A while back, I had promised to write on the topic of plastics and recycling. Since then (apart from other life stuff) I have been doing a bit of reading, exploring, thinking and realising that recycling isn't the first goal at all. Reuse is the first goal. Why? Two reasons:
- It can use less energy (even if you reuse the item once) because you don't have to convert the item itself necessarily
- There isn't enough state investment in facilities to support recycling because they have a narrow idea of what is value (i.e. the price of virgin plastic versus the price of recycling and reusing it)
So there are projects that can help a person to reuse plastic at individual and community levels. Obviously, changing what you do as an individual can feel like the easiest thing to do right now, because we are so used to the idea that change is our personal responsibility. So let's start there.
Lately, I've been reusing plastic bags. I know we're tackling it bit by bit, but there's two key ideas that I've found useful at times to minimise thinking burden (because habit change is the most effective thing we can do over time, with repetition). First, use them instead of bin liners for small bins. I know that sounds really simple, but you'd be amazed at how many people do not think about this. This obviously does mean you will get rid, so it's not perfect (we ultimately want less plastic dumped in our oceans). Second of all, using them to compartmentalise stuff (e.g. wrap up a lunch box for work). Third of all, taking a couple of them as a matter of course in my bag when I go out. This allows me to stick anything that has gotten dirty, messy or wet in there without it making the whole thing wet or damaging my phone. More importantly, if I do spontaneously pop to the shops to get a few things and I end up with a bit more than planned, it means I can carry it home without getting more of the things.
Second of all, plastic bottles. If you're doing a clean up, you're bound to come across a lot of them. Something I'm experimenting with, with my household, is cutting them up to put indoor plants in them. We're not going for any edibles just in case (though with a few PET ones you apparently can e.g. herbs appear to be popular, but I do not know how well that analysis takes into account microplastics, which we can ingest easily - I prefer to reuse glass jars for that purpose). You can grow these from seeds or cuttings of plants you'd normally grow in a small pot (bit of trial and error is okay, and the internet has a LOT of advice on this topic) and it prevents them from going to landfill. Besides, plants can help the planet, our mental health and get the little people we have in our lives involved. Below is a link to a method to show it visually, including how you can make it into a self-watering planter:
Plastic bottles can also be useful for two other purposes based on at least two open source knowledge projects I've come across over time. The first, is for construction. The idea is that you get bottles of an appropriate size, clean them and fill them with single use plastic (e.g. cellophane, waste packaging from grocery stores if you cannot get plastic free packaging alternatives) to create products (e.g. chairs. They can be surprisingly strong and you can paint them so they look great:
https://www.ecobricks.org/build/
Secondly, an open source kit which allows people to gather clean plastic, reusable (firmer) plastic of different colours (ideally sorting into types) to create new products, from key rings to tools and construction materials, as has been done in various parts of the world. The idea is to create interlinked spaces, from recycling collection points, to moulds and kit for products and finally to sell them to the public (including online market spaces).
https://preciousplastic.com/index.html
These ideas are great because they can bring communities together, create opportunity and help create something regenerative rather than sending plastic into landfill. Of course, this needs to go hand in hand to actually reduce production of virgin plastic (which oil companies are attempting to ramp up) and meaningful state run recycling schemes at home (creating jobs and reducing landfill). But community action has real power to drive change here and we can start to do that today.