What will happen if no action is taken

• Plastics will continue to contribute to landfill as they take so long to break down. 
• The production of plastic requires the use of fossil fuels which is very harmful and this will only continue to contribute to climate change and global warming. 
• Plastics will continue to be a major source of pollution; filling our waterways and streets with rubbish that may become hard to control. 

Basically, the use of plastic has to be reduced but preferably almost cut out completely because if it doesn't it will of course become more of an environmental problem than it is now. With the information we have put together,we hope that we have encouraged pro-environmental behaviour when it comes to plastic use. Remember that even the seemingly smallest of actions can have a big impact in the long run.


 Another website:
 http://www.degradablepolymers.com/faqs.html

Article: "US cities increasingly ban or tax plastic shopping bags"

October 5th 2010 USAToday.com

By Justin Sullivan, Getty Images

 

A pedestrian carries a plastic grocery bag as he walks down Stockton street June 2, 2010 in San Francisco, California. Unlike California, where lawmakers Tuesday rejected a ban on plastic grocery bags, the U.S. territory of American Samoa will make it illegal for stores to offer such bags beginning in Feb. 2011.

More U.S. cities and territories are combating litter by banning or taxing plastic shopping bags, despite the recent defeat of a statewide ban in California.

Bans take effect in January in Brownsville, Texas, and Hawaii's Kauai and Maui counties. In February, American Samoa's ban goes into effect.

Continue Reading

Article: "American Samoa bans plastic bags"

Pacific Sunday News,  October 3, 2010

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has lauded the American Samoa government for banning plastic shopping bags

"This action will decrease the amount of plastic waste in the territory and directly protect marine and bird life in the Pacific,"said Jared Blumenfeld, the EPA's Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest

Continue Reading

Article: "Saving the world one plastic bag at a time"

Saving the world one plastic bag at a time

By Caroline J. Howard, ANC

Posted at 10/02/2010 8:41 PM | Updated as of 10/03/2010 3:18 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Imagine a life without plastic bags. In an ideal world, we could all be so lucky. But in a fast-paced, modern-day world dependent on instant solutions and quick fixes, there's no quick way to do away with these items.

But the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is taking a step in that direction by urging supermarkets to declare a plastic-bag-free day at least once a week--on Wednesdays

Read More

Relevant Article:  'No plastic bag day' starts in November

Posted at 09/30/2010 12:05 AM | Updated as of 09/30/2010 12:06 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Plastic bags in supermarkets will no longer be free on certain days starting November.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said the campaign is part of efforts to limit the use of plastics as these cause drainage systems to be clogged.

Read More

Plastic Bags

Article: Greenpeace statement on plastic bags

March 12, 2008 Sydney, Australia — Greenpeace's position on plastic bags and the environment:

Greenpeace supports campaigns for zero waste around the world, and campaigns strongly against plastic waste in many of our offices around the world. Plastic bags are an integral part of the plastic waste issue, and are part of the greater plastic pollution problem worldwide.

Read the full article

Plastic bag facts

• Australians used 3.9 billion plastic shopping bags in 2007
• Nearly half a million plastic bags are collected on Clean Up Australia Day each year. (source - CUA)
• It takes only four grocery shopping trips for an average Australian family to accumulate 60 plastic shopping bags. (source - CUA)
• Plastic bags are produced from polymers derived from petroleum. The amount of petroleum used to make a plastic bag would drive a car about 11 metres. (source - CUA)
• In 2005, Australians used 192 HDPE bags per capita. (source - Nolan ITU)
• 14% of HDPE plastic carry bags are returned to major supermarkets for recycling. (source - ANRA)

Learn more at: More Plastic Facts or at Plastic bags

Relevant article: 'Eco bags' aim to save earth in style

abs-cbnNEWS.com Posted at 08/23/2010 4:55 PM | Updated as of 08/23/2010 5:01 PM

MANILA, Philippines - Mall giant SM recently launched a line of brightly colored reusable totes as part of its efforts to encourage the youth to save the environment.

Aptly called "eco bags," the totes are made of polypropylene, a non-woven material that is recyclable, non-toxic and non-reactive to human skin. Originally intended as grocery bags, SM said these can also be used for school and . . . .

Tips on how you can help

• Avoid buying products with excessive plastic packaging. 
• Use bottles that are made from stainless steal instead of buying plastic bottles when you are out. If you must buy rather than bring bottled water or drink buy glass bottles instead.  
• Bring your own bags to carry groceries in rather than buy plastic bags every time you shop-go green!
•  For packed lunches or picnics always bring containers you can use again

Alternatives to plastic

Here are some tips from to assist you in switching from using plastic:

1. Use glass or ceramic food storage containers instead of plastic.
2. If you have plastic cutting boards, replace them with bamboo or wood choices.
3. Instead of plastic bottles, try glass or stainless steel bottles instead.
4. When packing lunches for the kids, plastic storage tend to be unavoidable. However you could use a stainless steel insulated storage container for the heated foods. For drinks, if you’re up for investing in this new reduced-plastic approach use a water bottle made out of aluminum instead.
5. Stop getting new cups when purchasing coffee/hot drinks, bring your own thermos
6. If plastic is unavoidable, try and choose the less harmful ones:

When possible choose plastics

• #1 PETE, #2 HDPE, #4 LDPE and #5 PP

and Avoid

• #3 PVC, #6 PS and #7 polycarbonate.

 You can also find out more about alternatives from:
 http://www.environment.gov.au/settlements/waste/plastics.html

Alternative to Plastic Bags:

• Bring your own bags when you shop - This will hopefully reduce the need for retailers to provide plastic checkout-style bags. This could the result in plastic bags no longer filling landfills, littering the environment, interfering with recycling or killing our fauna.
• Use sturdy reusable bags such as ‘Green Bags’. These last for in excess of two years, are easily washed and can be reused time and time again. Other reusable alternatives include baskets, calico or canvas satchels and backpacks.

Plastic Bottles

Case Study: Bundanoon, NSW
In 2009, Bundanoon's residents and business owners voted to have their town ban the selling of plastic bottles by local retail businesses. The verdict was almost unanimous with the votes with only one vote against the proposal.

The ban came into effect in September of last year so retailers had a chance to sell the remaining bottles of water.

Now instead of residents and tourists having to buy bottled water when they go out they have access to specialised water bubblers incorporating a filter system as well.
http://www.gotap.com.au/

Why plastic bottled water is so harmful:

• Financial costs: In 2009 Australians were estimated to have spent half a billion dollars on plastic bottled water. Often a litre of water is more costly than a litre of petrol.
• Once a plastic bottle is thrown out, they are a major source of pollution, ending up in storm water drains and are carried out to sea. They also make up a vast amount of landfill and serve as litter in the streets.
• Not only does the disposal of plastic bottled water contribute to pollution, but the very production, transportation and maintaining of the water bottles (keeping cool) consume massive amounts of energy.   
• If you were to drive a car for a kilometre, the same amount of energy is consumed as a single plastic bottle of water
• A mere 36% of  PET bottles are recycled in Australia as a whole
• Every year, Australia generates a huge 60 000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions-attributed to plastic bottles alone

Plastic in Toys

When did you last buy a toy?

Was it plastic?

Did you see how much packaging was used to keep that small doll in place, in the big box with various images on the back with a clear front?

Do you have any idea how much plastic is being used just so you/your children etc can be entertained?


Below is how much plastic was used in various economic sectors in the UK in 2001- a total of approximately 4.7 million tonnes of plastic products.

Source: WasteOnline.org.uk

Even though toys were only 3%, that still is 141 000 tonnes of plastic = the weight of over 70 000 average sized cars. And this is only in the Uk, this does not include how much is being used in other countries such as the US, Australia and the rest of Europe.

There are alternatives to choosing plastics toys. These include:

• Wooden toys
• Buy preowned toys - these may be plastic but atleast you are not buying new ones where the store will just order in more stock
• Choose toys with as little packaging as possible - ie not Barbie and her massive plastic box with all of the little ties holding her in place.
• As you can see packaging uses 35% of the plastic used which  = 1 645 000 tonnes of plastics = the weight of over 822 000 average sized cars.

Overview of plastic

Here are some quick facts about plastic and its usage. Hopefully it will get you thinking about how harmful plastic is for the environment.
• The time it takes for different plastics to break down is quite astonishing: a plastic bottle takes 450 years while a plastic cup can take anywhere between 50 and 80 years.
• Every year, plastics that get into water systems such as oceans and rivers kill as many as one million sea creatures
• Which is actually quite unsurprising considering 15000 tons of plastic waste (buoys, nets etc) is dumped in the ocean from the boats that make up the fishing industry
• If a ton of plastic bottles is recycled, 1.5 tons of carbon is saved from being emitted
• One of the most surprising and most shocking things about plastic is that most plastic that has ever been made is still in existence

Hi everyone!

Aim: To promote awareness of the dangers of plastic and reducing society's impact on the environment because of plastic usage through:

1. Outlining the issue of plastic use and the consequences of no action.
2. Encouraging you to reduce the amount of plastic you use in everyday life and outline the harmful nature of plastics to create an increased environmental consciousness about the use of plastic in society.
3. Promoting the use of alternatives such as environmentally friendly fabrics so that we are offering solutions as well as facts!