Green Junction - Your Choices MATTER.

My colleague and I recently took part in an international conference in Switzerland on micro and nanoplastics in water, where we shared our latest research. There were a number of presenters from around the world who study these tiny plastic particle pollutants in water media, which includes the human body and other living systems. Water is the largest component of the human body by mass, ranging from 45 to 70%. Research has established the significant presence of micro and nanoplastics in the body, but the understanding of how these particles affect health and well-being is in its early stages. (I’ll dive deeper on this topic in another column.)

Our massive plastic pollution problem cannot be overstated. One of the engineers at the conference calculated that the amount of money required to clean up the world’s plastic pollution – water, soil, air, organisms – is in the realm of 10,000 times the world’s GDP! We have massively polluted the earth with plastic. The more that plastic is part of our everyday lives, the more it invades our bodies. The extent of individual exposure is based on choices, lifestyles and overall living conditions. Due to the ongoing rise in plastic production, our youth are exposed to plastic to a much higher degree than previous generations.

We have the ability to make choices to reduce the plastic waste problem and to limit our exposures to the tiny plastic particles that invade our bodies. Our conference was held in Davos, Switzerland, an incredibly beautiful part of the world. It was a great privilege to visit this city. One Swiss scientist presented data on plastic use around the world that showed how plastic use is dropping in Switzerland, as it continues to rise globally. His statement was simple: “The Swiss get it.” There were little or no single-use plastics in the restaurants, hotels, conference center and other places. Consequently, we did not see plastic bags, bottles, caps, etc., littering the streets, lakes, or anywhere in the environment.

In contrast, volunteers helped the Plastic Reduction Alliance (PRA) clean a short stretch of county road in Porter County, Indiana a few weeks ago. Eight large bags of garbage – mostly plastic – were filled from this rural area that lines corn fields. It is time for the rest of the world “to get it” and take a stronger stand against single-use plastics. This requires saying no to plastic cups, plastic spoons and forks, plastic food containers, plastic bags and straws, plastic packaging and other unnecessary plastics. Ask businesses and organizations to ditch single-use plastics. The outcomes, beautiful communities and healthier lives, are worth the change and will be appreciated by youth and future generations (and wildlife).