(Photo provided via Pixabay and Creative Commons)

Since it was first introduced only decades ago, plastic has become an inescapable part of modern life. Every day we use countless plastic bottles, cups, bags, straws, packaging, etc. Yet the very qualities that make plastic useful to humans — its light weight and durability — have made it a calamity for the environment and deadly to wildlife.

Unlike natural products such as wood, paper or cloth, which degrade and break down into harmless components, plastic is durable and resistant to decay. A large percentage of plastic waste gets washed out to sea and accumulates in the oceans, in specific locations called gyres which are created by prevailing ocean and wind currents. Plastic garbage is accumulating in these ocean gyres on a scale that is almost unimaginable, and it poses a serious hazard to marine wildlife, including birds, mammals and fish. The Great Pacific garbage patch, located in the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii, is twice the size of Texas!

Not only do wildlife get hopelessly entangled in plastic lines, mesh and packaging, but they also frequently ingest plastic debris. A study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that nearly 60 percent of all species of seabirds studied so far have had plastic in their digestive tracts. Ingested, the plastic cannot be digested or passed by the animal. The presence of large amounts of plastic in an animal’s gut interferes with normal food intake, and can lead to a slow and painful death from starvation. In the marine environment, plastic bags alone kill thousands of animals, including whales, birds, seals and turtles every year, as they often mistake plastic bags for food such as jellyfish.

Unlike recycling of paper, glass and aluminum, recycling of plastic has not been an effective strategy. There are many different kinds of plastic, so it’s difficult and expensive to isolate types and recycle it back into new plastic products. Instead it is “down cycled” into materials such as fillers or rugs, which eventually wind up in landfills anyway. Most recycled plastic is exported to other countries like China, where it is incinerated. However, recently China has refused to accept our plastic waste unless it meets standards of purity that are practically impossible to achieve. The result is in an increasing supply of recycled plastic waste, for which there is no demand. So is it effective to continue to recycle plastics? Yes, but as a last resort. The first two steps of the slogan “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” are more important. Some add a fourth imperative — “Refuse” single-use plastic.

Although there has recently been a discovery of biological organisms that can digest plastic and return it to a purified state, at present this technology is just a promising but far-off hope for the future. The only practical solution currently available to confront the rapidly growing pollution of our environment is to reduce the use of all single-use plastics. Some believe that a product that can’t be responsibly disposed of shouldn’t be produced. In fact, the European Union recently passed an ordinance banning the use of all single-use plastic by 2021.

At the Saranac Lake Earth Day event last April, which was sponsored by the Adk Tri-Lakes chapter of 350.org, there was a display that featured compelling photos of dead birds and fish, their stomachs full of indigestible plastic products that they had mistaken for food. Shortly afterward, Adk Tri-Lakes 350.org chose to make the serious and rapidly growing problem of plastic pollution in the environment a priority. To start, the group is focusing on reducing and eventually eliminating the countless disposable plastic bags provided by retailers in our community for the products we purchase every day in supermarkets, pharmacies and convenience stores. Like other single-use plastic items, plastic bags are used for only minutes, hours or days, but can remain in the environment as waste for 1,000 years or more!

Fortunately, some businesses are making efforts to be part of the solution. The Aldi chain has a longstanding policy of not providing free, lightweight plastic bags for groceries. Customers have the choice of paying a small fee for either a paper bag, a heavier-weight reusable plastic bag or the most economical choice — bringing their own bags. Shoppers easily adapted to the policy.

Other supermarkets are also beginning to discourage the use of disposable plastic shopping bags. Recently Hannaford in Lake Placid started charging a nickel for their lightweight plastic grocery bags. They have made a variety of sturdy, attractive, reusable bags available at very low cost, including a canvas bag imprinted with the message “Reduce, Reuse, Rethink Your Choices.” Price Chopper will start charging for plastic bags in January 2019, in addition to continuing a rebate to shoppers who bring their own bags. They will also have a variety of low-cost, reusable bags for sale, as well as paper bags with handles. These policies can be quite effective. In the UK, a study showed that within six months of a nominal plastic bag charge being in place, usage dropped by 85 percent.

While it is worthwhile to “think globally,” it is more important to “act locally.” One immediate step to consider is whether Saranac Lake should pass an ordinance banning single-use plastic bags outright, or more likely requiring every retailer that provides plastic bags, including pharmacies and convenience stores, to charge for them in order to discourage their use and to encourage shoppers to bring reusable bags with them.

Changing ingrained habits is never easy, but if such measures were implemented on a broad scale and free plastic bags were no longer the norm at checkout counters, it could have a significant impact on cleaning up the environment. It could be a first step in protecting wildlife who suffer when their environment is trashed with single-use plastic products. And in protecting wildlife, we will also be protecting ourselves, because we are, after all, part of the interdependent web of life.

To stay connected, find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/trilakes350.org.

Rosalie Fontana lives in Bloomingdale.