Monday, September 17, 2012

The Truth Behind Plastic


The people in my generation have grown up with plastic all around us. Plastic is just another part of our lives and something that we don't usually think twice about. We drink out of plastic, we eat out of plastic,  we wear plastic, we sit on plastic, we plat with plastic, we stare at plastic, and I am typing on plastic right now. What we don't usually think about as we live our lives in plastic, is how it effects us and out environment. The documentary Plastic Planet gives an overview of the health and environmental issues associated with plastic. It is a very bias documentary because the documentarian, Werner Boote, has the clear opinion that plastic is terrible. In my mind though, it is not just opinion because everything Werner has to say is supported by studies and data and fact. I believe that Plastic is an extremely harmful material and I try to use very little of it in my life. The link below is for an article about a study that links plastic and human diseases.

I was at my house when I watched this film and my mom decided to watch it with me. My family and I have always been environmentally conscious, but this documentary was still eye opening to us. Some of the most memorable scenes where when families put all of their plastic items in their yards. This inspired us, so when the film was over my mom and I wondered all through the house to determine how much plastic was in each room. Overall we noticed that we did not use a lot of plastic, but the one scary room was the kitchen. My family does not buy a lot of processed and packaged foods, but there are still some things at you can only buy in plastic containers. In our fridge we had leftovers in Tubberwear and yogurt and milk and other products in plastic containers and in our pantry many things were also stored in plastic. The picture below if frightening to me because it shows just how many products are sold in plastic. almost everything in a grocery store comes in some sort of plastic. 


This film has moved me to make changes in my life and use less plastic.I want to stop buying drinks in plastic bottle and stop eating off of plastic dishes. I want to buy more cotton clothing and less man-made materials. It is important that more that everyone is educated about and understands the dangers behind plastic. The problem is that plastic does not have an acute effect on us, it takes time for the repercussions to show. We drive safe because we have seen and know that people can be hurt and killed in a car crash. If immediate effects can't be seen, it is harder to believe, but the truth is that the less plastic that humans use, the healthier our environment will be and the healthier we as individuals will be.
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2 comments:

  1. AbigailSeptember 21, 2012 at 9:52 AM

    I also want to use less plastic, but it is going to be difficult Like you said, we are surrounded by plastic. However, I think UNCA is trying to use less plastic overall on campus, making it easier to be environmentally conscious. For instance, The containers in Highsmith and Roestta's are paper. Another thing I can do is not buy water bottles. Instead, I could use a metal bottle over again.

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  2. UnknownSeptember 21, 2012 at 10:12 AM

    I also believe Boote's documentary is very biased. It wouldn't have upset me as much if he had spent more time talking about alternatives to plastic. Plastic truly has an important place in our everyday material lives and trying to fight it seems difficult, almost impossible. Perhaps the solution would even be to make "cleaner" plastics rather than come back to wooden or metallic materials. Personally, Plastic Planet made me think about using my BPA-free Nalgene rather than disposable bottles. Yet, one of the scientists in Boote's documentary claims that no plastic can be certified "safe" these days. If I'm not diminishing risks to my health, at least I'm sending less plastic to the landfill.

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