The Truth about Plastic

24/08/2020

Like any thinking person it scares me to think what our future world will be like if we continue living the way we do. Worldwide plastic pollution is creating an environmental crisis that is believed will be as serious as climate change.

The statistics say it all… Over 1 million plastic bottles are bought around the world every minute and this number is predicted by experts to jump another 20% by 2021. Every year 12.7 million tonnes of plastic enters our oceans. This plastic gradually breaks down into tiny particles that remain in the ocean as microscopic pollutants to be ingested by sea birds, fish, and other organisms. Experts warn that some of it is already finding its way into the human food chain and we have no idea of the scale of health implications this will cause.

It is a concerning fact that nearly half of all plastic ever manufactured has been made since 2000 and only nine percent of all plastic ever made has likely been recycled (Great Britain’s Royal Statistical Society, 2018).

In the not-so-distant past personal care items did not involve plastic packaging. Soaps came in bar form. Perfumes, a symbol of luxury, were packaged in elaborate glass containers. Hair-care products were powders or pomades packaged in tins or jars. The personal care industry was established during the 1920’s and exploded with the rise of Hollywood movies and the invention of American glamour and beauty standards. During the mid-20th century the plastic industry took off and the personal care industry jumped on board. Plastic was popular as it was cheap, light, flexible, easily moulded and easily transported.

Today, plastic packaged personal care products fill entire aisles of supermarkets and beauty stores worldwide with more than 70% of that waste ending up in landfills or our oceans. According to a 2017 Science Advances paper 8.3 billion tonnes of virgin plastic has been produced worldwide to date and of this only 9% has been recycled, with 12% being incinerated, and 79% ending up in landfill or the natural environment. Plastic can often only be recycled once or twice into a new plastic product due to the break-down of its polymers during the recycling process, and many plastics are not recycled because the process is expensive, complicated and the resulting product is of lower quality than what you put in.

If current production and waste management trends continue, roughly 12 billion tonnes of plastic waste will be in landfills or in the natural environment by 2050.

Plastic is so firmly embedded in the modern supply chain that reducing or eliminating plastic packaging is a monumentous challenge that will take a concerted effort across companies of all sizes to make a change.

Here are a few things to ponder…

“If you want to change the world, start with yourself.” Mahatma Gandhi

We all have the power to make a difference in this world, it is up to us to make that change.

“Life does not get better by chance it gets better by change”. Jim Rohn.

At Scenturie we believe that by sharing knowledge we can help others to change the way they buy and make informed choices on what they buy so they can help make an environmental change for the better.

“If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.” -Napoleon Hill

By being a conscious consumer and buying natural eco-friendly products with minimal or plastic-free packaging you are doing a small thing in a great way. If everybody does this, we can do great things together.