There’s no such place as ‘away’
'We don’t need that any more, we can throw that away.’ How often have we each said that? Jen Gale, in her book ‘A Sustainable(ish) Living Guide’, makes the point that there is no such place as ‘away’: it all has to go somewhere and we all know where that place is, but saying ‘away’ is rather more comfortable than saying ‘we can send that to landfill’. This is why I was interested to note that the bins in the Grange in Midhurst are labelled ‘Recycling’ and ‘Landfill’. If we changed our language with respect to rubbish it just might affect our mindset and help make changes to our behaviour.
Barry and I try to get out litter picking at least once a fortnight (under the Chichester District Council ‘Adopt an Area’ scheme), and are delighted that others in our area also make the time to pick up litter. There really is plenty of it to go around! A recent article in the Sussex Wildlife Trust magazine talked about animal deaths due to litter, quoting an Ocean Crusaders estimate of 100 000 marine animals dying annually. It is also known that plastics are getting into the food chain and that micro-plastics are even being recorded in human poo! Getting plastic litter (and nearly all of it IS plastic) out of the countryside before it can be washed into ditches, and on into streams, rivers and out to sea is worth a bit of effort. But our litter bags just go to landfill, so are not an ideal solution.
The same Sussex Wildlife Trust article told us that a plastic drinks bottle could take between 450 – 1000 years to break down and most plastics just break down to smaller and smaller pieces until microscopic. Washing machines also release microplastics from synthetic materials such as fleece directly into our waste water systems. When the water companies choose to let waste water into our rivers untreated following heavy rain storms, those plastic fibres just go straight into the rivers with the sewage. This problem is not going to go away soon.
Recycling is helpful, but comes with its own carbon footprint. ERA is in discussion with HartingCAN regarding introducing a local Terracycle scheme, through which we should be able to recycle items that cannot currently go into our burgundy bins or back to the supermarkets. But how much better would it be if that plastic had not been made in the first place.
We can all do our bit by becoming more thoughtful about what we choose to buy. Think about the packaging each item comes with, let the vendor know that you chose not to buy a particular item because it was over-packaged. Fruit and Veg box schemes often advertise the fact that they are plastic free, or use minimum plastic. When buying clothes choose natural fibres, not synthetic. Use a Guppie bag in your washing machine to catch those fibres at source. Manufacturers are becoming increasingly aware of these issues but we can further influence them by the choices we make when we are spending our hard earned cash.
In reality, many of the items ending up as litter or going to landfill need to have not been manufactured in the first place. McDonald’s simply got rid of the plastic toys they used to give away so freely – they were not needed. If we all routinely carried a reusable coffee cup for when we want a take-away drink then less disposable coffee cups would need to be produced.
I think if a location is already badly littered it makes it all too easy for the next person visiting there to feel ok about adding to that litter; so, keeping our local areas litter free may have some small impact. Are posters entreating people to take their litter home effective or do they just add another layer of litter as they age? ERA would be interested in working with schools on developing a culture of taking one’s rubbish home to dispose of responsibly and of not littering. We can also support the creating of new laws in this area, making sure that those with the power to make the biggest impacts actually get on and do it!
A recent report from the OECD on the production, use and disposal of plastics globally stated that plastic production has doubled between 2000 and 2019, which it puts down to population growth and an increase in disposable income. Mathias Cormann, secretary general of the OECD, stated his organisation 'stands ready to assist governments in [... ] delivering better policies to eliminate the negative environmental impacts of plastics production and ultimately achieve plastics-free oceans and rivers for future generations’.
Meanwhile, at the beginning of this year, the UN hosted a meeting UNEA 5.2 covering a range of environmental topics including agreeing a global treaty to slow plastic pollution. The draft treaty can be read here.
Deposit return schemes could play their part in making manufacturers take more responsibility for the plastic they have caused to be produced.
But while we wait for such top down initiatives to have their effect there is so much each and every one of us can do. Toothpaste tablets work just as well as toothpaste in a plastic tube. Green plastic scourers wear out by fragments of plastic breaking off and being rinsed down the sink – there are plenty of alternatives. If you opt for doorstep milk delivery in glass bottles a huge number of plastic bottles would no longer be needed. Carry your own bottle for refilling with tap water and get a SodaStream to make your own carbonated water. Petersfield now has three shops to which you can take your own containers and refill them and Midhurst has one as well. You can buy food (porridge oats, nuts, lentils etc.) and cleaning products this way – give it a go, it is a small step we could all take in the right direction.