plastic Free July’s story library. Bonus points if you submit your own.

• 30 min (or 15 if you watch at 2x speed) | Upstream plastics packaging FREE course
  
  Take this course with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. By “course” I mean watch this YouTube video. We’ll learn stuff we can apply to our businesses + workplaces!

• 90 min | Support your local zero-waste/refill store
  
  Google “zero waste store near me” or “local bulk store” or click here. If you live in a city, there is a VERY high chance you have a small zero waste store nearby and don’t know about it. These margins are tricky and the stores are struggling — they need to know we care!
  
  
• Time varies | Compost!
  
  Here’s the thing. Plastic recycling is pretty much a scam (more on this next week). If you’re doing it, keep doing it, but the real landfill diversion happens when we compost! There are SOOOO many resources online on how to compost, so start there: Google “how to compost”. 🪱🎉

Solving the plastic problem requires policy and upstream solutions, and we should never forget that WE are part of these solutions. Our individual actions add up and they get us to keep caring about the big picture while finding others who are down for this journey. (Thank you!)

Before we go any further, it's time for you to pledge your commitment. It takes less than 30 seconds to pledge and we can bother you about it in a friendly way, so we can hold each other accountable. Pledge here!

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🎯 Action step 4 of 4: REFLECT — what can you commit to? What fresh perspectives can we look at?

For our REFLECT module, I want to talk about habit-building.

Yes, it’s not a plastic pollution-specific topic, but I’m CONSTANTLY seeing us create more plastic waste not because we don’t care, but because we forget our various mugs/totes/bottles/etc.

Ready to make our lives better with sustainable habits? Let’s do it!

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Before we go through all the habit-building stuff, I did want to share an article about how plastic recycling doesn’t work and never will based on the material itself.

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The main point:

Chemical recycling is not viable. It has failed and will continue to fail for the same down-to-earth, real-world reasons that the conventional mechanical recycling of plastics has consistently failed. Worse yet, its toxic emissions could cause new harm to our environment, climate, and health.

The other main point is that proven solutions to plastic pollution reduction exist, like single-use plastic bans.

Ok onto habit time!

Many of you may have read Atomic Habits — it’s one of the highest-sold ✨lifehack✨ books ever — and if you haven’t, here’s what you need to know: James Clear, the author, breaks down the four steps of habit-building in a way that is applicable to basically everything.

I’m going to teach you the steps below along with an example of how I might do this with my goal of bringing reusable produce bags with me when I go to the store to reduce plastic.

1. Step 1: Cue — Make it obvious
   
   Here, we want to create our optimum environments, because as James Clear says (and this has been cited by millions of tech bros worldwide), “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” Setting up a system to make it obvious can mean putting your produce bags inside your default grocery store tote bags. Or by the door. Or in your car.
   
   
2. Step 2: Craving — Make it attractive
   
   How can you create a “craving” for produce bags, you may ask? One way to make it attractive is by redefining your behaviors. Instead of feeling hassled / guilty / stressed about your produce bags or lack thereof, teach your brain that bringing reusable bags → don’t have to pay for bags → happy earth yay!
   
   There’s also a concept of “habit stacking” — so maybe you have a habit of unloading your groceries immediately upon coming home. Why don’t you also use this time to re-put your produce bags where they belong?
   
   
3. Step 3: Response — Make it easy
   
   Yes, our friend habit stacking can help to make it easy. You might also follow the “two-minute rule” — if it takes two minutes or less, DO IT! This is sooooo key for all things sustainability, and the produce bags thing is a great example of an action that DOES only take two minutes max.
   
   
4. Step 4: Reward — Make it satisfying
   
   We love treats! One of our two core values at Soapbox is joy, so I’m happy to announce that this means when you follow through on your habit to bring a reusable produce bag, you get an up-to-$5 treat from the grocery store. You’re welcome, future Nivi. To make a habit stick, we’ve gotta make it satisfying!

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‍Your action this month is to pick your plastic-breaking habit (e.g. bring sustainable produce bags to the store) and map out the four steps.

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And with that, it's a wrap! (But not plastic wrap, no no no.)

‍🏁 Checkpoint: This is the end of action step 4 of 4: REFLECT.

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Check out our membership community for more resources like free weekly events with social justice experts, sustainable product discounts, pre-written email templates, a social impact job board, and in-person hangouts with new friends. Thanks for taking action with Soapbox Project!