“Re-Thinking Plastics: Stemming the Tide of Plastics Pollution”

I was walking at Limantour Beach in May and decided to start picking up litter on the way back to my bike.  Plastic materials represented 90% of what I collected and I filled a garbage bag I found floating in Drakes Bay by the time I reached the parking lot.

It is estimated that between 60-80% of the marine litter in the world is plastic, though in some places it can be as high as 95%. And because it is now ubiquitous in our daily lives, no ocean, shoreline or human body is free of its influence.

Please attend Re-Thinking Plastics: Making Informed Choices, on Saturday, August 18 from 7:30-9 p.m. at the Dance Palace and learn more about the dangers and what you can do to help stem the tide of plastics pollution.

Plastic is clogging the ecosystem. In some sections of the Pacific Ocean, plastic pieces on surface waters already outweigh zooplankton by a ratio of 6-to-1.

Plastic is persistent. Because it is not biodegradable, our streets, parks, streams, beaches, and oceans are getting clogged with plastic.  No creature, large or small, can digest it successfully.  Unlike natural materials, plastic cannot enter and sustain the cycles of life and death in the ecosystem.

Plastic is toxic and can be lethal.  It is estimated that one million birds and 100,000 marine animals die every year through accidental ingestion of, or entanglement in, plastic debris.  We are also now finding more and more of our modern disorders linked to plastics exposure, including asthma, diabetes, cancer, premature puberty, infertility, and obesity.

Plastic is petroleum-based. Plastic is made from oil.  The creation of plastic and the wells that the oil is drilled from contribute to global warming and other harmful pollution.

Much of West Marin’s plastic is not recycled. Because our curbside recycling is all put in one bin rather than separated, much of our plastic is later tossed in the garbage because it has been “contaminated” by other recycling.

But its not all doom and gloom. Viable alternatives to plastic are available and are currently being used by enlightened individuals and businesses right here in West Marin.

Join us on August 18 at 7:30 p.m. at the Dance Palace to learn about the problem, local projects to reduce plastic use in West Marin and what you can do to help stem the tide of plastics pollution. This event is co-sponsored by the Environmental Action Committee of West Marin, Main Street Moms, Green Sangha, Sustainable West Marin, and West Marin Alliance. For more information, call 663-9312.

West Marin is already, in many ways, a model for showing more ecologically friendly ways of living that pay proper respect to the earth and its inhabitants.

While we have a long way to go to rid ourselves of plastics pollution, we’re already on the right path.  Join us.

Frederick Smith, Executive Director

Environmental Action Committee of West Marin

Printed as Guest Editorial  in the August 16 Issue of the West Marin Citizen