Plastic products are made largely for our convenience. Throwing a party? People typically turn to plastic drink cups and dinnerware for a care-free cleanup. Want an iced coffee? Businesses will hand over single-use plastic cups and straws. This means that there is more than enough plastic to go around in the world. Unfortunately, it’s not much of a surprise that 91 percent of plastic isn’t recycled, according to National Geographic. That means that 91 percent of plastic used around the world ends up in landfills or the ocean. This doesn’t just harm humans, but animals, too. And it only gets worse. Plastic can take hundreds of years to break down, so it’s very likely that plastic items used decades ago still exist somewhere in the world today.
But it’s not too late to start more sustainable habits. We can choose to use alternatives to plastic that are better for the environment over the convenience of the plastic products we use daily. Here are a few items to watch out for that can do the environment more harm than good.
Menstrual Products
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Depending upon which products people choose to use, periods aren’t always the most environmentally friendly–especially if you use menstrual products that contain plastic in their packaging or lining.
On average, a menstruating person will have at least 450 periods in their lifetime. And according to Change to Green, there are more than 45 billion tampons or pads used annually around the world, equating to around 70 million pounds of waste. While there’s not much anyone can do about menstrual cycles, people can swap out plastic period products for sustainable alternatives like menstrual cups, tampons sans plastic applicator, reusable pads, and underwear designed for periods.
Air Conditioners
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Air conditioners can be major energy drainers.
Especially during the hot summer months when air conditioners make up 30 percent of energy usage in the United States, according to Mashable. That number spikes another 70 percent after the traditional 9-to-5 work hours. So, what does this mean for the environment? Well, the increased use of air conditioning units means power plants have to work extra hard, in turn creating more pollution. Having so many people blasting their air conditioners can also cause blackouts or brownouts. Simple ways to curb the environmental impact of staying cool during warm weather is to get a more energy-efficient unit, stop cranking AC to 65 degrees, and not run the AC when you’re not home.
Sunscreen
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Sunscreen is another must-have during the warmer months.
It protects your skin from sun damage and can help prevent skin cancer. However, protecting yourself from the sun with certain sunscreens can mean trouble for the ocean. The culprit is one of the main ingredients in sunscreen, oxybenzone, which damages coral reefs, according to the Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. It can be just as harmful to marine life as gas. Next time, try to go with an organic, ocean-friendly option.
Microbeads In Body And Cleaning Products
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Microbeads are non-biodegradable, tiny, spherical pieces of plastic you may have encountered in body scrubs, face washes, and cleaning products.
And in just a single shower, thousands of microbeads can go right down the drain, according to Beat the Microbead. They’re so tiny, they can sneak right through water filtration systems and end up in the ocean where fish and other animals can absorb or ingest them. Humans are also at risk of consuming these microbeads, especially if we eat the fish that have come in contact with them. It’s a vicious cycle. To fight the negative impact of microbeads on the environment, many governments have banned the use of microbeads in personal care products.
Single-Use Plastic
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Single-use plastics are everywhere.
They’re used to package fruit at the grocery store, for our takeaway orders, to house our cosmetics and cleaning products, and much more. Unsurprisingly, plastic packaging makes up nearly half of global plastic waste, according to the United Nations. And the worst part? When plastic isn’t discarded properly, it can sometimes take up to a thousand years to break down. Luckily, bans on single-use plastics are becoming more common with over 60 countries pushing back on plastic pollution. Styrofoam and plastic bags are at the forefront of the bans as they’re typically the most common types of plastic we see on a daily basis and in terms of environmental impact, it shows. One to five trillion plastic bags are used around the globe each year. To put it into perspective, if all the plastic bags used annually were tied together, it could be wrapped around the earth seven times every hour.
Wet Wipes
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We get it, wet wipes are convenient.
There are wet wipes made to clean your house, remove your makeup, or help you freshen up after a workout class, but this common household item isn’t great for the environment. Most wet wipes aren’t flushable and are wreaking havoc on our sewer systems and marine life, according to The Guardian. In 2015, wet wipes that washed up on beaches in the United Kingdom increased by more than 50% from the year prior due to people flushing them down the toilet. The wet wipes that end up in the ocean can also end up being ingested by sea animals. Because they can contain plastic, they’ll often stay in animals’ stomachs, which eventually causes them to die of starvation.
Disposable Razors
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Disposable razors are typically made of plastic and they’re, well, disposable.
In 2018 alone, 163 million people in the United States used them. They’re not made to keep forever and are often used about five to seven times before being swapped out for a new one, according to Bustle. They’re not always recyclable either. Although many disposable razors are made from plastic, there are other components such as a rubber grip that aren’t necessarily recyclable, HuffPost reported. However, if your razor has a removable head, you might be able to recycle it depending on recycling rules in your area.
Dryer Sheets
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There’s nothing wrong with wanting soft clothes that smell really, really good, but the products we use to get them can be bad for us and the environment.
According to Reader’s Digest, dryer sheets are filled with chemicals and fragrances that might not be the safest. They’re also single-use, which means they get tossed after drying a load or two of laundry.
Mattresses
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Mattresses aren’t the easiest household item to get rid of.
They’re big enough that you might even need a multi-person team to even carry it out of the house. But once they’re out, they take up lots of space in landfills. And it’s not just a few that end up there, but around 600,000 in the state of Massachusetts alone, the Boston Globe reported. Even though parts of mattresses and box springs (including coils, foam, cotton, and wood), can be recycled, many simply end up in the trash. To make it less of a hassle to recycle mattresses, there are numerous city programs available that are happy to pick them up from your house or apartment.
Coffee Pods
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Maybe you want to stop spending so much money on coffee from Starbucks so you like to make coffee at home.
Unfortunately, cutting back on your weekly coffee spend can still be bad for the environment if you’re using single-use coffee pods. According to The Loop, the pods usually aren’t recyclable and pile up in landfills. You can, however, buy your own coffee grounds and invest in a reusable coffee pod that you fill up on your own. By doing so, you can not only cut back on the amount of plastic waste you contribute to landfills but also save money as a large bag of coffee grounds can go a long way.
Tea
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Yup, even tea can be bad for the environment.
Not necessarily the tea itself, but the tea bags that they come in. It might not look like tea bags contain plastic, but they do. According to Country Living, some tea bags use a sealing plastic called polypropylene to keep the bags secured and prevent them from falling apart.
Toothbrushes
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It’s estimated that one billion toothbrushes (usually made from plastic and nylon) are thrown out in the United States every year, according to Foreo.
Even though they’re made of plastic, you can’t recycle them along with plastic bottles or aluminum cans, otherwise, they might end up in a landfill. You’ll instead have to search for local recycling programs that will accept them.
Aerosol Cans
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You can get hairspray, deodorant, disinfecting sprays, and cleaning products in aerosol cans.
But be warned, aerosol cans don’t have the best track record when it comes to the environment. In the 1970s, it was widely campaigned that chlorofluorocarbons in aerosol sprays had made an impact on the ozone layer, according to World Atlas. In 2008, chlorofluorocarbons were banned, but that doesn’t mean aerosol sprays are eco-friendly. According to Scientific American, spray deodorants still use hydrocarbons and compressed gases.