At zestt organics, we are always on a mission to create a better world through our organic textile practices - but we know we can do more. This month we are expanding on this mission to bring attention to the plastic world we live in, and take the first steps towards reducing our plastic use and consumption.
It is no surprise that single use plastic has become a problem but we were shocked to read some of the statistics surrounding plastic.
6 Facts About Plastic
1. About 8.3 billion tons of plastic have been produced since the 1950s. This is equivalent to the weight of roughly 1 billion elephants or 47 million blue whales!
2. Only about 9% of this plastic has been recycled. 12% has been burned and the remaining 79% has ended up in landfills or the environment.
3. There are five trillion pieces of plastic in our oceans. This is enough to circle the Earth over 400 times.
4. Plastic waste is either being dumped on purpose from industrial sources or naturally flows from landfills and directly into our rivers and streams, which eventually end up in our oceans. The toxins found in these plastics then contaminate water supplies and our food chain by affecting the marine life involved.
5. Prolonged exposure to these chemicals can result in major health issues for us, as well, including hormonal issues, reproductive complications and damage to our nervous systems and kidneys.
6. Low-income communities face more health impacts near plastic production sites, have greater exposure to toxins and waste, and bear the brunt of the impacts of improper plastic disposal and incineration. We even export plastic to poor countries to keep our clean.
What do we do?
We have challenged ourselves and invite our zestt family to march toward a life with less plastic - the first step. Join us as we start to take a second look into where plastic is found around the house, our foods, and our products. Our Facebook community group, "Living Consciously with zestt organics," will be sharing helpful tips, articles, and fun, maybe even trendy, ways to begin eliminating plastic where we can, so join us there, too!!
This challenge is not to guilt you into never buying packaged snacks again and swear off all Tupperware forever, but instead, educate ourselves on the plastic crisis. We then hope to look into our own lives, become aware of how much we personally use on a daily basis, and begin to implement ways to do our part to reduce - for our families and the world around us.
Check in with us on Facebook and Instagram to share your struggles and triumphs, shocking discoveries, new ways to reduce single use plastic, and your steps in the march towards a cleaner, healthier Earth.
resources: https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/
https://www.worldwildlife.org/magazine/issues/fall-2019/articles/plastic-in-the-ocean
https://www.planetaid.org/blog/how-ocean-pollution-affects-humans#:~:text=If%20humans%20are%20exposed%20to,our%20nervous%20systems%20and%20kidneys.
