EcoWaste鈥檚 Valentine鈥檚 Day advice: Break up with single-use plastics
MANILA, Philippines — With Valentine’s Day around the corner, environmental watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition on Saturday urged the public to “break up” with single-use plastics as this “toxic relationship” is threatening the ecosystems, especially the marine environment.
“We can live without single-use plastics, but we cannot live sans clean oceans where a big chunk of these disposable plastics, along with their chemical additives, gets dumped every minute,” Patricia Nicdao, policy advocacy officer for EcoWaste Coalition said in a statement.
“Better quit this toxic relationship before the oceans completely turn into a plastic cesspool,” she added. “For the love of Mother Earth, break up with single-use plastics and fall in love with ecological alternatives.”
Citing studies, the group said that around 50 percent of the 380 million tons of plastic produced per year are for single-use, or used for a few minutes and then thrown away like plastic bags, drinking bottles, cups, sachets, wrappers, cutlery, straws, stirrers, among others.
EcoWaste Coalition added that some eight to 10 million tons of plastic and their chemical additives are dumped into the oceans. Because of this, one million aquatic animals are killed due to plastic pollution and 100 percent of mussels tested are contaminated with microplastics. By 2050, experts warn there will be more plastics than fish in the oceans, the group added.
As the group encouraged the public to “break up” with single-use plastics, it then encouraged to use such alternatives instead:
1. “Bayong,” fabric bags and other reusable bags instead of plastic carry or grocery bags.
2. Tiffin carriers, stainless steel lunch boxes and repurposed bottle jars instead of polystyrene food containers.
3. Water canteens, jugs or flasks, with no lead coatings, in place of plastic water bottles.
4. Washable glasses, tumblers or mason jars in lieu of plastic cups.
5. Glass, porcelain and other lead-free dishware instead of disposable plates.
6. Reusable bamboo and metal straws or, better still, go straw-free and drink straight from the glass or bottle.
