Youth Advisory Council

Every year, more and more plastics and microfibers that harm the natural flora and fauna of Southwest Florida are being pumped into the environment. In Florida, more than 7000 tons of plastic waste entered the marine environment last year(Cranor 2022), and worldwide, more than 33 billion pounds of plastic enter the ocean annually (Oceana 2022). If plastic pollution is such a big problem, why is our government doing nothing about it? The problem lies in the systemic integration of plastic into modern society. Single-use plastics are so convenient and widespread that it would be nearly impossible for the government to ban them. Similarly, individual companies cannot eliminate the use of plastic for the same reasons. Unnervingly, roughly 100 companies account for 90% of all plastic waste to date. That being said, there are some steps that ordinary people like me and you can take to make a difference in our environment. 

The first and simplest step we can take is to recycle at home using the recycling bins provided by Lee county. There are five household products that are recyclable in Lee County: paper, metal cans, cardboard, plastic containers, and glass. Just a simple act like recycling can have massive impacts on the environment and energy usage. According to the National Institute of Health, “Recycled steel saves 60% production energy, recycled newspaper 40% production energy, recycled plastics 70% production energy, and recycled glass 40% production energy.” Recycling also takes hundreds of thousands of pounds of trash out of the landfill, reducing the amount of waste rotting away and allowing those materials to be reused. 

Despite all of the help recycling contributes, it can only take us so far. To really create a change in our environment; we need to move beyond recycling. For example, almost every fast food restaurant relies on plastic utensils and straws for their customers’ convenience. As many as 500 million single-use plastic straws are used every year by fast food companies, and a majority of this waste will either end up in a landfill or the ocean. Once in the ocean, the plastic harms the natural marine life, killing up to 1 million marine animals per year. To combat this, make a difference by not taking a plastic straw from your favorite restaurant, or, bringing a reusable straw from home. Similarly, when picking up food from a restaurant, simply ask to not be given plastic utensils if you are taking the food home. 

Another large contributor to the amount of plastic in the ocean are plastic bags. Plasticoceans.org found: “Annually, approximately 500 billion plastic bags are used worldwide. More than one million bags are used every minute. A plastic bag has an average “working life” of 15 minutes.” Hundreds of billions of plastic bags are used every year for roughly 15 minutes each. This is such a colossal waste of material and is an incredible harm to our environment. An easy way to circumvent this problem is to spend a little bit of money to buy reusable shopping bags. You can easily find them online or in stores for roughly $2, and an increased use of reusable bags may prevent hundreds of plastic bags from ending up in the environment. 

Yet another example is plastic shampoo and soap bottles. Almost everyone has them in their house, but do we ever stop to ask if there is an alternative? Why buy bottled shampoo and soaps when bar soap works just as well. Those soap bottles very often end up in a landfill, the ocean, or some other part of our environment and degrade into harmful chemicals and microplastics. Conversely, a bar of soap will leave little to no footprint on the environment. On a similar note, spend a bit of money and buy a refillable water bottle. It will go so far and take even more plastic out of the environment. By following any of these four simple steps, even if not consistently, you can make a difference for our environment. 

This holiday season, consider giving an eco-friendly gift that not only shows your love for the recipient but also for the Earth. Individually, we each may only make a small difference, but together, we can make a big and real impact.