This article is focused on the following Sustainable Development Goals:
I was purchased by a pretty looking lady yesterday at the school cafeteria. It was the first time I had seen the sun in so long. You see, my childhood wasn’t very great. It started millions of years ago, with the formation of fossil fuels, namely oil. This crude oil, once extracted, was transported miles away to a refinery, risking oil spills (like the one in Mauritius recently) and explosions overseas. This journey lasted for a month or so, maybe longer. After it reached the refinery, it took a whole lot of chemical processes to form the shape of my body. So, 6-7 times the amount of water that I can hold, 4 million joules of energy, and 6 ounces of released carbon dioxide later, I was finally, fully born.
I overheard my buyer’s conversation with her friends - apparently, she purchases one of my long-lost brothers every single day. I never understood why they do that - the human beings I mean. Why do they purchase us just to throw us out on the same day? Does it bring them some sort of joy, seeing us end up in landfills and oceans 8 million times a year?
I hope they know that they are hindering the progress of SDGs 14 and 15, Life below Water and Life on Land. Every water bottle or plastic bag thrown either ends up in landfills, endangering the lives of animals on land and polluting the Earth, or ends up in the oceans, endangering the aquatic animals. Water bottles can stay in landfills for up to 1000 years because the lack of oxygen makes it harder for them to break down. Moreover, even while in the landfill, they contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and chemical leaching into the waterways. It is reported that 100 million marine animals die every year due to plastic waste alone. It is disturbing to see how much damage one single brethren of mine can cause. This is why I am reaching out to you and others like you who are willing to make a difference for the better. Here’s what you can do to avoid plastic pollution:
Sign petitions to ban plastics
Talk to the owner of your local grocery store/restaurant and ask them to provide paper bags or reusable bags instead
Start collecting plastic from your local compounds and drop them off at recycling centers or contact a local recycling company and ask them if they can/will pick up from your compound
Make paper bags from old newspapers and give them to your local community members or grocery stores to use
Upcycle your plastic bottles! You can make anything ranging from seats to pencil cases. Google and Pinterest are good places to start.
Limit your own plastic use at home. Use alternatives like cloth bags, metal bottles, etc.
Reuse plastic whenever possible, but avoid buying them altogether.
Organize or participate in a beach cleanup
Every effort makes a difference. Remember, change starts with you.
External Resources
Here are a few upcycling ideas
The Plastic Free July challenge (it doesn’t only have to be July for you to take part in the challenge!)
One petition. If you search up ‘plastic petitions’ you should find many more!
Works Cited
https://solgaard.co/blogs/stories/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-plastic-water-bottle
https://www.drinklavit.com/blog/plastic-isnt-green
https://plasticoceans.org/the-facts/
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/curriculum/outdoored/programs/waterbottlefactpages.pdf
https://phys.org/news/2009-03-energy-bottle.html
https://www.condorferries.co.uk/marine-ocean-pollution-statistics-facts
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