Yes it is possible to live without plastic, though this might be difficult at first. We can get our own containers for milk, honey and more, like in the past. Buy veggies by weight in a single bag, instead of individual plastic ones. These are just few steps but we can get rid of plastic usage if we try hard enough!
PVC-Free Alternatives
- Bags: PVC-free bags made of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), multilayer polyethylene or polypropylene are cost-effective and technically competitive with PVC bags.
- Tubing: PVC-free tubing from silicone or polyurethane is on the market for most medical applications.
According to NatureWorks, making Polylactide acid (PLA) saves two thirds the energy you need to make traditional plastics. PLA looks and behaves like polyethylene and polypropylene and is widely used for food containers. PLA also produces almost 70 percent less greenhouse gases when it breaks down in landfill sites.
#1 Plastic bags pollute our land and waterBecause they are so lightweight, plastic bags get easily picked up by wind and travel long distances by wind and water to pollute the nature. Plastic bag litter has even caused great problems in some areas.
In 1907 Leo Baekeland invented Bakelite, the first fully synthetic plastic, meaning it contained no molecules found in nature. Baekeland had been searching for a synthetic substitute for shellac, a natural electrical insulator, to meet the needs of the rapidly electrifying United States.
Here are five ways to say no to plastic in daily life:
- 1) BYOB- An Environmentally Sound Slang. BYOB basically stands for 'Bring Your Own Bag'.
- 2) Throw A Plastic Free Party.
- 3) Break Away From The Shackles Of Plastic Packaging.
- 4) Switch From Bottled Water.
- 5) Stay Away From 'Use And Throw' Plastics.
So how should they be disposed of? These plastics can still be recycled, they just need to be taken to a film specific recovery facility, or dropped in designated bins (there are often bins for old bags outside of grocery stores). Plastic film materials can be reused in a number of valuable ways.
Bamboo is an extremely durable material which lends itself to an unlimited amount of uses, its cheap to produce and so it's already well-positioned to keep up with any consumer growth and production demands. As we know, plastic can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade, but bamboo is 100% biodegradable!
Once you have the nanofibres, these can have a huge variety of uses. As well as an effective replacement for plastic packaging, it could also be used to replace car parts and computer components, while some research teams are even using it to develop lightweight body armour and bulletproof glass.
Glass is heavier than plastic, and breaks much easier during transit. This means it produces more emissions in transportation than plastic, and costs more to transport. Yet another thing to consider is most glass isn't actually recycled. In total, that's about four major problems with glass that impact the environment.
Plastics are made from natural materials such as cellulose, coal, natural gas, salt and crude oil through a polymerisation or polycondensation process. Crude oil is a complex mixture of thousands of compounds and needs to be processed before it can be used.
