Plastic - This time I think we are all in it together!

6 September 2020

This time I think we are all in it together!

 

I know it’s hard to believe but I am 68. I can’t believe it myself some times. When I was born plastic didn’t exist.  In just 4 to 5 decades of coming into existence, plastic has become one of the most essential commodities that the developed world now depends upon. So much so, that the scale of plastic production, which has been rapidly increasing, has already touched a massive 300+ million metric tons every year and half of it is used only once then thrown away.

Fossil fuel is used in the production of plastic. This precious and limited natural resource, which takes millions of years to form, is transformed into plastic which is then discarded after just a few minutes.  

Shopping bags, water bottles, plastic food packaging, disposable coffee cups, straws, toothbrush… the list is endless. I know it is hard to believe but I think we are plastic addicts! 1 million plastic bottles are bought every minute. 500 million straws are given out, every day. And an estimated 4 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide annually, with just 1% of the plastic bags making it to the recycling plant. Of the 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic produced till date, 6.3 billion metric tons have become garbage!

It takes over 8 litres of water to produce just one single-use one litre water bottle. Considering the global scarcity of natural resources, wasting such vast amounts of it over a material that will be used just once, surely can’t be justified.  

America alone throws away 30 million tons of plastic every year. Presently, most nations around the world are just as guilty. From on top of the Mount Everest, to the bottom of Marianas Trench, there is plastic. Already, our bloodstream has traces of these chemicals in it. We are all in it together.

At the second full council meeting of last year Tony Pearce, our Stafford Borough Green Councillor put forward a motion on the reduction of single use plastic. Council meetings will resume in November, I for one will be submitting a question regarding the progress that has been made towards the reduction of the use of plastic and what targets in place to ensure that year upon year single use plastic is reduced and the percent of plastic collected for recycling is increasing. 

You can submit a question to this Committee by emailing democraticservices@staffordbc.gov.uk.  To be considered by the Committee all questions must be received seven clear working days before the meeting.

In the meantime try to be a plastic free shopper as far as possible.

 

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