How Do We Stem the Plastic Tide?

Plastic exploded into our lives in the 1950’s. It was light weight, cheap and convenient. It gave us innovations in medicine and in safety. But there was a lurking dark side.

The proliferation of plastic used in everyday products, from food packaging to clothing to carpets, and the cultivation of the throwaway mentality under the guise of recycling has resulted in a global crisis.

Awareness began with litter and heartbreaking photos of harm to marine life and birds. But what we didn’t see was the insidious creep on human health with chemicals, microplastic and nano-particulate invading major body systems such as our blood, lungs, brain and gut. Of particular concern is the effect of endocrine disrupting chemicals on fetal and childhood development. And if it affects humans, it affects all living things and all ecosystems.

The pervasive presence of petrochemical based plastic in our lives is a health crisis…and a costly one. In the United States alone, plastic related health costs are conservatively at $250 billion.

On current trajectory, in the next 20 years emissions from plastic production will eat up 21-31% of our carbon budget for limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees C.

Around the globe plastic waste is often interwoven with limited access to clean water, sanitation and waste management. Plastic waste leads to poor soil fertility, fouled waterways and the breeding of mosquito–borne diseases. 

Absent of regulations in “consumption countries”, it falls on consumers to drive change, to choose health, to choose planet, over taboo Single Use “unnecessary” Plastic bags, cutlery and food packaging and rethink everyday buying habits of textiles and personal products.

It feels insurmountable but we can stem the plastic tide. And as we do, we give confidence to innovators and community leaders to chart us toward sustainable living on a healthy stable planet. This is the future we want for our children.

Join in and let’s make it happen!

Global Plastic Cafe

Grab your favorite drink for your time zone and meet other passionate plastic eco action people. Hosted monthly by the Plastic Solutions Task Force and EndPlastic Soup. Read more…

What Can You Do!

Start today, Step by Step and Together

Ready – Set – Go – Projects – Together with EndPlasticSoup we are building project recipe’s. These are crowdsourced to ignite passion and help others not reinvent the wheel. The recipes provide best practices for you to readily adapt and implement.

These recipe’s cover Community Cleanups – Deplasticize – Youth Education – Awareness Campaigns – Adopt the Water – Circular Economy – Sachet Trash – Hygiene and Sanitation – Resource Libraries and much more.

We are volunteer driven and will be constantly updating and adding new recipe’s. Feel free to write us with your thoughts and ideas to improve the format. Read more…

The Scale of the Plastic Pollution

All over the world, dedicated researchers, physicians and scientists from respected non-profits and institutions are releasing their findings on the impact of plastic. Read more…

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