Items collected from my neighborhood and local beach. All in a days work.
As if there weren’t enough improperly discarded single-use items and plastics in our environment, enter Coronavirus. Prior to the pandemic, the Ocean Conservancy estimated that 8 million metric tons of plastic waste enter our oceans every year. I know we’ve had enough bad news lately, but here’s more… a recent study conducted by National Geographic estimates that the amount of debris entering our oceans is expected to increase to 29 million metric tons by 2040. This number is so startling that it’s almost incomprehensible.
The pandemic has introduced a serious increase of single-use face masks, rubber gloves, face shields, takeout containers, alcohol bottles, shipping packaging, plastic bags, cleaning wipes, and other items into our local environment. According to a study in the Environmental Science & Technology journal, an estimated 129 billion face masks and 65 billion gloves are being disposed of every month that we deal with COVID-19. Single-use items are likely made from synthetic, non-degradable materials that take hundreds of years to “breakdown” and in the interim, we’d be naïve to think that these items aren’t quite literally choking out our fish, birds, wildlife, and plants.
It’s time to wake up.
Throughout this pandemic, I’ve felt rather defeated in my pursuit to environmental health. I’ve ordered my share of takeout to support local restaurants, ordered goods online, and have used plastic produce bags at groceries stores when reusables aren’t allowed. But we can’t give up. If you enjoy the outdoors, eating food, and being alive, then we must protect these privileges. We owe it to marine life, wildlife, and our oceans and land to take action.
This planet is our sanctuary.
We cannot depend on government mandates and manufacturers to implement single-use policies or dial back plastic production especially during a time in which the demand for new plastics is a ticket out for oil and gas companies during the pandemic. As my Mom always said growing up, actions speak louder than words. If consumers stop purchasing items that contribute to environmental pollution, the demand and production for these items will lessen. Let’s make a collaborative effort to stop producing so much trash and take ownership of the items we are using and discarding. We need to question the afterlife of our waste and question our purchases. We also need to put boots on the ground and be stewards of our environment.
As we deal with the pandemic, there has been discussion on the topic of isolation and mental health. Many people are no longer working from home, but rather living at work. We aren’t seeing our friends and family as much as we used to. There’s not much to dress up for. We’ve been restricted from visiting other states. The list goes on.
I’m not saying picking up trash is going to solve feelings of isolation and sadness, but it feels so good to make a hands on difference in your community. Consider cleaning up your own neighborhood or a local park once a month and encourage your family and friends to do the same. Not only are you going to get fresh air, it’s an opportunity to exercise and examine the scale of the single-use pollution in our neighborhoods and ultimately change your relationship with these items.
We need nature, and nature needs us. Let’s step it up.
Sources:
Ocean Conservancy
National Geographic
Green Matters
NPR
