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Permanency and Non-renewability

• Plastics are made from non-renewable petroleum and natural gas. (1)

• With the exception of plastics that have been incinerated (bad idea! – as plastics release  toxic substances when burnt), all plastics ever manufactured is still with us. (2)

• Nothing in nature, not even sunlight or oxygen, can break apart the bonds that hold plastics together, so they linger on our planet indefinitely. Rather than biodegrading, plastics photodegrade into tiny particles, winding up in soil, air, our food and our bodies. (3)

Environmental Pollution

• Plastic manufacturing is a major source of industrial pollution. Producing a 16-oz. #1 PET bottle, for instance, generates more than 100 times the toxic emissions to air and water than making the same size bottle out of glass. Major emissions from plastic production processes include sulfur oxides and nitrous oxides (both of which contribute to climate change) and the chemical compounds of styrene, benzene and trichloroethane. (4)

• In bodies of water, plastic particles absorb toxic chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and the pesticide DDT. Those particles then get eaten by fish and work their way up the food chain onto our dinner plates. (5)

• Many plastics can release toxic chemicals, those that were originally part of the manufacturing process and the chemicals that the plastics absorbed from their environment. One experiment showed that after two weeks in the ocean, the level of Persistent Organics Particles in nurdles (plastic balls used for manufacturing of plastic products) rose to up to one million times the level in the ambient seawater (Mato et. al. 2001). (6)

Plastic Toxicity and Human Health Effects

Phthalates

• Most cling-wrapped meats, cheeses and other foods sold in delis and grocery stores are wrapped in PVC. To soften the #3 PVC plastic into its flexible form, manufacturers add “plasticizers” during production. Traces of these chemicals, known as adipates and phthalates, can leak out of PVC when it comes in contact with foods, especially hot, fatty foods. Adipates and phthalates have been shown to cause birth defects and damage to the liver, kidneys, lungs and reproductive systems in mice. Phthalates are also suspected of interfering with hormones and the reproductive development of baby boys. (7)

• Within this group of chemicals, two are under particularly close scrutiny — DEHP, found mostly in medical products, and DINP, found mostly in toys — for their potential toxic effects on the reproductive and endocrine systems. Last year, a study in Environmental Health Perspectives found that higher levels of phthalate byproducts correlated with obesity and insulin resistance. Another study in the same journal found that higher levels of phthalate byproducts in urine were associated with abnormal thyroid hormone levels in adult men. (8)

Bisphenol A (BPA)

• Many #7 polycarbonate bottles (including baby bottles), microwave ovenware, eating utensils and plastic coatings for metal cans are made with bisphenol A (BPA). Many studies have found that BPA interferes with hormones, as phthalates do, and a March 1998 study in Environmental Health Perspectives found that BPA simulates the action of estrogen when tested in human breast cancer cells. A growing number of scientists are concluding, from animal tests, that exposure to BPA raises your risks of heart disease, obesity, diabetes and childhood behavioral problems such as hyperactivity. (9)

• Scientific studies on lab animals show that BPA might have adverse health impacts ranging from breast and prostate cancer, thyroid disease, early puberty in girls and ADHD. In 2006, an independent panel of experts assembled by the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the EPA looked at more than 700 BPA studies and concluded that the mechanism by which it affects cells and tissues is essentially identical in animals and humans. The panel concluded that the animal studies of BPA should be taken seriously as an indicator of potential harm to humans. (10)

• Doses 25,000 times below what the government has labeled as safe can harm developing cells in mice. The National Toxicology Program, part of NIH, issued a draft report acknowledging “some concern” about the risk of cancer, diabetes and other serious health problems in adults. (11)

• Biphenol A has been detected in urine samples of nearly 93 percent(!) of 2,517 people who took part in a national health survey conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. According to the CDC, women had higher average levels (2.9 micrograms per liter) than men (2.6); children age 6 to 11 had higher levels (4.5) than adults over 20 (2.5). (12)

Bag Economics

• Each high-quality reusable bag you use has the potential to eliminate an average of 1,000 plastic bags over its lifetime. The bag will pay for itself if your grocery store offers a $.05 or $.10 credit per bag for bringing your own bags (most large stores in Juneau do!). (13)

References

1. National Geographic, “The Green Guide”: http://www.thegreenguide.com/greenguide/buying-guide/plastic-containers/environmental_impact
2. Algalita Marine Research Foundation: http://www.algalita.org/AlgalitaFAQs.htm#problem
3. National Geographic, “The Green Guide”: http://www.thegreenguide.com/greenguide/buying-guide/plastic-containers/environmental_impact
4. National Geographic, “The Green Guide”: http://www.thegreenguide.com/greenguide/buying-guide/plastic-containers/environmental_impact
5. National Geographic, “The Green Guide”: http://www.thegreenguide.com/greenguide/buying-guide/plastic-containers/environmental_impact
6. Algalita Marine Research Foundation: http://www.algalita.org/AlgalitaFAQs.htm#wildlife
7. National Geographic, “The Green Guide”: http://www.thegreenguide.com/greenguide/buying-guide/plastic-containers/environmental_impact
8. “The Plastics Revolution”, Washington Post, April 22, 2008: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/18/AR2008041802836.html?sid=ST2008042602242
9. National Geographic, “The Green Guide”: http://www.thegreenguide.com/greenguide/buying-guide/plastic-containers/environmental_impact
10. The Plastics Revolution”, Washington Post, April 22, 2008: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/18/AR2008041802836.html?sid=ST2008042602242
11. “Studies on Chemical In Plastics Questioned”, Washington Post, April 27, 2008: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/26/AR2008042602126.html?sid=ST2008042602242
12. “The Plastics Revolution”, Washington Post, April 22, 2008: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/18/AR2008041802836.html?sid=ST2008042602242
13. Roots and Shoots, A program of the Jane Goodall Institute http://www.rootsandshoots.org/campaigns/reusablebag

By HILDEGARD SELLNER
Originally appeared in the Juneau Empire on December 16, 2007.

Sept. 19, 2006. High alert on the space shuttle Atlantis.

The crew had just spotted a mysterious object that had apparently fallen off the ship. Upon transmission of a photo to Cape Canaveral, the shuttle program manager, Wayne Hale, speculated: “The question is: What is it? Is it something benign? … Or is it something more critical we should pay attention to?”

To the relief and amusement of all involved, the particular object appeared to be “just a plastic bag,” most likely from the shuttle’s open payload bay, i.e. “something benign” and not “critical.”

Yet, whether plastic bags are benign or critical is very much a matter of perspective. The shuttle incident casts a daunting light on the thoughtless dissemination of plastic bags – they have reached outer space. This reminds me of the tongue-in-cheek bumper sticker, “Earth first, we will pollute the other planets later.”

Of course, the victory parade of plastic bags is first and foremost an earthly problem. The Worldwatch Institute estimates that 500 billion bags are manufactured every year. And they have become a worldwide problem threatening animal and human life. According to the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), it can take up to 1,000 years until the average plastic bag dissolves. UNEP estimates that plastic garbage kills one million sea birds, 100,000 seals and other marine mammals as well as countless fish each year, many by strangulation. Even polar bears are affected – currents drive plastic bags into the Arctic, partially because many seamen ignore the United Nation’s Marpol Convention of 1978, which prohibits the disposal of plastics at sea.

Ashore, however, resistance against plastic bags is shaping up. Both industrialized and developing countries are coming to the conclusion that the bags do more harm than good. San Francisco was the first U.S. city to ban plastic bags in supermarkets and large chain pharmacies. In Europe, fees on plastic bags have been successively introduced since the 1980s, and have led to a sharp reduction in the demand for plastic bags. For example, in the Republic of Ireland their use was cut by more than 90 percent. Now, more and more European communities are launching bans. In Great Britain, the 1,500-citizen borough of Modbury gave the kick-off. London is gearing up to follow – its landfills are overflowing. Eighty villages, towns and cities, including Brighton and Bath, have introduced or are considering a ban. Paris has banned non-biodegradable bags. Around the globe, fees or bans are springing up: in Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Zanzibar, Tanzania, Bangladesh, Australia, Darjeeling, South Africa, Taiwan, Mumbai, Lijiang in China, and many Alaska villages.

During the last legislative period, bills calling for a 15 cent fee on plastic bags were introduced – Senate Bill 118 by Sen. Kim Elton, D-Juneau, and House Bill 230 by Rep. Andrea Doll, D-Juneau. Turning the Tides wholeheartedly supports these bills, and by the time the 2008 legislative period starts, we will make detailed information available on how to support the bills effectively.

The objective is to hinder the further wasteful and often mindless use of plastic bags, in an effort to save the earth, the ocean and their support systems on which our well-being (including that of future generations) depends.

Of course, the bills are only a start, but we have to start somewhere. A word to those who oppose the bills, on the grounds that it seems yet another way of big brother reaching into our pockets, imposing another infringement on our freedom: Ideally, no income will be generated from these bills. If they pass, it will be our free decision whether we want to spend 15 cents on a plastic bag or whether we want to bring our own bags and containers.

I know from experience how hard it can be to remember to bring a bag into the store. But humans have succeeded at much harder tasks – such as sending shuttles to outer space. If we all set our minds and hearts to reducing demand for plastic bags, we would be one step closer to walking gently upon the earth and leaving no footprints (on the planet or in space).

â Hildegard Sellner, Ph.D., is a council member of Turning the Tides, a Juneau grass-roots nonprofit working to promote environmentally friendly living and alternatives to plastics. To contact the group, call 907-789-0449 or visit www.turningthetides.org.

By HILDEGARD SELLNER
Originally appeared in the Juneau Empire on November 11, 2007.

“Didn’t you see it coming? What did you do?” I began plaguing my grandmother with those two questions when I first learned about Hitler and the Third Reich.

My German grandma had lived through the Nazis’ rise to power and the war. Her answers to my questions showed resignation and helplessness.

“I tried not to think about it,” she said. “There was nothing I could have done, anyway.”

She said the German people kept their heads down, hoping it would soon be over.

“I didn’t find out how bad it really was for many people until it was over,” she said.

But that was a long time ago. Now, many years later, I find myself on a different continent and in very different circumstances.

I have lived in Juneau for more than two years. My friends and family back in Germany often wonder why I insist on staying here. Why am I still here?

Well, for one, I have met amazing people and found a sense of belonging in Juneau that is different from anything I have ever experienced before. And I have seen, learned and discovered many new things.

I have seen the glittering of phosphorus in the water during an overnight fishing trip. I have seen more water – in the sea and coming from above – than ever before. I have met people who make a living directly from the ocean. I have seen trees and moss and lichen and rivers that seem untouched by humans – still in the state they were meant to be.

Their presence somehow makes me want to be like I was meant to be. All these things may not sound that extraordinary to those of you who have lived here for a long time, but they are very extraordinary to a city girl from Munich, Germany.

But I also have seen plastic bags and bottles floating in the channel and eagles scavenging through plastic bags at the dump.

I have been reading about the problem of plastics in the environment, especially in the ocean, and here are some of the findings that most alarm me:

The plastic garbage we produce never really goes away, but pollutes, chokes, intoxicates and kills sea life. It ultimately accumulates in our bodies, making us sick.

In the United States alone, 8 billion pounds of plastic bags are discarded every year. Plastic bags cover miles and miles of ocean floor, and in some areas of the deep ocean, scientists have been unable to find the floor because it is so heavily layered with plastic bags.

Half of all plastic in the ocean sinks, and underneath this garbage, shellfish, worms and other animals that help make up the bottom of the food chain die. There are many times more plankton-sized bits of plastics than actual plankton in huge areas of the Pacific Ocean – up to 1,000 times more in some regions. Birds, fish and marine animals ingest these counterfeits mistaking them for food – and millions are dying.

The ocean covers 71 percent of the Earth’s surface and supplies up to 85 percent of the world’s oxygen and nitrogen. We can’t live without the ocean, and its health is rapidly deteriorating.

Sometimes I project myself into the future and imagine myself as a grandma with a sweet little girl looking at me asking: “Didn’t you see it coming? What did you do?”

Speaking up and taking action to remedy the current crisis, does not entail any danger to one’s life, like it did during the Nazi regime. Nevertheless, it is still easy to fall into the trap of indifference and respond like my grandma did by trying not to think about the problem, being unaware of its graveness, feeling utterly powerless, and hoping it will go away.

Here in Juneau I found a group of people who refuse to ignore the contamination of the ocean any longer. We are researching the depth of the problem, and we are taking action to raise awareness, to prevent plastic garbage and to clean up the beaches – in an effort to turn this tide.

Hildegard Sellner, Ph.D., is a council member of Turning the Tides, a Juneau grass-roots nonprofit working to promote environmentally friendly living and alternatives to plastics.

By MIHAEL BLIKSHTEYN and HILDEGARD SELLNER

Originally appeared in the Juneau Empire on October 08, 2007.

The issue of fluoridation is behind us, and so is the flood of letters it solicited. “The Simpsons Movie” is long gone, too, leaving in the wake a bitter taste of no easy escape from every-day reality. Emerging from that world, we were wondering what would be next.

A week ago, we came across a letter written by the senior managing director of Progressive Bag Alliance, responding to our weekly Turning the Tides column, in which we encourage people to stop using plastic bags. We said recycling is not a solution to plastics, just an intermediate, short-term measure. The letter claimed that plastic grocery bags can be recycled.

Honestly, we were taken aback when an organization calling itself the Progressive Bag Alliance decided to challenge us, at the same time calling for “continu(ing) working with those that … reduce plastic waste.” It had too much of an Orwellian – G-W-Bushian ring to it.

A quick visit to the group’s Web site revealed that Progressive Bag Alliance’s members are leading plastic bag manufacturers with a board of directors composed of leading plastics manufacturing companies, according to www.progressivebagalliance.com. Aha! That made more sense.

Simply put, this group is just a nice publicity front for plastics companies. If you’re in the mood for an entertaining read, check out the group’s page-long treatise of tips on how to do a good job packing a plastic grocery bag – presumably to reduce the number needed.

Seriously, though. Most plastic grocery bags are made of a polyethylene plastic. More than 60 million tons of that plastic are produced worldwide every year, according to the Wikipedia article on polyethylene. According to the Algalita Research Foundation (algalita.org), only 3 to 5 percent of plastics are recycled, even though supermarkets, including ours, have bins for recycling them.

According to the Progressive Bag Alliance, “there is a thriving secondary market that recycles those bags into millions of pounds of new products including durable lumber substitutes for decking, railroad ties and new recyclable plastic bags.” About 100 billion plastic grocery bags are consumed in the United States (The Wall Street Journal, September 2001). If only 3 to 5 percent get recycled, how many millions of pounds of plastics must end up in landfills and oceans and not get turned into railroad ties?

And a word on the recyclability of plastic bags: Recycling implies that plastic bags that have outlived their usefulness could be turned into new plastic bags, and, in turn, could be converted into a new generation of plastic bags – and so on. What a beautiful myth!

The sad truth, however, is that “recycling plastic is different from recycling other products such as glass and aluminum that can be made back into the products they were before,” according to algalita.org. In the so-called recycling process, the purity of the material tends to degrade with each reuse cycle. Its quality degrades and the range of its usefulness shrinks, according to Wikipedia’s article on plastic and algalita.org. In addition, “Virgin-plastic is cheaper to use than recycled plastic, so most manufacturers opt for the virgin material. Most of recycled plastics become clothing or carpet that goes to the landfill once the second use of these plastics is finished. Some of the lower quality plastic that has been ‘recycled’ is actually shipped to Asia, where it goes into landfills,” according to algalita.org.

Having the Progressive Bag Alliance work on recycling and reducing plastic waste is like having cigarette manufacturers donate money toward research for lung cancer cures.

Mihael Blikshteyn is a conservation fishery biologist and a photographer. To see his latest work, visit http://www.mihaelblikshteyn.com

Mihael Blikshteyn and Hildegard Sellner are members of Turning the Tides, a Juneau grassroots nonprofit that promotes ocean-friendly technologies and alternatives to plastics. To contact the organization, call (907) 789-0449 or visit www.turningthetides.org.

By MIHAEL BLIKSHTEYN

Originally appeared in the Juneau Empire on September 23, 2007.

Let’s start with the good news: there are many things that can be done, and every bit counts. I am talking about one-time use plastics, in all varieties and colors – plastic shopping and kitchen bags, plastic utensils, plastic-wrapped merchandise, plastic bottles. The problem is serious, but the solutions are simple – albeit not quite as cheap and convenient as the problem.

Most plastics don’t biodegrade – over hundreds of years they break down into smaller and smaller bits, some releasing toxins. Tiny pieces of plastics, and their toxins, that find their way into oceans, become incorporated into food chains, and these toxins accumulate in toxic amounts in top predators, including humans.

The United States alone produces 100 billion plastic shopping bags per year, and 8 billion pounds of these bags are discarded – many ending up in landfills and the oceans. Half of all plastics that find their way into the oceans sink, covering miles and miles of the oceans floor. To me, these numbers are humbling and incomprehensible. So let me instead talk about simple things we can do. Acting together, as a community, we can have a profound effect reducing the amount of plastic waste we discard. And wouldn’t it make us a better community?

Let’s start with the most obvious – plastic bags. Once manufactured, recycling these bags is a great way to reduce plastic waste. However, plastics are not truly recyclable. The “recycling” process yields a lower grade, less flexible material of limited usefulness. The recycling process draws on valuable energy and produces pollution, including climate-changing gasses. A viable solution is to get canvas bags and use them. Just possessing such bags and leaving them behind – and I know some of you who do – won’t do the trick. If you keep forgetting them in your car, force yourself to walk back and get the bags, even if you’re already in the store with a basket-full of groceries. After doing so myself a couple of times, I rarely forget them now. Or, simply take the cart to your car and load up your bags there.

Paper bags are not a viable alternative. The production of paper bags takes much more energy, plus it involves cutting down trees. According to the Backpacker’s magazine (Sep ’07), using canvas bags will lower the CO2 output by 5 pounds per year per person. Just in Juneau, it would add up to 150,000 pounds per year!

There is no better time to start than now! Do you want to stand out from the crowd – maybe by getting your nose pierced or dying your hair green? Great! But add a couple of canvas bags to your arsenal. Look at arguably the hippest grocery establishment we have in town – Rainbow Foods. Kudos to them for discontinuing plastic bags and actually offering their customers canvas bags to buy or borrow! Our supermarkets have followed the trend of offering cloth bags for sale – an excellent first step in the right direction. It is up to us to take the next step.

The use of plastic bags for trash is even more widespread, seemingly without alternatives. But even there we have options. Before discarding anything, check if it can be composted, reused, donated, or recycled. According to the CBJ website, we gain one more day of landfill use for every 100 tons of garbage we recycle. Biodegradable trash bags are gaining popularity. Make sure that the bags of your choice will, in fact, biodegrade, and not just break down into smaller bits. The brand I’ve been using is Bio-Bags, sold on-line and at Rainbow Foods. These bags are 100% biodegradable and compostable, and contain no polyethylene. They are not quite as sturdy as regular plastic bags, thus I found it best to empty the whole garbage can into the dumpster, with the bag in it, instead of pulling the full bag out. If any spillage occurs, I just rinse the garbage can and, once dry, sprinkle some baking soda on the bottom. This surely is a small price to pay compared to the long-term negative environmental effects of plastics. Bio-bags are even available in small sizes for picking up such things as dog poop. Your dog poop is biodegradable, so why not lodge it in a biodegradable container.

Another issue is plastic water bottles. How convenient it is to buy bottled water and toss the bottle away? Unfortunately, these bottles don’t go away, but follow the same path as plastic bags. And the solution is as simple as with plastic bags: have a couple of sturdy reusable bottles with home-bottled tap water with you while you’re out. Our Juneau water is great for drinking, and it only takes a day for the chlorine to escape. I boil my water, not because I am worried about its safety, but to quickly remove oxygen and chlorine and get the “flat” taste I am used to from childhood. I always keep a bottle of boiled water in the fridge, and carry another one with me. Juneau’s tap water is magnificent, at the very least just as good as bottled water, and using it you reduce climate-changing gasses arising from the process of bottling and transportation.

Plastic utensils pose another challenge. Just carry a set of reusable utensils with you, and you can proudly do without the plastic ones offered at the eateries (which often come wrapped in plastic). See where I am going with this? You can take this type of reasoning as far as you wish – bring your own large bottle of shampoo and conditioner with you to hotels, instead of using their little bottles. Bring your own Tupperware for leftovers to restaurants. If you regularly buy salads at the same salad bar, and must use their own plastic take-out container, why not take it home, wash it, and re-use it over and over?

Mihael Blikshteyn is a conservation fishery biologist and a photographer and a member of Turning the Tides. To see his latest work, visit http://www.mihaelblikshteyn.com

(With contribution from Hildegard Regele and Dixie Belcher)

Turning the Tides (www.TurningTheTdes.org) is a non-profit grass-roots organization based in Juneau. Why do the tides need turning? What’s at stake? Hailed as a blessing for decades, the dangers of plastics to the environment and humans cannot be ignored any longer. We are people who, just like many of you, can’t sit still and watch passively. Our mission is to raise awareness about the deterioration of the Pacific Ocean through various projects. The reduction of one-time use plastics is one of them. Want to help turn the tides? Contact us and come to our meetings. Be creative! Be responsible! Be an inspiration! Let us know what you do. We want to hear from you!