Just what’s so bad about plastic anyway?

Plastic may not be the most beautiful substance, but it sure makes our lives more convenient. So why are more and more people deciding to ease it out of their lives? Here, we look at the latest research into synthetic plastics and human health and suggest some easy-to-use, eco-friendly plastic alternatives.

There are certain things you can’t unknow. At Green Salon our clients often say the turning point in cutting their plastic use is once they realise that half the plastic they see every time they enter a supermarket will end up floatint about somewhere on the planet.

The UK’s plastic recycling rate is around 50%, so the rest ends up in landfill, our oceans, waterways and increasingly in the air we breathe. As plastic degrades, it forms smaller and smaller nanoparticles which then enter our stomachs, through the fish we eat, our bloodstream, our airways and increasingly our tissues, from our lungs to our livers.

The constant stream of plastic production means that we ingest anywhere between dozens to more than 100,000 microplastic specks each day - in the worst cases, environmental scientists think people might be ingesting a credit card worth of plastic each year.

How bad is it for us though?

It’s too early to say if plastic will become the new tobacco. There’s a paucity of research into the effect of these minute microplastics on our bodies. Until recently, the only available studies relied on lab tests on rats and mice. Two studies showed lowered sperm counts in mice. And in one study, mice fed large quantities of microplastics showed inflammation in their small intestines - which fits in with a study this month by China’s Nanjing Medical University showing a possible link between microplastics and inflammatory bowel disease in humans.

Synthetic plastic’s story started out benignly enough. Its invention in the early 1900s was hailed as a massive breakthrough. Here was an easily mouldable, virtually non-breakable substance that would last for hundreds of years and was relatively cheap to produce. Its use is still invaluable for aircraft, pipes, cars and much of what makes up modern society.

However, billions of tonnes of plastic is now single-use, or short-use, plastic: made to last 500 years or more, and in and out of our lives in a matter of weeks or even hours. It’s the over-use of this type of plastic that is most polluting.

Refill is the new recycle:

Luckily, there are an increasing number of options if you wish to ease plastic out of your life. Companies are increasingly using compostable plastic alternatives, made from corn and potato starch, which decompose completely. However, many still need the high heat of an industrial composter to break down, and will continue to emit methane if they end up in landfill.

The most obvious solution to single use plastic is refillables. More and more companies are now setting up refill schemes, often through subscription services which mean you never run out of anything again. 

One eco-brand, SMOL*, sends plastic-free dishwasher tablets through the post. You pay £4.60 for 30 plastic-free dishwasher tablets, which if you buy 10 months worth per year is just less than half the cost of buying Fairy dishwasher tablets. Bower Collective* has a subscription service for its refills of washing up liquid which Good Housekeeping this year voted Best Washing Up Liquid. 

In the laundry room, EcoEgg, a plastic egg filled with mineral balls which lift the dirt off your clothes, costs £9.99 and replaces roughly 10 plastic bottles of laundry soap per year. It uses biodegradable surfactant molecules to help water take hold of the grease and dirt and wash it away, and, yes, strangely it works. Though it’s plastic, the ball can last for several years and you just need to top up the minerals from time to time. A Guppyfriend wash bag can also save up to 700,000 plastic microfibres going into the ocean each time you wash a load of polyester clothing.

Supermarkets plastic problem:

Supermarkets are in a bind over plastic. While it’s clear they want to reduce its use, it’s just not that simple for them. The reality is that plastic cuts food waste when food racks up a lot of food-miles from farm to plate. Supermarket sugar snap peas can travel over 5000 miles to your dinner table in winter. Shorter supply lines for local and organic online greengrocers mean their products don’t need to be wrapped in plastic.

So you can cut plastic use by visiting your supermarket less often, and thinking of it more as a corner store for the products you and your family can’t live without, like Heinz Tomato Ketchup or Kelloggs Cornflakes. And buy fruit and vegetables seasonally and locally, at your local farmer’s market or greengrocer, or an online organic grocer like Abel and Cole*. You’ll be surprised how quickly your plastic tally falls.

Zero-waste brands like Club Zero* send out organic staples, like pasta, rice, sugar and dried fruit in plastic pots, that are refilled multiples times. You can also buy in bulk which cuts the cost of organic staples to roughly the same as non-organic, saving not just your plastic quota but also your wallet.

And, if you drink cow’s milk, you can eliminate several plastic milk bottles a week in one easy move by signing up with a good old-fashioned dairy like Milk & More* who deliver milk in refillable glass bottles.

Plastic free beauty:

Even the beauty industry has caught on to refillables. Upcircle* are a circular beauty brand that turns waste, like coffee grounds and fruit stones, into beauty products and give you a 20% reduction if you refill. Evolve Beauty*, which hand produces beauty creams and hair products also has a refill scheme as does L’Occitaine. 

The latest in refillables is deodorant. With Fussy*, which launched this year, you choose your outer case and they provide you with plastic free, compostable refills made from natural, probiotic ingredients. Their Wavy Days scent keeps us smelling as fresh as they claim. And, if you’re looking for super-soft, plastic-free loo roll, then try out Who Gives A Crap’s* bamboo rolls.

“It’s just one plastic bag said 8 billion people”

If you’re looking for a New Year’s Resolution for greening your life, then easing out plastic is one that’s easy to measure. It won’t take long before you find your recycling bag is less full of single and short-use plastic. Not only does this reduce the amount of plastic pollution but according to the World Economic Forum reuse and refill could reduce packaging costs by $8 billion a year. A saving that would end up being passed on to us consumers.

In the end, living a greener life always seems to lead to the same place: what’s better for the planet tends to end up being better for us too.

World Economic Forum Report, The New Plastics Economy, 2017

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