Monday, April 22, 2019

Plastic, Plastic Everywhere

Plastic plays a vital role in our modern lives, yet it is also a major pollutant

Right now we are in Fort McMurray taking care of our grandchildren while our son and daughter-in-law take a much needed rest, and finish up some necessary course work. It is mostly fun, but I must admit that looking after three kids between the ages of three and nine is more tiring now that we are over 70. The things we do for love.

Fort McMurray is the heart of the Canadian oil sands, which is a source of employment for many CLAC Local 63 members. The oil is extracted in many ingenious ways from the sand to become a number of things, not just fuel to drive our cars and power our industries. One of the many products is plastic. Have you ever thought about the ways in which plastics affect our lives? Have you ever thought of the things that would simply disappear if there was no plastic? Our homes would be unclad with the vinyl siding and vinyl window frames that keep the weather out. No plastic bags, cling wrap, and containers for storage. Our cars wouldn’t function without plastics. How would we take our groceries home without the ubiquitous plastic bags? And then of course, the doggie doo bags. What else could we use?

Last summer and earlier this year we spent some time walking the beaches of Vancouver Island, Oregon, and northern California. One thing we could not escape, no matter how pristine the beach, was plastic. Everywhere there were plastic water bottles, plastic bags, plastic storage containers, foam and plastic buoys, and the list goes on. Some items were still intact—those were easy to clean up—but many had been reduced to the size of a dime or smaller. These were almost impossible to clean up. What happens to this stuff as it breaks down? We have heard and seen stories of whales and other sea creatures succumbing to their digestive systems being clogged with plastic garbage. We have heard and seen stories of the islands of plastics floating around in our oceans. We have even been informed that almost all of our drinking water has amounts of microplastics.

One way of course to deal with the plastic pollution dilemma is to do without. What then? Or we could do a better job of recycling. But how do we do that when there is no marker for the product, and by the way, there are over seven different kinds of household plastics and they are not all compatible for recycling. What do we do with this stuff? Well I suppose we could only use plastic that is reusable or fully recyclable. Or we could decide to only produce and use plastics made from corn or hemp fibres, which in turn would be fully compostable.

I do not pretend to have the answers, but this is an issue that requires a lot of study and soon. It is not only disconcerting to see plastic bags hanging from branches after a storm, but it is damaging our land, water, and air. Just a few of the things my mind works on as I head toward my fourth score of years. Will the grandchildren that I am looking after today have a world to live in when they get to be my age? Will they get to be my age? I wonder. I hope.

This week, as we think about earth day, we should think about how we as consumers can make smarter choices to reduce our reliance on disposable plastics, while also being thankful for the many ways in which plastic has improved our lives. And as a community, we should think about how we can use and develop our resources in a responsible manner so that future generations can enjoy our earth too.

Plastic, Plastic Everywhere

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