It's hard to wrap our brains around something that is so ubiquitous, so in grained in our everyday lives, is dangerous to us and the planet. How does this happen? It's everywhere, we often have very little choice (I mean let's face it, it comes from a place of privilege to refuse, reduce and refill) to NOT buy household cleaners, body supplies and even food in plastic of some form. It's in the container, the packaging, in the means of application, even in the products themselves, in the form of micro plastics.
This last week on NPR, The Take Away interviewed Judith Enk, the president of Beyond Plastics. A national organization where seasoned environmental policy makers and college students bring their strengths together to form a movement against plastic use, manufacturing and disposal, with an eye environmental justice.
The U.S. plastics industry’s contribution to climate change is on track to exceed that of coal-fired power in this country by 2030...The health impacts of these emissions are disproportionately borne by low-income communities and communities of color, making this a major environmental justice issue.
Beyond Plastics most recent report, "The New Coal: Plastics and Climate Change" lays out research-based facts informing the reader how plastic industries will significantly add to greenhouse gases through manufacturing, distribution and incineration, making plastic particles found in our oceans not their only offense. In addition, the plastic industry adds another serious demerit by building new plants primarily in neighborhoods of color, concentrated in areas along the coast of Texas and Louisiana. In these communities almost a third of the residents earn far less than the average American household and are over 50% of the residents are people of color.
So if its hard for you to fathom (it is for me) how serious a threat plastic is to our world, and to a lot of it's citizens, give this a read and even scan their website for actions you can take and causes you can participate in that can make a change.
U.S. plastics industry is responsible for at least 232 million tons of CO2e gas emissions per year. This amount is equivalent to the average emissions from 116 average-sized (500- megawatt) coal-fired power plants in 2020.