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From Natural Life
Magazine, May/June 2008
Q: My wife has suggested that our family try to go
plastic-free. But the idea of that seems pretty overwhelming. What
are the effects of plastic on people and the environment? Is it
worth it to make the sacrifices we’d have to make to eliminate
plastic from our lives?
A: Plastic is ubiquitous. And that makes it a huge problem for the health of both people and the planet. The main areas of concern are the pollution that occurs during the manufacturing process and in the form of waste when it’s discarded, and the health effects from its use in connection with food.The International Plastics Task Force, a global network of activists, ecologists, non-profit organizations and waste management experts, says that “plastic has become an environmental problem of global scale.” Plastics are essentially a byproduct of petroleum refining – and, of course, petroleum is a non-renewable and rapidly declining resource. The components of oil or natural gas are heated in a “cracking” process, yielding hydrocarbon monomers that are then chemically bonded into polymers, which are long-chain molecules. Different combinations of monomers produce polymers with different characteristics. Additionally, various chemicals such as plasticizers, antioxidants, anti-static agents, colorants, flame retardants, heat stabilizers and barrier resins are added to give plastic products their performance properties. Among the 47 chemical plants ranked highest in carcinogenic emissions by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 35 are involved in plastic production. In the late 1990s, the Oakland Recycling Association commissioned an analysis of the toxic chemical burden of the plastics industry using data from the EPA, especially the Toxics Release Inventory. In the Report of the Berkeley Plastics Task Force, it said that the plastics industry contributed 14 percent of... To read the rest of this article, subscribe to Natural Life's online edition. Author Wendy Priesnitz is the Editor of Natural Life Magazine and a journalist with over 30 years of experience. She has also authored nine books. Read her blog. |
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