Today catching the bus home, out in front of the Alfred E Smith Building, I saw yet another plastic shopping bag flapping around the trees. In the morning, I pulled one from the woods. As convenient as disposable plastic shopping bags are, they really have become a menace when they end up in the woods as litter.
Solid Waste
Canada produces most waste in the World, United States ranks third
The world is drowning in trash, and the waste generation rates are only increasing, according to the World Bank. Due to population growth and urban areas growth, the amount of trash countries produce is only expected to rise – by some estimates as much as 70% between 2016 and 2050.
While much of the focus is on individuals and families and the amount of trash they generate, residential trash is only a fraction of the garbage produced by certain industries.
Municipal solid waste management (MSW), which is waste generated from companies, buildings, institutions, small businesses, houses, and yards, often comprises less than 5% of the total amount of waste produced in a country.
Between 30% and 35% of the total amount of generated waste in most developed countries is attributed to building sector activities such as building construction, renovation, and demolition processes, according to the official EU statistical data.
How the Disposable Straw Explains Modern Capitalism
"The straw is the opposite of special. History has flowed around and through it, like thousands of other bits of material culture. What’s happened to the straw might not even be worth comment, and certainly not essay. But if it’s not clear by now, straws, in this story, are us, inevitable vessels of the times in which we live."
Kroger, nation’s largest grocery chain, eliminates plastic bags – CBS News
Kroger, the nation's largest grocery chain, will phase out the use of plastic bags in its stores by 2025. The grocer orders about 6 billion bags each year.
Based in Cincinnati, Kroger operates 2,779 stores in 35 states and the District of Columbia, serving almost 9 million people daily through two dozen different grocery chains.
Kroger said Thursday that will start the project at its Seattle chain QFC, where it expects to be plastic-bag free by next year.
While I didn't think that much about plastic bags in the past, they are kind of a nuisance when you find them in the woods and flapping in the trees. It's certainly easy enough for them to blow away, and we really should be getting away from single-use plastics. Alas, I will probably have to start using my reusable bags -- and just dump my camp garbage in a bucket, and wash it out form time to time.
There’s just no getting away from microplastic contamination | Ars Technica
Every year, millions of tonnes of plastic are produced. In 2016, this figure was estimated to be around 335 million tonnes. We have no idea where most of this ends up. The amounts that are recovered in recycling plants and landfill don't match the amount being produced. Some of it stays in use, sometimes for decades, which explains part of the discrepancy. An estimated 10 percent ends up in the oceans. Although these numbers could change with further research, there's still a gap.
Wherever that plastic is ending up, we know that it's breaking down over time, disintegrating into micro particles less than 5mm in size, and some even breakdown to the nanoscale at less than one micrometer. (For context, the micrometer is a unit that's often used to discuss bacteria and cells—the human sperm head is around 5 micrometers in length.) The effect that these particles will have on a global scale as they continue to accumulate is not even remotely understood.