Friday’s tip was about recycling those little bits of plastic, like bottle caps.  They say that in the USA, recyclers don’t really want these caps because they are too small for their automated processes, they can get mixed in with the wrong kind of plastic, and, if attached, keep unwanted air in the bottles.

While my local council here does take them (but do they actually get recycled?), that’s not the case all over the UK.  If yours doesn’t, the bottle caps page at the ReduceReuseRecycle might offer some help, although the options were extremely limited when I checked.

Ideal Bite claims Aveda stores will start taking them, which is really cool except not yet true in the UK…but I called and they said they were looking into it so that’s good news.

Most alarming was the link Ideal Bite included to the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s site on the Albatross. Apparently in the North Pacific, 40% of Laysan albatross chicks die each year because their bellies are full of plastic (much of that plastic comes from land first).  That’s far more than the occasional bird dying.  Click “A Deadly Diet” on the Monterey Bay Aquarium site to see what came out of one bird. Once in Cornwall we watched a seagull down a practically full packet of Extra Strong Mints.  Ok, I know this country has a lot of seagulls, but thinking about what the Extra Strong Mints did to that bird’s stomach makes me feel sick.

I’ll admit that sometimes the convenience of plastic does win me over.  However, it’s images like these that really make me think twice.

Layson Albatross photo by Tatters:).

Some plastics break down and leach toxins when heated with food (see What Plastic is What).  The Mayo Clinic states that “it’s important to following general safety guidelines when you’re heating food in the microwave. For example:

• Use microwave-safe containers. Use containers or wraps specifically labeled as ‘microwave-safe.’ Don’t use margarine tubs, carryout containers, or paper or plastic grocery bags.
• Check product labels. When you heat packaged foods, follow the microwave instructions printed on the label. If instructions aren’t given, transfer the food to a plate or container that you know is microwave-safe.
• Don’t allow plastic wrap to touch the food. Leave a small gap between the plastic wrap and the food while it’s being heated.”

Not all plastics have been shown to leach, but personally, I’m a huge fan of Pyrex. Goes in the oven, in the microwave, and has lids so no plastic wrap necessary.  I especially like the cool vintage stuff.  (Ok, I know that there are those of you out there who are against microwaves, but I’m just not that excited about cooking to make that leap yet.)

Plastic baby bottles have been making the news lately, and, given that pretty much every one I know is having babies right now, I thought these recommendationsfrom Environmental Working Group (EWG) might be helpful.

Photo by madaise.

PVC: The Poison Plastic

“PVC or Polyvinyl Chloride (#3) has many harmful environmental effects. PVC is used in plumbing pipe, shrink wrap, outdoor furniture, some water bottles, and salad dressing bottles. Greenpeace has been working to eliminate the production of PVC, because its manufacturing processes consume approximately 30% of the chlorine used in industrial processes and release many other toxic chemicals, some of which accumulate in the body.

Recycling groups are concerned about PVC, because a small amount can severely contaminate large loads of PET (#1) plastic. PVC strongly resembles PET. If PVC is accidentally incorporated in a load of material being processed for recycling, a release of potentially toxic compounds can occur.

Disposal of PVC also presents problems. PVC is widely used for medical purposes. Medical waste is usually disposed of through incineration. Incineration of PVC can release dioxin, which is a carcinogen….”

Besides running the recycling programme in Berkeley, CA, the Ecology Center website has loads of useful environmental information.

Photo by Groupe Aménagement Numérique des Territoires.

In 2006 in the UK, only 20% of household plastic bottles get recycled and 13 billion plastic bottles are disposed of each year.  Now, I had to research this a bit, because I had heard that “billion” in the UK is different from “billion” in the US.  However, accordingto Wikipedia, since 1974 the UK government abandoned the “long scale” definition of billion, which was a million million, for the “short scale” (“American”) definition of 1,000 million. That means that in the UK 2,600,000,000 bottles are not recycled each year. (Sourse: Recoup, Recycle-more.co.uk)

Worldwide, 60 billion tons of plastic are produced each year, and less than 5% is recycled.  (Source: Project Kaisei)  Where does it all go?  Seemingly everywhere, given how hard it is to get away from plastic litter, which takes forever to break down. Obviously a fair amount goes into landfills. A fair amount gets eaten by animals, too.  

What really made me reconsider my plastic use was hearing about the Plastic Vortex in the Pacific Ocean, which is supposedly twice the size of Texas and, with an estimated 4,000,000 tons of plastic, contains six times more particles of plastic than plankton.

What really amazes me is that a group of people have gotten together to start filtering the ocean. Seriously.  I’m so impressed by someone who can wake up one day and say to her or himself, “I think I’ll tackle the biggest area of litter in the world.”  Project Kaisei: Capturing the Plastic Vortex will be filmed and documented by National Geographic.

Update Sept-09:  Scientists have returned from exploring the “Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch.” More here. Project Kaisei Flickr Stream is here.

Photo by Von Floto.

Now, I’m in the early days of this blog and I really want it to be about fantastic design solutions, rather than environmental problems.  So without focusing too heavily on the negative, I will say I’m not a fan of vinyl (I know, I know – it’s so cheap!). 

There’s loads of information out there on the internet about vinyl. One source I really like is the movie website Blue Vinyl. Basically, as the Blue Vinyl factsheet says, vinyl has a very toxic lifecyle, releasing harmful chemicals during manufacturing, use, and disposal.

By the way, vinyl is no. 3 on bottles.

Photo by Cheryl Kempton.