This year’s Earth Day theme is Planet vs. Plastics. Here are some facts about plastic and tips to help you reduce plastic use.

What’s so bad about plastics?

• Plastic production is one of the most energy-intensive manufacturing processes
• Plastics are not biodegradable. They can take up to 1,000 years to breakdown
• Plastic debris can be found in water, soil, and air
• Plastic pollution chokes marine life, harms wildlife, damages soil, poisons ground water, and can cause major health problems in humans

Plastics are all around us

• Most packaging is made of plastics, including the obvious culprits like take out containers and single use shopping bags, but also in some metal cans that are lined with plastic, dental floss, cigarette filters, and diapers.
• Plastics are found in synthetic clothing. Materials such as polyester, nylon, and acrylic all contain plastics which shed and release into our wastewater system when washed. Even though wastewater systems can remove up to 99% of the microfibers in the water, one single wash can produce millions of fibers. That means huge numbers of plastics fibers still make it into the waterways.

How to reduce plastic use

• Wear clothing that is made of natural materials like cotton, wool, hemp, or bamboo (side note: bamboo clothing is super soft!)
• Use stainless steel or glass containers to store food. Repurpose glass jars to save money and energy from production
• When ordering take out, use a reusable bag, skip plastic utensils, and bring your own mug to your favorite coffee shop – you might even get a small discount for ditching the disposable cup!
• Replace dishwasher and laundry pods with powder soaps made for your machine
• Replace plastic bottles shampoo and soap with bars of soap and shampoo. Same goes for your toothpaste.

There are a couple of zero waste shops in the Metro area - Fulfillery in Takoma Park, MD and Trace in Vienna, VA. Bring your own containers to purchase bulk foods and personal care products. (And, closer to home, we have our fingers crossed that MOM's Organic Market will finally open sometime later this year in the Van Ness neighborhood. Other locations of this chain have a good variety of bulk items.)

Click here to learn more about the impact of plastic on the environment and take a quiz on your plastics knowledge. To learn more about the damage plastic is doing to the ocean, head to NNV's Virtual Speaker Series archive and watch Nick Mallos, Vice President of Conservation, Ocean Plastics at the Ocean Conservancy, speak about Ocean Plastic Pollution: Source to Solution.

Together, we can all take steps to improve the health of our planet. Happy Earth Day!