Plastic vs eco-friendly:
Single use plastic products will fully break down after a few hundred years. Do you get this? Now think about the amount of plastic we as a humanity are using everyday day (in a year it is 150 million tons). Where do all these products go after we throw them away? Recycling? The numbers right now are talking of about only 9% of all plastic waste ever produced that has been recycled. Furthermore, 50% of all plastic produced is intended for single use. There are so many eco-friendly products and sustainable alternatives options available now. So we do not need to use conventional disposable products any longer.
Just think if only 1% of the consumption worldwide will be based on eco friendly alternatives. For example Areca palm leaf products or other sustainable and compostable products, what huge quantities of plastic waste will be saved!
It is not just important for our health (many microplastics make their way into human tissue and as we all know plastic is made from oil, a nonrenewable resource and fossil fuel), but also for the health of our planet to stop and to reduce the use of plastic single use products.
Some plastic advantages:
We know plastic is cheap and convenient, durable and versatile. No wonder it can be found everywhere and everything you buy, use and throw away is plastic.
Yes, plastic has some environmental advantages, it sounds strange, but for example if plastic is used instead of metal in the vehicle industry, then the cars are lighter and therefore consume less fuel and of course it decreases pollution. But even though we said this, plastic is bad for our health and for the health of the planet!
The disasters that create plastic, single use products:
Disposable plastic plates and bowls: Plastic plates are so damaging to the environment and use so many resources both in the creation and consumption of the waste. In addition, plastic plates and bowls are cheap looking, flimsy and can break easily.
Picture – too much plastic, with some food…
Plastic water bottles: This is a real disaster. More than 500 years to decompose. It is not just the water bottles themselves that cause harm to the environment, but also the caps are ingested by sea birds, leading them to believe they are falsely full, and starving them to death. The rings around the caps get stuck on animals’ feet and shells. Turtle shells for example, are forced to grow around plastic rings, leading them to be permanently misshapen.
Plastic shopping bags: Some of us use plastic bags for an average of 17 minutes only. Yes, that’s all! And then these bags are thrown away, arriving at the end to our seas where whales and sea turtles ingest plastic bags. Ingesting plastic bags leads the animals to believe they are falsely full, and eventually they end up starving to death.
Plastic straws, trays, cutlery, cups and containers:
All these products are really convenient in our life but all of these products have a toxic effect on our planet. These products create a significant amount of waste that don’t biodegrade and ultimately destroy our planet. Just the coffee cups we use have an estimate of 16 billion a year (!!) and with coffee cups coms plastic lids and plastic stirrers. Plastic straws are most known for posing a danger to already endangered sea turtles. These plastic straws can even not be recycled due to their chemical makeup.
So what are the eco-friendly products:
Plates and bowls: There are no disposable and biodegradable plates more sustainable than Areca palm leaf plates. 100% natural and vegan, no deforestation involved (as the Areca palm leaf plates are made just from fallen leaves). These Areca plates are durable and sturdy and therefore are suitable for every meal. Since each plate is made from a different palm leaf, they are totally unique in texture and design.
These Areca palm leaf sustainable plates have become incredibly popular in recent years for weddings and other large events because they are not just elegant but also protect our planet.
Bottles: A bottle made of stainless steel is a perfect solution. It is reusable and with proper cleaning, stainless steel will last for many years. At the end of your use, they can even be recycled.
Shopping bags: Go for reusable products! Jute bags and Cotton bags would be a great solution and usually cost between 2 to 5$ only. Surely they can be used a significant number of times, and a good idea would be to store some bags in your car. Be sure you buy Jute or Cotton bags and not synthetic fabrics that are unfortunately made from plastic materials.
Other products:
Plastic straws, trays cutlery, cups and containers: For trays Areca palm leaf trays would be your best solution. Sushi and any street food looks absolutely amazing on these plates.
For cups, carry a reusable ceramic mug with you to go get your coffee. Also available in the market are PLA based cups that are 100% compostable, for hot and cold drinks, so be sure to use them in any event or party you participate in.
For cutlery, We are facing a great improvement in the sustainable alternatives now. Not only products from Birchwood are available but also PLA based cutlery and even edible products made from rice and wheat.
For straws, compostable paper straws are a good alternative but also straws made from edible products are available in the market. Reusable bamboo and stainless steel straws are also a great solution. Nowadays you can even find straws made from pasta. These straws are great eco-friendly products.
Conclusions:
Unfortunately, there is still not a perfect eco-friendly solution for alternatives for plastic containers and lids. PLA based products are usually not suitable for hot meals and sugar cane and Areca palm leaf containers and lids are sadly not 100% leak free, so therefore not suitable for all kinds of meals.
We survived as a species without plastic for the vast majority of our evolution. If we just think outside the box, we can find plenty of compostable, eco-friendly and sustainable products available for single use in our daily life.
