Plastic Pollution

We have a serious problem with garbage (particularly plastic) getting into our waterways. Whether it's a bay, a marina, or just your local beach, there is nothing more unsightly or environmentally unhealthy than seeing the water choked with garbage.

Hurricanes, earthquakes, and political upheaval--these are three reasons why Haiti will sometimes appear in international news. Because tragedy often garners more attention than positivism, some people assume that the country produces little else but bad news.

Even if you haven't been plugged-in to the discussion surrounding plastic pollution and its effects on the environment, you've probably picked up on what a problem single-use plastic bags are. Over 4 trillion of these bags are used annually, and according to the Earth Day Network, only 1 percent of those bags end up getting recycled.

One of the potential solutions to plastic pollution, which threatens to choke the world's landfills and oceans, is to find a way to process plastic before it becomes a problem. According to Earth Island Journal, Federica Bertocchini, a developmental biologist who works at the Institute of Biomedicine and Biotechnology of Cantabria in Spain, may have stumbled upon a solution back in 2012.

Billions of plastics are sent to the landfills each year, where they can sit for hundreds of years without degrading. Reducing the amount of plastics used in our homes can significantly improve environmental health - both locally and globally.

Five Hundred Million. That's a five with eight zeros after it.

The effect of plastic waste is becoming more apparent. It is taking a toll on our environment and the organisms living within it.

Packaging accounts for most of the increase in plastic production over the years. Plastic originates from Crude oil and a number of natural resources; single-use plastics reside in this category.

The beach stirs up many emotions for a lot of us - the sun, the sand, the sea - childhood memories unfold before our eyes at the mere mention of it.  Unfortunately, plastic waste is changing that image for a lot of us.

Here at Waste Wise Products, we're all for stopping plastic pollution through taking action in the public square. However, we recognize that while large-scale efforts are great, they are insufficient to effect total societal change.