More than 5 trillion pieces of plastic are floating in our oceans right now, and thousands more are being added every second, especially with the single-use nature the pandemic has caused. By the year 2050, it is said that every seabird will be eating plastic. Plastic is already found in the bellies of almost every seabird today.
On a daily basis, do you try to limit your use of plastic? Is it something you think about or not at all?
Please tell us in the poll below. If you have eliminated plastic (or tried to as best as you can), tell us what you use as alternatives in the comments. Thanks!
I’m not too concerned about plastic because ALL plastic here – British Columbia – is recycled.
That is, we put all returnables (glass/plastic containers for which we paid a deposit) in one bag, tag it with a computer generated identity tag, drop it off at the recycle depot, and receive the refund money directly deposited to our account.
All other plastic goes in a bin for pick-up at the curb – if it’s plastic, it goes in the bin.
Same for paper/cardboard, glass, and metal.
Good for you, does that include the previously mentioned plastic wrapper around your toiler paper, paper towels, etc. how about the plastic around the facial tissue? With all that recycling the garbage man must have a very easy job.
It does include the soft plastics – the wrappers on paper towels etc.
Also includes plastic bags although you have to take them to the depot and separate those you can put your finger through from those you cannot.
It’s all of the companies who are manufacturing and distributing the products who need to change how they package their products. The consumer will continue to use a product that meets their needs regardless of what it is packaged. At least that’s how I look at it. It’s the same with climate change. The US can be the leader in having a clean environment BUT if the rest of the world cares less than us and does little to nothing to “save” the world through environmental changes and improvements, the US is simply a “drop” of water in the stream. JMHO!
“Zactly”.
The current Russian invasion into Ukraine has produced more environmental damage than the rest of the World’s industry.
So when you see someone throw trash out the car window that somehow makes it ok for you to do the same????
Oh come on now… How do you avoid the use of plastics? A more sensible question would be do you properly dispose/recycle your plastic
Yea I’d like to follow you through the store watching you buy plastic free products, even toilet paper comes wrapped in plastic. Or does that not count?
Unfortunately, it’s near impossible to survive as a purist. However, recycling can be an option.
It’s hard to buy products that are NOT covered and shipped in plastic. The manufacturers should work on eliminating the plastic.
Not to worry, when Biden successfully kills the oil industry as he promised to do on the campaign trail there will be no more plastics, not for bottles, cell phones, computers, tablets, etc. Nor will there be plastics for interiors on cars, or exterior trim pieces, or the many things in our homes made of plastic, no more smart tvs, appliances with plastic housings. Everything will be made from heavy steel because it’s cheaper than aluminum. Cars will go back to being all steel and glass and only get 13 mpg like they were before light weight material became available from the oil industry. Another GREAT idea without thinking about the what if’s, open thy mouth and insert foot.
I think you’re part of the still asleep generation. Just because you saw it on 24/7 news channel doesn’t make it so.
Am I not correct in that they are working on making “plastics” out of corn? Haven’t I read that rodents have been eating the wiring on vehicles because the insulation is made of some sort of corn product? Do we have a greater oil lobby than we have an agricultural lobby? Straighten me out if I am incorrect. Make plastic bags out of corn and then feed them to the squirrels.
This “plastic is bad for the environment” is a political lie that makes no sense. People get so fanatical about getting rid of everything plastic, but I have yet to see them picking up their dog’s poop with a paper bag. People also buy cheap China made plastic junk every day. Cars, RVs, houses, etc all are made with the inclusion of some sort of plastic. Plastic, like all other things, can and should be recycled. Plastic is more complicated to break down but science is making strides every day. Unfortunately, the truth is that our politicians have awarded so much money to the Geology departments at the Universities, especially the environmental area, that what the scientists say is more based on fear of losing that money than it is truth. This applies to electric cars too vs gasoline. People have been taught to blindly follow without thinking or putting the time to research, and that’s what led us to this dumb idea that plastics are bad.
I use plastic bags to pick up my dogs poo all the time. I also see many others doing the same. I’ve also been at some places where lazy people don’t pick up their dog poo.
While it is not currently possible to recycle plastic or other containers contaminated with food or from dog “poop,” there are many items that can be recycled. Just because some people do not make the effort to recycle is no excuse for not recycling where possible. It definitely requires an attitude adjustment to train yourself to care about the environment but simply claiming that because others throw trash out the car window or refuse to drop the plastic bottle in the recycle bin for example, is no excuse for trashing our environment. From your comment that “Plastic is bad for the environment is a lie” should we understand that you are OK with simply throwing plastic and other trash out the car window or on the ground around the campsite? Why some people want to make the topic of “Recycling” political is beyond my understanding but that appears to be the position of some folks.
On a good day our RV gets 10 mpg. I try to “off set” this huge foot print by keeping plastics to a minimum . I would agree it is hard to buy anything that is not swaddled in plastic. When we stay at a private RV park, that does not recycle, I let them know I am not happy about it and will post in the review. We also fix things instead of just throwing them out. This includes our older car and RV appliances. We have a collection of reusable grocery bags from all over the world. This is kinds of fun. We get plenty of comments when we load up our groceries in these or carry them around at the farmers market. As campers, who are privileged to enjoy the great outdoors, we should also try to protect it.
We try to avoid buying anything plastic but it’s almost impossible. Plastic bags are the worst. They cannot be recycled and end up in landfills or worse. Our garbage company does not allow bags in the recycling containers.
The one major retailer, ‘wallyworld’, has the worst bags. These bags are thin and don’t even hold up until you get home. You have to use 2-3 at a time to pack your groceries.
We carry the large totes in both of our vehicles. We received most of these free as promotional items. Of course most people don’t want to be bothered to carry their own bags.
A lot of the large cities and counties are now banning plastic bags.
Wrong. Plastic grocery bags are recyclable. We do it here in N. Tex.
The start of plastic bags was to “save the trees” nonsense. Trees for old fashioned grocery bags are a renewable crop, like corn, wheat, etc. Plastic, from oil, is not renewable. Some “smart”, zealous, people did not think this thru. Instead of being woke, we need to wake up.
guess what, oil is as “renewable as any “green” energy producer out there. Lithium is mined (destructively) and toxic and high energy processing and very little of it is recyclable (what is recycled is too expensive). I doubt you can prove that lithium products store as much energy as is used to create and then charge them Solar panels again are mined, toxic and high energy to create and petroleum based, and not recyclable and are not efficient ways to produce electricity (and create large amounts of heat, so much for “cooling” the environment). Invertors also create vast amounts of heat. Wind turbines are usually carbon fiber (high energy) and last 10 years and again not recyclable. Plus the energy to transport them from china. So Oil is just as “renewable” as any other product out there.
I agree with you 100%. I just think that paper bags are renewable.
So when you use oil how does that oil get renewed? Oil is depleted when used.
Plastic contamination of our environment went to the top of my “do not buy” list when I learned of the plastic island floating in the Pacific ocean. I quit being concerned about buying plastic items when I discovered that they can be recycled. Now we recycle plastics numbers 1-7, paper, cardboard, glass, metal and lots more. I was part of the commitee that boosted our campground recycle system to a full stream system. This reduced our cost of trash disposal too. We also have a team that dismantles cast off large unrepairable items into separate recycleable components, especially metal. Until the manufactuers stop using plastic, our only realistic option is to recycle it along with lots of other items.
90 percent of that plastic island floating in the Pacific ocean is from China. Filthy people that throw everything in the rivers that go out to sea. Not saying we’re perfect but compared to China’s garbage we are.
Someone please correct me, but I believe the US sends most of our recycling to China…
We used to until it was discovered that after we paid them to take it, they just dumped it in the ocean!
1 – 5 and 7 are recyclable. 6, styrofoam, is usually not.
Plastic is not the problem, it’s people. Plastic does not litter, people do. Too many selfish, stupid people with a me first, don’t tell me what to do attitude. Train people to deal with their trash responsibly and we won’t have environmental issues.
You took the words right out of my mouth! And it’s not just individuals but municipalities, etc around the world who send garbage to be dumped in oceans.
If you do what your name implies you are one of the worst polluters.
We recycle twice as much as the garbage we produce for the garbage collector.
We try to recycle every piece of plastic that we get. I refuse to buy small bottles of water and small soda bottles. I also use large, heavy duty bags and a soft side cooler bag for grocery shopping. If I do not have them with me, I always take paper sacks instead of plastic when the store offers the choice.
While traveling we find it very difficult to recycle plastic. We use as little as possible at home and traveling. At home we recycle all packaging and all other ‘pliable’ such as Saran Wrap thru Ridwell. They pick up twice a month and all is recycled and used by local organizations. Love it.
Hard to not buy things packaged in plastic but am diligent about recycling even on the road. Hope the recycling companies are as diligent as I. I hear much of it may not actually be recycled.
Much of it isn’t recycled since China stopped accepting it. If your local recycling doesn’t make use carefully separate things most of it isn’t being recycled. Especially if they let you mix newspaper with plastic. Food waste contaminates the paper. It takes a lot of water to wash all the plastic, glass, and aluminum cans–that’s expensive, uses energy, and generates its own waste.
Where I live (with mixed recycling) the only things that truly get recycled are cardboard and aluminum cans. When I visited my daughter in Brooklyn, everyone had three or four containers and inspectors that spot checked them. The collection trucks also rejected containers that weren’t properly sorted.
The other part of the question is: Do you recycle the plastic you do get if it is possible to do so? Our local grocery store accepts the plastic bags and our county recycle program accepts certain types of plastic bottles depending on the Plastic code,
We are somewhat conscious about avoiding buying plastic. What frustrates me, as a full-timer, is the lack of recycling programs at the vast majority of RV parks.
I guess it is different in the NW. I can’t remember a NW RV park without recycling in the past few years. I’m sure there are, but likely in the minority.
We recycle at ball games (3-5 games/year), but no where else usually. As noted already, few (any?) campgrounds have recycling. Our rural area’s garbage service recycles on a very limited basis, which precludes us.
We stopped buying water in bottles and keep a couple of refillables each for day trips plus a Brita for when in the coach. We use cloth and reusable bags for shopping and silicone containers rather than food storage bags when possible. We also use the laundry detergent sheets, a bit more expensive but no plastic and less weight. Other than that its almost impossible unless you go to a specialty earth friendly store which are usually only in big cities which we haven’t ever done as we full time travel usually away from cities. I always keep recycling separate so when a campground has recycling we do, but lots don’t. This is an issue the manufacturers need to solve, they need to stop using so much plastic.
Tests have shown that some bottled water is not better–and sometimes worse–than tap water. We have a filter under the sink and run that water into Brita filter pitcher and pour that water into bottles. Better water at 10% of the cost.
We recycle everything possible! Many pounds of plastic a week! I have to take all of it to recycle bins on our grocery store parking lot, which is 14 miles away – so we combine with shopping. The store also takes plastic bags back.
When traveling – we bring it all home, including aluminum, plastic and cardboard stuff, if the park or whatever does not have bins. I just turned in 4 yrs. of aluminum cans to our recycling center yesterday – I got a check for $96.32! ($.75 a pound!) which goes to our great grandsons education account – now from alum. = $454.00! (I also crush all cans and store and haul-in in original boxes). The boxes are also recycled.
I have no problem with buying stuff in plastic – The reuse of that otherwise landfill fill is all around us in constructive ways – like park benches and a myriad of other “stuff”. It is a big business. (now what are you going to do with all those batteries?)
Great job, D and J! Too bad that are a lot more conscientious recyclers like you folks! Take care. 😀 –Diane
We limit our plastic use at home. I won’t buy fruit and vegetables that are prepackaged in plastics. We recycle our plastic at home and on the road, if needed we will store them till we get to a place that has recycling.
We also subscribe and pay for Ridwell to take plastic that our recycle service won’t. Stuff like plastic bags, plastic wrapping, etc. They (Ridwell) only collects material that they have a responsible way to recycle. Here is link to their site. May not be available everywhere Ridwell
Although “recycling” is an admirable goal, it often DOESN’T work. From what I’ve read, A single small piece of non-recyclable material will cause the ENTIRE lot to be considered garbage. There have been recent TV specials / show segments showing that material people EXPECT to be recycled, simply ISN’T. Until somebody figures out a VIABLE fix, much of what people are led to believe is being recycled, is just NOT being recycled. Right now, much of what the public believes is being recycled is just “pie in the sky”.
NOTE: I’ve been RVing since 2010 and became a Full Timer in 2018. VERY few RV parks have ANY system set up to facilitate recycling (and I always ask about recycling when I check in).
I also have found that very few RV parks have a recycling program.
There are so many commodities that do not need to be wrapped in plastic, which irritates me, but I cannot get it without the plastic. Grrrrr. Too much ends up in the waterways and oceans, so I do not think our recycling programs work very well. We figured out how to make so many things out of that black gunk that comes out of the ground. Only some plastics can now be recycled. Why can’t we just melt ALL plastics together into square yard cubes and then store them in the abandoned salt mines until science figures out how to, then again, separate the different polymers back into oil or different plastics. They figured it out once when it came to making oil into all this stuff we use now. Surely someone can figure out a reverse procedure. Store it all until the next generation can re-mine it.
Everything comes in Plastic almost, Recycle as much as I can. Almost impossible to avoid Plastic. Aluminum is important too, 90% save energy to recycle the new.
We no longer use shampoo, conditioner, liquid hand soap or laundry soap that comes in plastic. Cuts down on weight and space in the RV also.
Until manufacturers are required to pay for recycling (like we used to do with soda bottles back before they passed it off to the consumers. You should watch this clip (and if you have Netflix, watch the whole episode of ‘Adam Ruins Everything’, the entire series is great and has accurate data!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dw5kme5Q_Yo&feature=emb_rel_end
Norway recycles darn near everything and we have the capability to as well – but there isn’t (enough) money in it.
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/02/a-pocket-history-of-bottle-recycling/273575/
I’m no longer getting the link to the polls. They stopped 3 days ago. 😢
Sorry you’re having issues with the polls, Janet. Here’s what Jessica, one of our IT folks, mentioned awhile ago that it might be (I don’t know anything about this sort of thing): “Sometimes script blockers and ad blockers interfere with our polls since they are from a 3rd party site. If you have one of these, try and turn it off and see if that fixes the issue.” If that doesn’t work, please reply to this comment and I’ll pursue it further. Good luck! And have a good night. 🙂 –Diane