Saving the world, one less crappy plastic item at a time! by Rebecca Mayer

Today, scrolling through the list of topics on plastics pollution depressed me more than usual.  Here’s a sampling of topics, so you get the idea: Babies are born pre-polluted with toxic chemicals, Study shows plastic bags take about 300 years to photodegrade, and Plastic pollution kills desert animals, too.

So, I decided, here’s what to do.  I will talk about one issue that has seemingly no positive spin, and then one with a somewhat silly and enjoyable spin.  For dinner: brussel sprouts, and then dessert!

The topic I never want to touch: plastic kills animals.  Those photos of albatross and seals choked by plastic.  Somehow, a single photo seems to affect people more than a hundred pages of statistics and data.  Myself included.

I found today some photos of desert animals in the United Arab Emirates – carcasses of a desert cow and camel, their bellies full of plastic from the debris left behind by tourists or dune dwellers.  The plastic fills their stomachs, either choking them or preventing digestion.

Here is the website.

Enough about that.  Now for dessert.  A section already titled by some genius – “Stupid Plastic Crap”.

Did you know that someone somewhere designed and mass-produced a plastic banana saver, and a plastic lettuce knife?  Like you would need separate tools designed specifically for these functions?  Go to Beth Terry’s website to learn more…

Fake Plastic Fish

also, Stupid Plastic Crap

Apparently, if you happen to own such an item, you can sell it.  Not buying such a thing in the future might also be a good way to go!  As Terry suggests, reflecting upon your own personal plastic crap possessions can be entertaining, but send a letter or email to manufacturers if you have a few moments. 

Save the world, one less crappy plastic item at a time.