You may be wondering why Eco Shark is focusing on eliminating household plastic. There are (unfortunately) tons of environmental wrongs that need righting - so many issues in fact that it can feel overwhelming and insurmountable.
We focus on eliminating household plastic because it's easy - it is something that everyone can do at a personal level, and literally every single piece of plastic that you do not purchase makes a positive impact. From inspiring others who admire your reusable coffee mug to 'voting with your dollar' while buying biodegradable goods.
I'm sure you'll be surprised to hear me say that plastic has been one of the greatest inventions of all time. Not like in the Top 10...but definitely an incredible invention that revolutionized countless industries and drove innovation. Credit where credit is due, and all that.
Unfortunately, Plastic is also one of our most catastrophic inventions. Possibly making Top 10 list this time. Not so much because of plastic itself, but in its overuse and deceitful messaging.
The public was willfully lied to, starting back in the 1970's when plastic was really becoming "a thing". Industry leaders always knew they were overselling the promise that plastic was recyclable, but it was a key component to convincing the public to embrace the convenience of disposability for the first time. Realistically, recycling plastic was never in the best interest of the plastic industry (aka the oil and gas industry). New plastic is cheap and easy to produce, whereas to recycle it the plastic has to be sorted, washed, and melted, all of which are labour intensive and expensive. Additionally, plastic can only be recycled a couple times before it's useless anyway.
The end result of this scam has convinced generations of humans that disposables are completely normal, reasonable and convenient, while turning our oceans into landfills and creating micro plastics so abundant that we're now literally eating them, and it was recently discovered that micro plastics are now appearing in our blood.
Well - there you go. Eco Shark's third blog post and it was a complete downer. But wait! Here's the good part!
We can change. Right now!
We have a choice with every product we bring into our homes. Consumers vote with their dollars, and where you choose to spend your money and what you choose to spend it on matters.
Continuing to spend your money with corporations who willfully damage the environment (and subject their labourers to harmful chemicals) only perpetuates the cycle of valuing money over the health of consumers and the planet.
But spending your money with companies (better yet, local small businesses...ahem) who are doing the work to find a better solution while achieving the same result, you give them the ability to keep going, expand their products, and take on Goliath.
We all need dental floss, but we don't have to buy the kind that is made from plastic, comes packaged in plastic container, packed in plastic and virgin-paper cardboard and printed with ink that's made from oil and heavy metals. We could buy compostable bamboo floss instead instead.
We all need deodorant (oh, yes we do!), but we don't all need to buy the brands that are chock full of chemical additives and sold in a multi-piece plastic applicator that needs to be washed and disassembled if we're gambling on whether it'll actually be recycled. We could buy these ones with cardboard applicators instead.
Looks like I'm enjoying the weather up here on my soap box, but the overall takeaway from Blog Post Numero Tres is that we each make a choice with every product we purchase about how we want our planet treated. Make your vote count, and get that plastic out of your (reusable) shopping bag.
