Single-Use Plastic Problem
More and more we are experiencing and seeing the negative effects that single-use plastics have on our environment and health. Single-use plastics have become the epitome of our “throwaway society”. With only 9% of plastic waste being recycled it’s time to take a closer look at what single-use plastics are and why they are bad for the environment and us.
What is single-use plastic?
Single-use plastics are products that are made primarily from fossil fuel–based chemicals (petrochemicals) and are meant to be disposed of right after use. Most common single-use plastics are bottles, wrappers, straws, and bags. Without realising it, most of us have some form of single-use plastic in our daily lives. Becoming more aware of these items and making more conscious choices/purchases, ensures we reduce plastic waste.
Why are single-use plastics bad?
Single-use plastics have become a major source of pollution. Research has shown plastic to have been found at the deepest depths of our oceans and the greatest heights of our mountains. There is no country on Earth that is immune to plastic pollution. Single-use plastics aren’t biodegradable, which basically means they don’t properly breakdown over time, instead they turn into microplastics. Ecologists have found that microplastics often make their way into waterways and agricultural land, as well as foods like salt, honey, and sugar. Some research suggests that humans are consuming more than 100,000 microplastics particles a year, with research showing that the chemicals in plastics are known to be hormone disruptors in humans.
What can we do?
Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic has seen a huge increase in single-use plastics. Of course, there are legitimate uses for some single-use plastics. For instance, in medicine, single-use plastics are a key part of infection control and medical research.
Here are some things we can do in our everyday lives to limit single-use plastics:
- Buy recycled, reusable or biodegradable products – products made from recycled plastic or other materials help reduce the amount of single-use plastic ending up in landfills and waterways.
- Raise awareness – just with everything, the more awareness and knowledge we have about single-use plastics, the bigger impact we can have. Holding ourselves and others accountable ensures we see behavioural change in cutting down plastic consumption.
- Use reusable or biodegradable bags – these bags are more eco-friendly and help reduce plastic bag entering landfills and waterways, especially since birds and animals mistake them as food, causing devastating harm.
- Avoid plastic straws and utensils – when ordering out or grabbing some take away, skip the plastic straws and utensils. Use paper straws if you need and opt for reusable utensils (metal or bio-wood cutlery).
- Shop online – buying online sometimes has a lower carbon footprint than shopping in store (skip the express delivery option if you can). Here at Levee + Lowe™ we use carbon neutral shipping, which means that the new release of carbon dioxide (CO2e) into the atmosphere is zero.
- Bring your own reusable coffee mug – due to the plastic lining hiding in takeaway cups, it is challenging for waste management facilities to recycle cups. What is even more devastating is that when we think we are throwing our take-away coffee cups into the recycling bin, we can potentially contaminate the entire collection which will be sent to landfill instead.
Refill Beard Oil Range
Levee + Lowe’s™ has introduced a REFILL range of beard oils. This range does not include the glass dropper lids and requires users to keep their previous dropper lids. When you run out of the product, grab yourself a refill bottle and reuse the dropper. This refill range is a great way to make our products more sustainable. It prolongs the use of material value, whilst reducing the new materials needed to manufacture more, lowering transport costs and decreasing CO2 emissions.
Solid Shampoo Bar Range
Did you know that 552 million plastic shampoo bottles end up in landfills every year? That is a HUGE amount of waste in our environment. That’s why we decided to release our Levee + Lowe™ zero-waste solid shampoo bars. In addition to being more eco-conscious, our solid shampoo bars can last longer than your bottled liquid soap. We like to refer to our solid shampoo’s as ‘gentle-cleansers’ because they don’t strip your hair of its natural oils. For some people, conditioner isn’t even necessary after your hair adjusts in a couple of washes with the bar. If you feel like you need to condition your hair, use our beard oils or beard balms which can help deliver essential nutrients to the hair follicles and skin beneath.
Let's move towards a greener and healthier future for our environment and ourselves.
References
Hardesty, B. D., Wilcox, C., & Barrett, J. (2020). We estimate up to 14 million tonnes of microplastics lie on the seafloor. It’s worse than we thought. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/we-estimate-up-to-14-million-tonnes-of-microplastics-lie-on-the-seafloor-its-worse-than-we-thought-146403
Harvey, P. (2018). There are some single-use plastics we truly need. The rest we can live without. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/there-are-some-single-use-plastics-we-truly-need-the-rest-we-can-live-without-99077
Issac, M. N., & Kandasubramaniam, B. (2021). Effect of microplastics in water and aquatic systems. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28, 19544-19562. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13184-2
Rahman, A., Sarkar, A., Yadav, O. P., Achari, G., & Slobodnik, J. (2021). Potential human health risks due to environmental exposure to nano- and microplastics and knowledge gaps: A scoping review. Science of The Total Environment, 757, 143872. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143872
Revell, L. (2021). Microplastics are in the air we breathe and in the Earth’s atmosphere, and they affect the climate. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/microplastics-are-in-the-air-we-breathe-and-in-earths-atmosphere-and-they-affect-the-climate-170093
Shemitz, L., & Anastas, P. (2020). Microplastics. Yale Sustainability. https://sustainability.yale.edu/explainers/yale-experts-explain-microplastics
Taylor, M. P., Soltani, N. S., & Wilson, S. P. (2021). We’re all ingesting microplastics at home, and these might be toxic for our health. Here are some tips to reduce your risk. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/were-all-ingesting-microplastics-at-home-and-these-might-be-toxic-for-our-health-here-are-some-tips-to-reduce-your-risk-159537
The Senate. (2018). Waste and recycling industry in Australia. Parliament of Australia. https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/WasteandRecycling/Report
Thornton, T., & Lockrey, S. (2018). Sustainable shopping: tap water is best, but what bottle should you drink it from? The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/sustainable-shopping-tap-water-is-best-but-what-bottle-should-you-drink-it-from-92931
Tosetto, L., Brown, C., & Williamson, J. (2016). How microplastics make their way up the ocean food chain into fish. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/how-microplastics-make-their-way-up-the-ocean-food-chain-into-fish-69148
Wakefield-Rann, R., Downes, J., & Florin, N. (2019). Recycling plastic bottles is good, but reusing them is better. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/recycling-plastic-bottles-is-good-but-reusing-them-is-better-126339