The world's plastic pollution crisis explained

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Much of the planet is swimming in discarded plastic, which is harming animal and possibly human health. Can it be cleaned up?

Plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental issues, as rapidly increasing production of disposable plastic products overwhelms the world’s ability to deal with them. Plastic pollution is most visible in developing Asian and African nations, where garbage collection systems are often inefficient or nonexistent. But the developed world, especially in countries with low recycling rates, also has trouble properly collecting discarded plastics. Plastic trash has become so ubiquitous it has prompted efforts to write a global treaty negotiated by the United Nations.   

How did this happen?

Plastics made from fossil fuels are just over a century old. Production and development of thousands of new plastic products accelerated after World War II, so transforming the modern age that life without plastics would be unrecognizable today. Plastics revolutionized medicine with life-saving devices, made space travel possible, lightened cars and jets—saving fuel and pollution—and saved lives with helmets, incubators, and equipment for clean drinking water.
 
The conveniences plastics offer, however, led to a throw-away culture that reveals the material’s darkside: today, single-use plastics account for 40 percent of the plastic produced every year. Many of these products, such as plastic bags and food wrappers, have a lifespan of mere minutes to hours, yet they may persist in the environment for hundreds of years.

Plastics by the numbers.

Some key facts:

Half of all plastics ever manufactured have been made in the last 15 years.

Production increased exponentially, from 2.3 million tons in 1950 to 448 million tons by 2015. Production is expected to double by 2050.

Every year, about 8 million tons of plastic waste escapes into the oceans from coastal nations. That’s the equivalent of setting five garbage bags full of trash on every foot of coastline around the world.

Plastics often contain additives making them stronger, more flexible, and durable. But many of these additives can extend the life of products if they become litter, with some estimates ranging to at least 400 years to break down.

How plastics move around the world.

Most of the plastic trash in the oceans, Earth’s last sink, flows from land. Trash is also carried to sea by major rivers, which act as conveyor belts, picking up more and more trash as they move downstream. Once at sea, much of the plastic trash remains in coastal waters. But once caught up in ocean currents, it can be transported around the world.
On Henderson Island, an uninhabited atoll in the Pitcairn Group isolated halfway between Chile and New Zealand, scientists found plastic items from Russia, the United States, Europe, South America,Japan, and China. They were carried to the South Pacific by the South Pacific gyre, a circular ocean current.

Microplastics.

Once at sea, sunlight, wind, and wave action break down plastic waste into small particles, often less than one-fifth of an inch across. These so-called microplastics are spread throughout the water column and have been found in every corner of the globe, from Mount Everest, the highest peak, to the Mariana Trench, the deepest trough. Microplastics are breaking down further into smaller and  smaller pieces. Plasticmicrofibers,meanwhile, have been found in municipal drinking water systems and drifting through the air.

Harm to wildlife.

Millions of animals are killed by plastics every year, from birds to fish to other marine organisms. Nearly 700 species, including endangered ones, are known to have been affected by plastics. Nearly every species of seabird eats plastics.
Most of the deaths to animals are caused by entanglement or starvation. Seals, whales, turtles, and other animals are strangled by abandoned fishing gear or discarded six-pack rings. Microplastics have been found in more than 100 aquatic species, including fish, shrimp, and mussels destined for our dinner plates. In many cases, these tiny bits pass through the digestive system and are expelled without consequence. But plastics have also been found to have blocked digestive tracts or pierced organs, causing death. Stomachs so packed with plastics reduce the urge to eat, causing starvation.

Plastics have been consumed by land-based animals, including elephants, hyenas, zebras, tigers, camels, cattle, and other large mammals, in some cases causing death.
Tests have also confirmed liver and cell damage and disruptions to reproductive systems, prompting    some species, such as oysters, to produce fewer eggs. New research shows that larval fish are eating    nanofibers in the first days of life, raising new questions about the effects of plastics on fish                  populations.

Stemming the plastic tide.

Once in the ocean, it is difficult—if not impossible—to retrieve plastic waste. Mechanical systems,        such as Mr. Trash Wheel, a litter interceptor in Maryland’s Baltimore Harbor, can be effective at             picking up large pieces of plastic, such as foam cups and food containers, from inland waters. 

But once plastics break down into microplastics and drift throughout the water column in the open     ocean, they are virtually impossible to recover.

The solution is to prevent plastic waste from entering rivers and seas in the first place, many                  scientists and conservationists—including the National Geographic Society—say. This could be             accomplished with improved waste management systems and recycling, better product design that        takes into account the short life of disposable packaging, and reduction in manufacturing of                 unnecessary single-use plastics.

The numbers are truly horrifying aren´t they! It can get really depressing to read about all of this bad stuff that is going on but as I keep saying I am trying to spread the word about using less single use plastics, changing to glass and cans where possible and making a lot of products at home!

There is a group of people that is ever increasing and it´s great that our younger generation is very active on this subject, maybe they can persuade their parents to adapt a little, take a few minutes more to think about what they buy and the impact it will have on the environment for their grandkids! It is the responsibility of the governments of all countries around the globe to initiate the tide of  change and educate their people about how precious are planet is and what we SHOULD ALL BE  DOING to at least put a brake on the decline.  

Yes, the big companies will continue to produce plastic, but they should be MADE to at least make a plastic that can be recycled, not broken down and made into something else or incinerated.

The blog song for today is " Hold on tight to your dream" by Electric Light Orchestra

 TTFN

 

What happens to old bed mattresses?

                                                                        

After you buy a new mattress, have you ever wondered what happens to your old one once it’s hauled away for disposal? If you’ve ever asked yourself, “what really happens to my old mattress once the council picks it up”, then you’re in the right place.

 

Can My Old Mattress Be Recycled?

While some junk removal companies (and some mattress removal companies) have a genuine commitment to being eco-friendly, many of these companies say they recycle when they really just haul it straight to the landfill. A lot of junk can be recycled or donated and most items, especially mattresses, fall into the recycling category. So the answer to can mattresses be recycled, is yes!

Old mattresses are often recycled by removing certain useful materials like the fibre filling or metal springs and combining that material with other recycled mattress components to manufacture a new one. Mattress toppers can also be recycled, but the process is a bit different than recycling a mattress with springs.

How Does Mattress Recycling Work?

So, how exactly does this mattress recycling magic happen? And where do mattresses go when you recycle them? Once your unwanted mattress is picked up it is dropped off at a recycling facility where it spends some time hanging out with its discarded mattress siblings.

Later, the mattresses are all inspected for bed bugs. Since they are considered hazardous, any bed bug mattresses and box springs are taken somewhere else to be destroyed in order to prevent spreading the infestations.

The remaining mattresses are sorted, and those that are wet from rain or snow are placed in a separate room to dry. Once the mattresses have been received and sorted, any fabric is taken off and the batting fiber inside is removed, which is used to manufacture new products.

All of the mattress materials are sorted into different components once it has all been removed. Innerspring mattresses and old box springs contain thick steel wire which is stripped away and baled using special machinery.

These steel bales are sent to a metal recycling plant where they are melted down and cast back into new steel. This recycled steel is used to produce new metal products.

Many of the mattresses we see today are made either partially or entirely of foam. When foam mattresses are recycled, most of the foam is shipped to factories to be cleaned and turned into new products such as foam padding for carpeting.

The UK threw away more than 7m mattresses in 2017, the vast majority of which went straight to landfill. Zero Waste Scotland has estimated that if the 600,000 mattresses Scotland throws away every year were stacked on top of each other, the pile would be more than 100 times taller than Ben Nevis. Flytipping is another huge area of concern: English councils spend £58m a year on clear-up, with mattresses among the most commonly illegally dumped items. According to the National Bed Federation (NBF), only about 19% of mattresses are recycled. The reason? They are a nightmare to recycle – it’s the springs. “They’re a machine killer.

And it’s not just a British problem. Mattresses are a global environmental nightmare. The US throws away 18.2m mattresses a year, but there are only 56 facilities available to recycle them. 

Our ever-growing used mattress problem is also being exported. In July 2019, 100 containers of British waste were found in the port of Colombo, Sri Lanka. They had been illegally sent there, under the guise of metal recycling.

Without action from regulators, the industry is trying to self-regulate. The National Bed Federation has a code of practice and accreditation system for genuine mattress recyclers: it audits facilities to check firms are compliant with the law and there’s no exploitation of their workforce. The organisation also aims to divert 75% of new mattresses sold from landfill by 2028, and is encouraging manufacturers to consider eco-friendly designs, such as reusable mattresses that would be leased to consumers for a period of time, before being sent back, stripped and refreshed.

There are quite a few companies in Spain that deal with old mattresses and have the facilities in place to carry out all the various different ways to dispose of them in a way beneficial to the environment. I believe here on Menorca they are sent to the mainland where they are distributed to the various specialist companies.

Here on Menorca in Spring you will often see old mattresses dumped by the side of the green bins and there is a very popular fly tipping zone near the mateus roundabout near Cala Blanca.  All sorts of rubbish is dumped there from old fridges, settees, display units and very nice it looks too.  It is particularly pretty when people can´t even be bothered to get out of their vehicle to put bags of normal rubbish in the green bin and just leave it by the bins for the seagulls to come and peck at. I wouldn´t mind but there is a telephone number of the council which when called they will arrange for the item to be collected free of charge on a certain day from the home!  

The best time apparantly to renew your mattress is between 8-10 years, and when buying a new one try to think of how it can be desposed of safely in the future. I have read that a lot of mattress companies are offering a tryout deal on a new one, this is not good,because if the mattress is returned it is disposed of and there is a lot of doubt as to if this is done in an environmentally friendly way.

The  blog song for today is: "All I have to do is dream" by Buddy Holly

TTFN

Glass versus Can and Tetrapak, prices, advantages and disavantages

Glass Jars:  Number 1 choice for me!

Can be recycled, even the lid. You can also see the contents! The price is usually a little bit more expensive as the can or tetrapak, if you go for the same quantity.

The only thing you have to look out for is the lid, which contains the dreaded BPA or BPS.  Leave whatever is stuck to the lid on it!  Wash it away.

The good thing about the jars is that you can re-use them!  My father in law used to have a great use for themTheir cans are lined with baked-on oleoresinous c-enamel…in other words, their cans don’t have any traces of BPS, vinyl, acrylic, polyester, or any other icky stuff. in his garden shed.  He attached the lid of the jar to the underside of the shelf and screwed the jar onto the lid, he used to keep all his nuts, bolts and little items in those jars, pretty well organised!

Cans:

It all depends on what you wish to buy, because the problem with most cans are that they are lined with BPS, vinyl, acrylic, polyester, or any other icky stuff. Look for cans that are lined with baked-on oleoresinous c-enamel.

The inside lining of these cans can seep into whatever is inside and because cans have a really long shelf life, it gives a long time for that to happen.  I will be looking for the produced date on the can (if there is one) and buy the ones that are near to the actual date I buy. From 2018 the European Union introduced new measures to reduce the amount of BPA in cans, but many consumer agencies said that it wasn´t enough.

The plastic liner looks plastic'y in all cases, it's very hard to tell. Epoxy is harder than other plastics, but there are epoxies that are BPA free anyway

Aluminium cans are more likely have a epoxy liner that will give off a trace of BPA.

Many steel cans do not use epoxy or other BPA plastics. 

The unfortunate thing is that you can only tell if it is plastic lined after the can is opened, but then if it is then change the product.

Cans are recyclable and easily done so.

TetraPaks:

These are lined with plastic, are not fully recyclable, if you have the time you can break them down into the different products, plastic, paper and aluminium.

The food does taste different from these containers and the one of the few things these days that I  buy in tetrapak is Milk, I like to buy milk from Menorca and I have only seen it available in Tetrapak or plastic bottles, which there is small availability.

Below is a price comparison of tomato Frito: I used brand names not the stores own.

350ml 0,66c (1,89 a kilo)

400g 0,74c (1,85 a kilo)

500g 1,09 (2,18 a kilo)

In comparison the bottle does come out more expensive (0,30c per Kilo more) but not that much more than the Tetrapak which you would have thought would be much cheaper.

This is a good brand to buy, mid range. Gallina Blanca and Solis are also very nice. I have also found that Dia Supermarkets make a nice one too in a jar!

I totally understand that it is really difficult to buy the more expensive products when you are on a tight budget, so it is not always possible to do it.  Even once in a while is great! Bit by bit we can change things and maybe for the manufacturers to use glass again!

The blog song for today is: "Us and Them" by Pink Floyd.

TTFN