Photo credit: Plastic Pause Fortnight


– “Could you shop for a fortnight without food packaging?”
By Ginny Buckley, UK’s Daily Mail, October 24, 2007.
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– “Most People Consume Plastic on a Daily Basis”
By Dr. Mercola, May 2, 2018.
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– Abigail M. Haddock made a presentation to the Yelm City Council April 24, 2018
In doing research about plastic the past couple of weeks, I have learned so many alarming things. I am already making changes around my home and in how I plan on shopping from now on. I do not see myself reaching the Zero Waste stage but I will reduce my own plastic footprint.

It would be great if the City of Yelm banned plastic bags like Olympia has done. Since I am not a resident of Yelm I am not the one to spearhead such an action. It will be great if someone else picks up the gantlet and goes forth championing this effort. Hard to believe a progressive forwarding thinking city like Yelm still allows use of plastic shopping bags.
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– “Citizen Challenges Community to Eliminate Plastic for Two Weeks”
By Andrew Kollar, Nisqually Valley News, May 3, 2018.
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– Plastic Pause Fortnight underway May 1-14
“Thirty years ago, a group of about 500 people took on a challenge to not use plastic for two weeks. It was amazing to experience how extensively it was being used and how it had invaded our daily lives.

“That experience affected the lives of those who partook of the challenge and for many years other choices were made especially in the grocery store. But alas time and convenience has taken over and many have fallen back to unconscious habits using plastic in all facets of daily life.

“It is time to take on the challenge once again. A grass roots movement has arisen to support a unique experience. The Plastic Pause Fortnight. May 1-14th 2018. During this two-week period do not use, purchase or throw away plastic. This is a great opportunity for families to witness how much plastic we consume and dispose of daily. This experiment will not solve the plastic problem but will increase awareness and hopefully bring to light some alternatives to using plastic.

“Daily most of us use single use plastic in the form of packaging, food containers, water bottles, hot beverage cups and lids and on and on. It is used once and thrown away. But what happens to all this plastic? Most of the rest ends up in landfills where it may take up to 1000 years to decompose, and potentially leak pollutants into the soil and water. It’s estimated that there are already 165 million tons of plastic debris floating around in the oceans threatening the health and safety of marine life and human who consume seafood products. An average of 8.8 million more tons enter the oceans each year, including microplastics, tiny particles lesis than five millimeters long from cosmetics, fabrics or the breakdown of larger plastic pieces, which may be ingested by marine wildlife.

“Relatively little of plastic waste is recycled because there are various types of plastic with different chemical compositions, and recycled plastics can be contaminated by the mixing of types. Plastic waste is also contaminated by materials such as paper and ink. Separating plastics from non-plastics in the recycling process, and different types of plastic from each other, is labor-intensive and so far there has been no easy solution.

“As good stewards of the planet we must individually make good choices and take responsibility for our plastic use. Take on the Plastic Pause Fortnight challenge and take a step towards reducing our plastic footprint. Simply do not use, purchase or throw away plastic for two weeks. Some simple ideas include using cloth shopping bags and produce bags, buy bulk food and use glass containers or cloth bags, use bamboo toothbrushes and safety razors, use stainless steel or glass straws, use metal water and hot beverage bottles, learn to make cleaning supplies, toothpaste, deodorant and cosmetics, stop lining trash cans with plastic bags, carry stainless steel or bamboo utensils, choose products packaged in non-plastic containers, make more meals from scratch and do not purchase prepackaged food in plastic container. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rethink, Repair and Refuse plastic. As consumers we can make an impact by making alternative choices.”
Pledge to join the Plastic Pause Fortnight and make a difference.


Statistics
* Plastic was invented in 1907. All plastic that was ever created still exists
* 8 million tons of plastic goes into the ocean yearly and currently there is over 100 million tons of plastic in the oceans.
* Plastic can take up to 1,000 to break down
* It is estimated plastic production will triple by 2050
* It is estimated there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2030
* The first plastic bottles were made in 1947
* One million sea birds and 100,000 marine mammals are killed annually from plastic in our oceans. There are no statistics on how many humans are killed annually from ingesting plastic
* 2014, the U.S. sold over 100 billion plastic beverage bottles, the Container Recycling Institute estimated; 57 percent of them were for water.
* globally humans buy a million plastic bottles per minute. The second, 91% of all plastic is not recycled. On top of that, it is estimated that over half a trillion plastic bottles will be sold in 2020.
* Over 550 million plastic straws are used every day in the US & UK.
* Americans create 4.6 lbs of trash daily. The US population is more than 325.7 million people. Figure it out.
* End to end, plastic straws used daily in the US would more than circle the earth 2 and ½ times.