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Wednesday, July 31, 2019

GAIA and MEDIA


 ANTI-PLASTIC  - MISGUIDED MANIA

Part 2  - plastic shopping bags

The demonization of thin plastic shopping bags supplied by stores - usually for FREE - is also a misguided disaster.

All the advantages of foam cups apply to plastic bags: easily storable in small spaces, light weight and always sanitary. 

They are also extremely inexpensive and help retailers with their bottom line and keep consumer prices low. 

The totally flexible and super strong, leak proof bags with their sturdy plastic hand holes allow for an enormous amount of items to be carried at once: up to 3 bags per hand.

Try doing that with paper bags whose glued-on handles regularly snap off with heavy loads or whose bottoms weaken and tear when frozen ice cream or refrigerator grade jars build up moisture in hot weather and 'sweat'. 

Reusable fabric or plastic shopping bags - which have become the rage - are also a problem.

Q. What is the life cycle costs of such fabric or sturdy plastic bags?

Q. Do you need to regularly wash their interiors or spray the insides with disinfectant?

And as with the shift to mugs, reusable bags have become a manufacturers’s dream as this craze has also gone ballistic!

They are not only sold at numerous grocery stores but even tourist shops with clever sayings, iconic images, etc. They are also frequently given out free as marketing tools by retailers, banks and all kinds of organizations.

As a result, my two (2) person home has accumulated over a dozen (12+) bulky plastic and fabric bags; a glut filling up my car trunk, back seat, garage space and/or indoor storage.  

According to “a study released in 2011 by the Environmental Agency of England, “In Evidence: Life Cycle Assessment of Supermarket Carrier Bags”, they state that a reusable cotton shopping bag must be used at least 173 times before it becomes as environmentally friendly as an expendable plastic bag.”[i] 

But who ever gets 173 uses?  The handlers of the fabric ones regularly tear off when carrying heavy loads, and the handles of study plastic ones become weakened with repeated use and tear off as well -- though not as quickly.

Health risks from bacteria are also significant.  According to a study by the University of Arizona and Loma Linda University, reusable grocery bags are breeding grounds for deadly Salmonella and E. coli, and allow for easy food cross-contamination.[ii]

Accordingly, the article by Emmam Howe in Green Living, it advises[iii]:

·        Cloth bags need to be machine washed regularly using detergent and a hot dryer (preferable to air drying).
·        Plastic reusable bags must have their insides scrubbed with hot water and soap and left to air dry regularly.
·        Have at least 4 to 5 purpose-designated bags: one for raw meats (and fish/seafood); one for fruits and vegetables; one for pre-packaged goods; one for any baby or child bottles, toys, etc.; and a separate one for gym gear [as sneakers, towels, etc. can spread athlete’s foot[iv]].

And, as a final note, reusable bags must be kept dry and COOL.  Stored in a hot area or car makes Samonila bacteria grow faster[v].

Finally, she reminds readers “to put raw meats [and raw fish/seafood] into a separate disposable plastic bag before putting them in a reusable bag. This helps to prevent any juices that drip off of raw meat packages from touching other foods and contaminating them.”  So much for avoiding PLASTIC! 


Reality check: 

Q: Does anyone really get 173 uses out of a cotton bag before it breaks or becomes worn or badly stains?

Q: How many people do the recommended regular washing and disinfecting?  I know I am too lazy, and even using Lysol spray disinfectant requires hanging up the bags to dry for up to an hour. 

Q: How viable and practical is trying to keep these bags “cool (and dry)” in hot climates?
I live in Canada and only have to worry about heat during the 3 months of summer, but in southern USA and other more tropical areas, heat and humidity are challenges that can be 8 to 12 months a year!?

Q: Having to bring with at least 3 different sets of bags for raw meat/fish/seafood, raw fruits and vegetables, and packaged goods– possibly more than one for each category of purchases, is simply a pain and unrealistic?

Confession: I often go out to buy toothpaste or a box of detergent or some other signle item and end up buying a lot, lot more: items I forgot I needed but that are sitting on the shelves before my eyes, and super discount specials which I cannot resist. 

As I often tell the cashier when she asks if I want plastic disposable bags, I mutter, “Yes, I need them.  Came for a single small item and got carried away. And my car - filled with 5-6 reusable bags - is some 3 to 5 minutes walk away in the parking lot!”

Welcome to reality! 


And, of course, those simple, FREE, thin plastic bags once home can have a second career: as liners for kitchen garbage and compost and recycling  bins – as recommended by my City of Toronto (2.5 million people)  Waste Wizard website[vi].  

In my home, they are reused as liners for bathroom waste bins and desk/office waste bins. Currently, we use 11 – YES, eleven – at a time!

And, if someone has allergies or gets sick and constantly keeps tissue boxes nearby, these FREE plastic bags can be used as sanitary bin liners and help prevent the spread and lingering of germs and viruses.

And, finally, did I not mention these free disposable plastic bags are recyclable[vii], take up minimal space in landfill, and will eventually decompose. (Claims range from 150 years to 500 years to 1000 years.[viii] All are speculative estimates[ix] as plastic bags were only invented in 1960s in Sweden.[x])

So attacking and banning these versatile, sanitary and inexpensive plastic shopping bags is foolish and simply misguided.


Additional information from “Banning plastic bags won’t save our planet” by Bjorn Lomborg, (G&M, June 17, 2019, A15) is worth noting:
-    California, which has already banned thin plastic bags to eliminate 40 million pounds of plastic, has seen an increase in store bought trash bags by 12 million pounds, and the replacement paper bags - 83 million pounds worth – increase CO2 emissions. [And don't forget those paper bags required the killing of millions of trees!]

·        And if you found surprising the 2011 English government study that discovered a cotton bag would need to be used 173 times to match a plastic bag, a 2018 Danish Ministry of the Environment study – taking into account the ozone layer and other factors, determined a single cotton shopping bag would need to be used 20,000 times – YES,
20 x 1000) before it would cause less climate damage than thin plastic bags.

Used twice a week, that amounts to 191 years!  Or, as I would put it, more than twice the life expectancy of anyone living in the Western, developed world!!!


·        Even an ordinary paper bag would have to be reused 43 times – yes, forty-three times- before its impact is less than a thin plastic bag!!!

·  
      As for harming the oceans, Lomborg notes:  

            -  Plastic bags account for less that 0.8% of all plastic that enter the oceans.

·       -  Only 5% of any plastic that reaches the oceans is from OECD member, ‘developed’ countries.

·        - 27% of all plastic reaching the oceans is from CHINA (even though they banned disposable plastic bags in 2008) and 33% comes from just 3 other countries: INDONESIA, PHILIPPINES and VIETNAM.
·       
-     - And, lastly, 70% of all plastic in the oceans comes from the fishing industry: nets, fishing lines and buoys.


 ANOTHER REALITY CHECK!!!



[iii]  Ibid.
[vii] Ibid.

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Tuesday, July 23, 2019

GAIA and MEDIA

Anti-plastic – misguided mania     

 Part 1 – Disposable Cups  

I first came across anti-plastic activism 20 years ago when our high school banned the use of foam cups for all staff meetings - affecting over 115 people. 

This save-the-environment initiative -- spearheaded by our science dept. -- quickly expanded and required all staff to use only ceramic or glass mugs on school property. 

But within a year, we learned that the amount of energy and material and labour and hot water and the environmental harm from washing with soap made the life cycle impact of one mug equivalent to 10,000 foam cups! 

And methods already then allowed foam cups to be recycled[i]. 

After all, they are made from plastic, and all plastic come from petroleum or liquid natural gas, so it can be recycled into various products[ii] and even fuel[iii]. 

In fact, foam has a higher energy rating than coal and produces less harmful emissions than wood[iv].

However, we were not allowed to go back to the superior, low cost foam cups - ideal for HOT and cold drinks, easily stackable in small spaces, light weight and always sanitary. 

We had to remain 'role models' in the fight to save the planet. 


Ever since, the mug industry has seized the opportunity and expanded exponentially with mugs galore: with witty or cute sayings, icon images, science fiction and other movie and TV series tie-ins, holographic designs and even cups with images that transform when filled with hot liquid. 

My wife and I have accumulated some 30 mugs as gifts for birthdays, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Valentine's Day, graduations and retirement. 

All thanks to the misguided efforts to save the planet from foam cups! 


And that did not include the fact a ceramic mug once it chips or cracks or the handle breaks off cannot be recycled; and when buried in landfill will never ever decompose!

Paper Cups

The similar, more recent and growing pressure on coffee shops, fast food restaurants, etc. to switch to paper cups -- usually requiring an extra paper ring to prevent burning one's fingers for hot drinks -- may seem environmentally friendlier compared to foam, but it is NOT. 

As reported by the Boston Globe[v], an in depth comparison study from the Netherlands found as follows:

·        To make 10,000 foam cups as a byproduct from petroleum,  4,748 gallons of water are used. But 10,000 paper cups with sleeves uses 8,095 gallons ( = 70% MORE water), and the killing of 20,000,000 (yes, 20 MILLION) trees.  Yes, they are massive tree killers!

·       Paper cups need plastic coating and the “paper industry uses chemicals, including chlorine dioxide, which can cause harm if it leaves a factory in waste water.”

·       [Fears that foam cups also may leak out toxin chemicals and benzene into the drinks they contain, especially when heated in a microwave has never materialized. Trillions, yes over 1000 billion, of foam cups have been used for years (and foam plated and containers as well) and governments would have banned them long ago as health and safety risks if there was proof.]

·        As for the energy needed to transport raw materials to the factory, 10,000 foam cups use the equivalent of 450 pounds of coal.  But 10,000 paper cups and sleeves take up 542 pounds of coal ( = 20.4% MORE water).
·        It takes 3.2 grams of petroleum to ship the raw materials to the factory to make a foam cup.        It takes 4.1 grams of petroleum (= 28% MORE petroleum) for each paper cup and sleeve – and this does not include the plastic liner material.
·        As for greenhouse gas emissions, foam WINS again.
·        And for any business interested in making a profit, a paper cup and sleeve costs 5 times as much as a foam cup.
·        So where do paper cups excel?   In landfill: it takes 20 years for a paper cup to decompose, while a foam cup – according to the EPA – takes over one million years. 
So, in fact, FOAM is actually and by far the better choice.

As for recycling, paper cups LOSE again.  City of Toronto (2.5 million people) has long recycled white foam cups and plates and clam-shells but does NOT include paper cups in its Recycling program.  Why?
Because removing the plastic liner is difficult and, more importantly, there is no after-market for the poor quality paper used[vi].
Finally, the Boston Globe recommends a cup exchange program used in Freiburg, Germany, where 100 participating coffee shops allow you to exchange your used, dirty (approved) hard plastic cup for a similar clean cup the shop has properly washed.  A onetime nominal fee is all you ever pay.  Again, the solution is PLASTIC.
And unless that exchange cup collapses or shrinks to fold into a sanitary pouch that can fit into a pocket, it is neither convenient nor practical as you are expected to lug around a dirty cup 24/7.
So paper cups are NOT the better way for numerous reasons; instead, it is the much maligned disposable FOAM cup that is by far the better eco-friendly choice.





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