Modern life is "soft" to carry enormous benefits to our lives hygiene, comfort and color. Plastics are everywhere in the home, food packaging, kitchenware, toys, building materials and appliances. Plastics derived from petrochemicals (non-sustainable and environmentally catastrophic) and dangerous to the environment throughout their life cycle, from its production, is the large-scale pollution, the releasepotent chemicals such as dioxins, phthalates and toxic metals into our environment; and affecting human, animal, plant and aquatic life. Plastic is given different qualities through treatment with a cocktail of other terrifying chemicals, all of which can leach out of the individual products and into air (you know that new plastic smell?), water or something in close proximity to the plastic. And then what do we do?
We wrap our food up in it! Most supermarket food is placed on Polystyrene trays, wrapped in plastic wrap and suffocated, displayed in shiny shells, or preserved in cans lined with plastic. Then, you eat, the food (and possibly plastic leached chemicals) and Chuck the package in the trash. From here, the plastic will remain with us forever, largely non-biodegradable. Tiny fragments of plastic are accumulating in the Pacific Ocean and rages throughout the food chain. If the plastic is burned, it will release a flood of ineffable andhighly toxic chemicals in the environment (which is a serious threat to the health of firefighters and inhale potentially lethal for the inmates of the buildings on fire, the fumes of PVC). Plastics are in the truest sense, a problem that does not go away.
They seem so useful and hygienic, can be hazardous chemicals in foods that come in contact, perhaps aggravated by heat (stove and microwave safe packaging think) filter. Recent studies in America (including theUniversity of Rochester and the National Centre for Environmental Health) have suggested that phthalates (chemicals found in plastics such as Clingfilm, vinyl and plastic bags) can cross the placenta, damaging the sexual development of male children (this is also recognised in other mammals) resulting in physical and possibly behavioural problems. A team of Swedish researchers have linked the household use of plastics to an increase in eczema, asthma and other allergies, and there is concern that the immature bodies of children and babies are at increased risk of toxic damage and build up of plastic chemicals, found in food packaging, toys and drinking bottles. (Several types of plastics have been phased out of use for toys of young children due to their health-risk). Further research has indicated a link between the use of plastics around food and the development of certain cancers such as breast cancer, immune problems, and even infertility.
So what can you do to reduce the amount of plastic in your life?
1) Ditch plastic bags, and always carry cloth bags and baskets; for fairly traded organic cotton bags try http://www.bishopstontrading.co.uk Keep bags in your car, and fold cotton bags up small in your handbag.
2) Chuck out the cling film and use unbleached brown paper and grease-proof paper or recycled aluminium foil to pack sandwiches and store foods in the fridge. Buy unbleached paper bags at http://www.soilassociation.org The paper bags can be reused several times and eventually composted or recycled with your newspapers.
3) Have your vegetables delivered to you to cut down on supermarket packaging; http://www.riverford.co.uk mostly use unbleached paper bags, cardboard punnets and boxes, cutting out a vast amount of packaging and waste. Ask your supermarket to provide unbleached paper bags, or take your own; my local shops are quite used to my strange behaviour by now! Try using local markets, fruit and veg shops or your farmers market and take your own baskets and bags; I get sellers to tip stuff straight into my bag if they do not have paper bags. A further bonus is that less stuff ends up in your bin, and you don't spend an hour unpacking everything.
4) Drink tap water in stead of mineral water, and send kids to school with a drink in a metal sports container rather than plastic bottles. If you can't bear the tap water, then buy the larger 5 litre mineral water bottles, or buy a water filter.
5) Go shabby Chic; spring-clean all of the plastic stuff out of the kitchen and invest in wooden spoons and chopping boards (both of which draw bacteria into the wood and kill it), have some fun choosing ceramic mixing bowls and other kitchen stuff. Look on Ebay for old-fashioned stoneware jelly moulds, and other traditional kitchen things. Don't forget, Christmas is coming, so you can ask for some new things as presents.
6) Sometimes, having children seems to involve surrounding yourself with mountains of multi-coloured plastic, but with some careful buying you can choose safer products for your family and friends, especially for tiny vulnerable new babies. Look out for traditional rag dolls, and knitted woollen teddies, or visit http://www.naturalnursery.co.uk Buy young children wooden toys (www.borndirect.co.uk ) which can be safely chewed and sucked, discourage use of dummies (I know it isn't that easy, I have been there) and source PVC-free, and glass baby bottles from http://www.greenbabyco.com Also you may wish to avoid chemical 'fleece' blankets and go for natural fibres http://www.borndirect.co.uk
7) Choose natural fibres in general. 'Fleece' materials may be extremely cheap, but are made of plastic derivatives (some are made of recycled plastic bottles). Synthetic clothes are an environmental nightmare because not only do they release dangerous chemicals during their processing, but they are almost indestructible, do not biodegrade and burn to release noxious chemicals back into the environment. In fact clothing is another area which you may wish to think about. It is worth considering that school clothes are thought to be some of the most chemically toxic items of clothing which you can buy. I know it is expensive, but go for real cotton, wool, linen and other natural fibres where possible.
Cutting down of the amount of plastic in your life will help you to eat more healthily (lots of local fruit and veg), give you a great excuse for a clear-out and a shopping spree, and help you work toward a more sustainable, and healthful lifestyle. There has been so much concern in recent years about the negative impact of 'plastic living' on our health, that there is plenty of choice when looking for alternatives.
Until next time, happy shopping!
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