Havering Friends of the Earth

Reducing plastics

by Danuta Hart; first published 31-May-2024

Before Covid many of us started to carry our own reusable containers for food and drinks. Fear of spreading the virus, however, led to the return of disposable cups with plastic lids, often carried on plastic trays when buying coffees for several people. Coffee shops and motorway cafés often automatically serve drinks in disposable receptacles unless clearly asked for porcelain cups. However, they will fill up your own mug if requested.

Many of us continue to buy bottled water rather than invest in a water filter at home and carry the drink in a reusable bottle, which ideally could be metal or glass rather than plastic. Cafés and pubs must provide free tap water by law. We should also call on local authorities to restore public water fountains.

We all know about large plastic litter items, but how often do we wonder about tiny plastic particles entering the environment and the damage they cause our health? Plastic never biodegrades. Over decades of being exposed to sunlight, saltwater, wind and sand it breaks down shedding microplastics into nature - oceans, rivers, soils and of course into drinking water.

Plastic bottles not only pollute the environment but are also one of the main contributors to microplastics in the human body. 14 billion tons of microplastics are in our oceans today and marine animals die from ingesting them. Nanoplastics are even tinier than microplastics which makes them still more dangerous to human health.

Reducing plastic use should be the priority. Plastic recycling itself causes microplastics to leach into our environment. Micro and Nanoparticles are often not filtered out during water treatment and enter the food chain: vegetables, fruit, crops, seafood and animal products which amounts to an average of 5 grams of microplastics a week being consumed by each of us. Studies from 2022 identified plastic in human lungs, blood and even breast milk. It interferes with our hormonal systems and can cause health effects like cancerous tumours, developmental disorders or birth defects.

More and more people are replacing grass with artificial turf that over time breaks down producing microplastics which leach into the environment and are likely to be inhaled, especially by children playing.

For more information on avoiding plastics go to Friends of the Earth's article, Living without plastic

Spread the word to family and friends. Get involved: Make your school, business or community plastic free. See Surfers Against Sewage's Plastic pollution campaigns

You can also contribute to the charity, Waste Aid UK.