Ready to be Done with Plastics
For those of us of a certain age - the word "plastic" probably brings up a scene from the movie the Graduate - where Dustin Hoffman's character is given advice for his future. The ominous feeling of that scene continues to haunt me. Could we imagine what damage and harm that amazing new product was going to bring to us and our earth? Three generations later, we are learning and it is a painful message. Plastic is indeed harming us and the creatures we share this earth with.
This month, Hennepin County is promoting efforts to reduce our use and reliance on plastics by offering a Plastic Free Challenge. Can you go plastic free during February? Butter Bakery, whose sustainability goals include getting to zero waste - has signed on as a partner. One of the main reasons we chose to get involved is that a large amount of the waste we still produce is related to plastic packaging that we cannot recycle. So, we're taking the challenge to reduce our plastic usage and we hope that you will too.
As a kid, I remember burying plastic toys in my sandbox and backyard as an experiment, going back to dig them up the next year, or sometimes coming across them many years later. I think I was more interested in the archaeological feel of unearthing something lost than the recognition that the items hadn't really been affected by the years of burial. I was aware, though, of how the compost pile behind my grandmother's garage was able to break down vegetables and plants that we had mixed into the pile from a previous growing season.
During my teaching years, I was involved in two environmentally focused school, and on one memorable outing I had as a charter school teacher in St Paul, staff of the EcoEducation program, helped us take soil samples and identify healthy soils by the amounts of organic material broken down within the soil. In one of our samples, we identified microplasts (plastics that had broken down into very small pieces). Because they were not ever going to go away, we wondered what would happen to the soil as more and more microplasts became part of its composition. It was disturbing.
Plastics are so ubiquitous because they are so "cheap" to make and distribute. However, the costs of oil-based plastics rarely take into account their long-term degradation to the environment and to our health. Efforts to calculate this social-cost of carbon into the cost of plastic products could support the emerging biodegradable industry that produces compostable bags and food wraps. Making the right choice shouldn't have to rely upon financial means, but sadly it really does.
The costs of compostable packaging have always been high, and these past couple years the gaps between "conventional" plastics and compostables has grown wider and wider. At Butter, we've chosen compostables to our disadvantage because it has felt right for our sustainability goals. In the past year we began to add a charge to take-out orders to try to help pay for this choice. But as we've continued to swap out conventional for compostable, we now find ourselves at a financial barrier. Can I afford to make the last swaps, which are for items not currently in production at a scale for purchasing through my wholesale suppliers?
For example, to calculate one of decision-making efforts: our current food film (plastic wrap) costs about 2 cents per foot. A compostable version costs me 50% more. It's still a low cost ($11 additional for each box of 1000 feet) - but because I'm thinking we'll use about 8 boxes over the course of the year, that is an extra $90. And I get to factor in the shipping and supply issues since these products are still so new on the market that it's hard to find a local place to purchase them consistently.
I've been a "nudger" over the years, asking at my local retailers and suppliers, as well as cheering them on when they do find a way to add them to their standard offerings. I have found that being a "consumer advocate" for compostable items does have an effect in availability, which I hope will someday also lead to affordability.
But, alas, back to the cost and what is actually affordable. The cost to clean up oceans of plastic that will never break down? The cost to personal health as we consume more and more microplasts and nanoplasts? The costs to our soil fertility? The costs to our air quality?
Want to learn more? There will be a virtual event on Microsoft Teams. Use the following link to join the meeting at 5:30 p.m. on February 2. Microsoft Teams meeting link.
City of Minneapolis Recycling Coordinator Kellie Kish will talk about which plastics are recyclable and share what the city’s recent trash sort can tell us about how we can improve recycling and organics recycling. Hennepin County Zero Waste Challenge Coordinator Amy Maas will share ideas to reduce your use of plastics, plus tips on navigating the Plastic-Free Challenge website and making the most of your experience.
Or come to a live-in-person event (in Eden Prairie) on Monday, where I'll be a one of a great crew of panelists and share my story about efforts within this restaurant industry to reduce and eliminate plastics. Check out the Eventbrite registration for more details and to RSVP.
Or visit the website and get involved in any way you can. https://hennepinplasticfree.ecochallenge.org
My childhood February's were often spent on a plastic sled, but I also have some fine memories of wooden tobaggons and sleds that remind me that we as humans had survived a lot longer without plastics than we've been attempting to survive with them.
If we are serious about this Green Path we're walking, we will all need to support each other to reduce our use and need of plastics. I look forward to walking a plastic-free path with you.