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Editor’s note: OrilliaMatters is working with sustainable Orillia to publish weekly tips. Check back every Tuesday night for new tips. For more information, please visit the Sustainable Orillia website.
The word “plastic” is derived from the Greek word and means “flexible” or “suitable for molding”. For centuries, it has been an adjective used to describe things or people that can be bent and twisted without breaking.
At some point in the 20th century, “plastic” became a noun-what a beautiful noun it became! Some of you may remember the movie “Graduate” in which the young Benjamin received advice to “pursue a career in plastics.”
Well, many people have done it, and because of mass production and globalization, plastics are now permeating almost every corner of our lives. So much so that we now realize that in order to protect our planet, we must make some difficult decisions and significantly reduce the use of plastics—especially single-use or single-use plastics.
Earlier this year, the Canadian federal government issued a notice banning the use of six single-use plastic products. From 2022, disposable plastic shopping bags, straws, stir bars, cutlery, six-piece loops, and food containers made of difficult-to-recycle plastic will be banned.
Fast food chains, food retailers and wholesalers, and even manufacturers in their supply chains, are already taking steps to replace these plastics with more environmentally friendly alternatives.
This, coupled with the measures currently being considered by local governments, is good news. This is a clear first step, but it is not enough to solve the growing problem of plastic pollution in landfills and the ocean.
As citizens, we cannot rely on the government alone to lead this change. Individual grassroots actions are required, knowing that everything is essential to reduce the use of plastics.
For those who want to start a personal plastic reduction exercise, here are some daily tips (or reminders) that will help significantly reduce your reliance on plastics.
The first way to reduce our reliance on plastics and overall use (disposable and more durable types)? Do not buy products made of plastic or packaged in plastic.
Since many things we want and need are wrapped in plastic, this will require an extra step to avoid bringing unnecessary plastic into your home. We do not recommend that you throw away any plastic products you may already own and use; use them as much as possible.
However, when they need to be replaced, consider investing in the future by finding environmentally friendly alternatives as much as possible.
Some measures to reduce plastic, such as bringing reusable shopping bags to the grocery store, are already common-many shoppers go a step further and avoid using plastic bags for fruits and vegetables.
More and more food retailers sell reusable product bags and/or we can buy products in bulk. Look for and ask for cardboard containers for berries, and let those tightly packed cheeses and cold cut slices pass through.
Most food retailers in Orillia have deli counters where you can order the right amount of food, avoid plastic packaging, and support neighbors who work behind the counter. Win-win!
Choose natural products or alternatives. Toothbrush is a good example. Did you know that nearly 1 billion used plastic toothbrushes are thrown away every year? This adds up to 50 million tons of landfills, if any, it will take centuries to decompose.
Instead, toothbrushes made from natural products such as bamboo are now available. Many dental clinics recommend and provide bamboo toothbrushes to patients. The good news is that these toothbrushes can be biodegraded in only six to seven months.
Another opportunity to reduce plastic lies in our wardrobe. Baskets, hangers, shoe racks and dry-cleaning bags are daily sources of plastic.
Here are some alternatives to consider. Instead of plastic laundry baskets and clothes baskets, how about baskets made of wooden frames and linen or canvas bags?
Wooden hangers may be a bit more expensive, but they are more durable than plastic hangers. For some reason, our clothes look better on wooden hangers. Leave the plastic hangers in the store.
Today, there are more storage solutions options than ever before—including shoe cabinets made entirely of natural materials. Alternatives embedded in plastic dry-cleaning bags may take time; however, we can rest assured that these dry-cleaning bags can be recycled as long as they are clean and have no labels. Just put them in a plastic bag to recycle.
Let’s end with a short description about food and beverage containers. They are another major area of ​​opportunity for reducing plastic products. As mentioned above, they have become targets of the government and major fast food chains.
At home, we can use glass and metal food containers to hold lunch boxes and leftovers. If you do use plastic bags for lunch or freezing, remember that they can be washed and reused multiple times.
Biodegradable straws are becoming cheaper and cheaper. Most importantly, please avoid buying plastic bottled beverages as much as possible.
Orillia has an excellent blue box program (www.orillia.ca/en/living-here/recycling.collections), and it collected an estimated 516 tons of plastic last year. The amount of plastic collected by Orillia for recycling is increasing every year, which shows that more people are recycling-which is a good thing-but it also shows that people are using more plastic.
In the end, the best statistics confirm that we are significantly reducing the overall use of plastics. Let us make it our goal.