Sooner or later, we're going to have to pay for our plastic

Credit cards have long offered the promise that you can “enjoy now, and pay later.” Paying with plastic can be convenient… but often, that first bill arrives just about the time that the novelty of our purchase has worn off. (This is called buyer’s remorse.) If we don’t pay that debt promptly, interest charges can make the real cost of our purchase wildly more expensive. It is a simple premise that most of us can relate to: Plastic = convenience, but sooner or later, you’re going to have to pay.

Credit cards are not the only kind of liability we’re creating with plastic. In earlier posts, I've shared some thoughts about the big problems created by light trash and litter. Among the most threatening elements in this group: Anything made of plastic or Styrofoam.

Now… if you work with a plastics company, or a soft drink bottler, or a retail store that still provides customers plastic bags… relax. I’m not "out to get you." I’m of the mind that “plastics don’t pollute… people do.” But you might want to pay attention to this conversation; my position will be that anyone who profits from the use of plastic should be complicit in solving the side effects of that use. (Click to enlarge this photo. If you see your logo, drop me a note.)

Plastic and other polymers are a good thing, on a number of levels. They’re lightweight, durable, and cheap. And above all, stuff made of plastic lasts a long, long time. But the attributes that make plastic wonderful are the same reasons it is so dastardly. Because it is lightweight, durable and cheap, we use it to make things that are literally designed to be thrown away on the day they are born (garbage bags, packaging). Because it is so inexpensive to make, we use it in an infinite variety of products and packaging—we produce a breathtaking volume of the stuff—ranging from fountain cups, to soft drink bottles, to shopping bags to… well, you get the drift. Finally, this multitude of products we produce—much of it meant to be tossed—is chemically constructed in such a way that it will last nearly forever. All of these factors have colluded to create a problem that needs attention.

I found a dramatic piece of writing about the life cycle of plastic, and how it impacts the life cycle of water and its’ inhabitants, at the web site for the Ocean Conservancy; click here to read it. More unsettling than that, I’ve recently studied some reports about a field of plastic and other trash, floating on the Pacific Ocean, which some researchers estimate to be larger than the surface area of the continental United States. I’m not making this stuff up: There are tons of reports out there about the islands of trash in the North Pacific Gyre, but a quick and easy explanation is offered in a 2004 report from CBS News. You can either read their report… or see this three-minute video.

The debt we have created with our use of plastic is coming due, and I intend to begin “making a few payments.” Certainly, we're far from perfect, but our family has begun to make smarter choices about our personal use of plastic. We’ve been recycling for years, but now, Julie has helped our family embrace the idea of canvass totes, so we use fewer plastic shopping bags. We have a water purifier and have greatly reduced our use of bottled water or soft drinks. Certainly, we're far from perfect. We're simply trying to reduce our use.

As far as our river restoration projects are concerned, we’ll continue to recover what trash we can from the water, and encourage others to do the same. But I’m also going to get more aggressive about studying this particular problem, and how it evolves from the manufacturer, to the retailer, to the consumer, and into the storm drains and waterways. I repeat this simple belief: Plastic is not a bad thing, when used responsibly and disposed of properly. But if you profit through its’ use, either as a consumer who enjoys convenience, or as a company who earns revenue through plastic products or packaging, it is reasonable to expect that you should participate in managing the consequences of that use. You’ll forgive me if I start making some noise about that.

Feel free to share your thoughts by sending us an email.

© 2008, 2009 Mike D. Anderson, Crystal, MN.

[Originally posted March 5, 2008.]