There is no doubt that plastic is a pretty amazing material. The sheer versatility is almost mind-boggling! All you have to do is look around to see that it’s pretty much everywhere you look.

The fact that it is so common has instilled in us an superfluous attitude, which is wasteful and hazardous to our Earth and its living creatures.

Consider for a moment all the plastic items that you use once and throw away. Would you do that with something made of wood or fabric? Most likely not.

Perhaps what we need to do is appreciate plastic and stop thinking about it as a disposable commodity, but most importantly awareness of the toxicity on the environment might be a better motivator in using less plastic in the first place.

Every year more than 25 billion, single-use, plastic water bottles will be sold in the USA. More than 80 percent of those will not be recycled.

Drinking out of a bottle actually wastes water, using up to five times as much. In a world where many people don’t have adequate drinking water it’s shameful! Some plastic bottles have been shown to leach Bisphenol A, a hormone disruptor.

The belief that every adult should drink 8 bottles of water a day is a myth most likely created by water retailers. There is no scientific evidence to prove this and while it is important to stay hydrated, this is akin to saying every adult should eat 3 kg of food per day.

Plastic bags 
Plastic bags do not break down in the environment. It takes an estimated 20 to 1000 years for them to decay.
Australians use over 6 billion plastic bags per year, 3.3 billion of which are supermarket plastic bags.

Plastic cutlery 
Plastic cutlery can’t be recycled, they are used one time, and they are a waste of resources. If you go for picnics often buy second-hand cutlery.

Take away containers
Australians consume more than 1.2 billion meals and snacks served by fast food outlets. Reusing containers conserves the resources that would be used to process the recycled materials and cuts down on waste.

Water bottles
Every year more than 25 billion single use plastic water bottles will be sold in the USA. More than 80 percent of those will not be recycled.
Drinking out of bottled water actually wastes water, using up to five times as much. In a world where many people don’t have adequate drinking water its shameful!

Some plastic bottles have been shown to leach Biphesenol A, a hormone disruptor.
There is a belief that every adult should drink 8 bottles of water a day, a myth most likely created by water retailers. There is no scientific evidence to prove this and while it is important to stay hydrated, this is akin to saying every adult should eat 3kg of food a day.

Plastic cling wrap film
Exposure to certain plasticizers in plastic wrap could be harmful, specially when it is in contact with hot food or heated in a microwave. The plasticizers are absorbed by the hot and fatty foods such as meat, chicken and cheese which are then digested and absorbed into the cells in our bodies. Plasticizers have been proved to cause cancer when fed in large amounts to lab animals. Some of the affects include: early puberty in girls, disturbing fetal development, disturbing estrogen metabolism, decrease in testosterone, Etc.

Plastic straws
Straws are pointless unless you have some health issue that prevents you from drinking directly from a glass. Straws can’t be recycled, they are used one time, and they are a waste of resources. When heated or melted they release toxic chemicals.

Juice boxes
Juice boxes are typically made up of six layers of paper, polyethylene, and aluminum foil, making most of them non-recyclable and allowing them to hang out in our landfills for approximately 300 years before beginning to decompose.

Please make an effort to appreciate plastic more and avoid using it once and just throwing it away. Every little thing counts into making a big change!

This article appears in the 'Plastic Issue' of the EarthFirst iPad Magazine. Grab yourself a copy for only $2.99, that's cheaper than a cup of coffee!