1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio, Hey brain 2 00:00:06,840 --> 00:00:12,240 Speaker 1: Stuff Lauren Vogelbaum here. In early January of China joined 3 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:14,440 Speaker 1: the growing movement of more than a hundred and twenty 4 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:18,320 Speaker 1: countries pledging to ban single use plastics. The country of 5 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:21,400 Speaker 1: one point four billion citizens is the number one producer 6 00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:24,360 Speaker 1: of plastic waste in the world. It topped sixty million 7 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 1: tons in but China announced that it plans to outlaw 8 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:31,680 Speaker 1: the production and sale of nondegradable bags by the end 9 00:00:31,680 --> 00:00:35,800 Speaker 1: of twenty in major cities and everywhere by two, as 10 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:40,040 Speaker 1: well as single use straws by late market selling produce 11 00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:43,240 Speaker 1: will have until five to follow suit. The push to 12 00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:46,919 Speaker 1: ban plastic took center stage in with massive promotions like 13 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:50,640 Speaker 1: the hashtag stop Sucking campaign, which featured stars like NFL 14 00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:53,720 Speaker 1: quarterback Tom Brady pledging to give up single use plastic 15 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:57,960 Speaker 1: straws now. Countries and companies are saying no to plastics 16 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:02,080 Speaker 1: by the dozens, and consumers are following along with them, 17 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:06,440 Speaker 1: and they're serious. In Kenya, for example, any citizen caught 18 00:01:06,520 --> 00:01:09,759 Speaker 1: using plastic bags for trash or groceries can face four 19 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:12,399 Speaker 1: years of imprisonment and finds of up to thirty eight 20 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:17,600 Speaker 1: thousand dollars. As the plastic span movement hits major milestones, 21 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:20,679 Speaker 1: such as China's latest announcement, we decided to take a 22 00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:23,759 Speaker 1: moment to unpack the bottles, bags and straws that are 23 00:01:23,760 --> 00:01:28,960 Speaker 1: causing this global stir. So what is single use plastic? 24 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:32,839 Speaker 1: True to its name, a single use plastic is disposable 25 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:35,640 Speaker 1: plastic that's designed to be used once and then tossed 26 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:39,600 Speaker 1: or recycled. This includes everything from plastic water bottles and 27 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:44,080 Speaker 1: produced bags to disposable plastic razors and plastic ribbons. Really, 28 00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:48,920 Speaker 1: any plastic item you use and then immediately discard. While 29 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:53,400 Speaker 1: these items can be recyclable, that's hardly the norm. We 30 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:56,120 Speaker 1: spoke via email with Megan Weldon of the blog and 31 00:01:56,240 --> 00:02:00,840 Speaker 1: waste prevention shop Zero Waste Nerd. She said, in reality, 32 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:03,960 Speaker 1: very few plastic items can be processed into new materials 33 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:08,120 Speaker 1: and products. Unlike glass and aluminum, plastic isn't processed into 34 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:10,359 Speaker 1: the same item it was when it was collected by 35 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:14,839 Speaker 1: a recycling center. The quality of plastic is downgraded, so 36 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:18,800 Speaker 1: eventually and inevitably that plastic will still end up in 37 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:23,799 Speaker 1: a landfill. Take a plastic water bottle. Most bottles say 38 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:26,720 Speaker 1: they can be recycled and based solely on their easily 39 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:31,080 Speaker 1: recyclable p et composition, they could be, but nearly seven 40 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:33,639 Speaker 1: out of ten bottles end up in landfills or tossed 41 00:02:33,639 --> 00:02:37,480 Speaker 1: as litter. This problem increased when China decided to stop 42 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:43,040 Speaker 1: accepting and recycling plastic in for municipalities. That meant recycling 43 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:47,000 Speaker 1: became significantly pricier, and according to The Atlantic, many are 44 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:51,079 Speaker 1: now simply opting for the budget friendly landfill over recycling 45 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:55,680 Speaker 1: pair This landfill first approach. With the world's ever growing 46 00:02:55,720 --> 00:03:00,160 Speaker 1: plastic consumption, humans produce almost twenty thousand plastic bottles her 47 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:03,440 Speaker 1: second according to The Guardian, and America's waste grew by 48 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:08,080 Speaker 1: four point five percent from It's no wonder the world 49 00:03:08,160 --> 00:03:12,760 Speaker 1: is overflowing with plastic waste, and I think banning all 50 00:03:12,800 --> 00:03:16,120 Speaker 1: of this plastic is overkilled. There are some very solid 51 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:19,960 Speaker 1: reasons why it makes sense. First, the plastic and landfills 52 00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:23,600 Speaker 1: doesn't just go away. According to Weldon, a plastic bag 53 00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:26,680 Speaker 1: takes ten to twenty years to degrade, while a plastic 54 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:30,680 Speaker 1: bottle takes almost five hundred years, and even when it's gone, 55 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:35,440 Speaker 1: it's remnants remain. We also spoke by email with Katherine Kellogg, 56 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:39,040 Speaker 1: author and founder of the waste reduction website Going Zero Waste. 57 00:03:39,600 --> 00:03:43,360 Speaker 1: She explained plastic never breaks down or goes away. It 58 00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:46,440 Speaker 1: only breaks into smaller and smaller pieces until there's so 59 00:03:46,520 --> 00:03:48,960 Speaker 1: microscopic that they can be found in our air and 60 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:53,600 Speaker 1: our drinking water. Some grocery stores have switched to biodegradable 61 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:56,240 Speaker 1: plastic shopping bags as a way to meet consumers in 62 00:03:56,280 --> 00:03:59,080 Speaker 1: the middle, but research shows that this is hardly a 63 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 1: savvy solution. One study from researchers at the University of 64 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:06,600 Speaker 1: Plymouth in England analyzed eighty single use plastic grocery store 65 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:09,960 Speaker 1: bags made of biodegradable plastic over the course of three years, 66 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:14,920 Speaker 1: their goal to determine just how biodegradable these bags really were. 67 00:04:15,560 --> 00:04:19,400 Speaker 1: Their findings were published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology. 68 00:04:20,279 --> 00:04:25,320 Speaker 1: They found that soil and seawater didn't lead to bag degradation. Instead, 69 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:28,039 Speaker 1: after those three years, three of the four types of 70 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:30,760 Speaker 1: biodegradable bags were still sturdy enough to hold up to 71 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:33,880 Speaker 1: five pounds of groceries that's about two point two kilos, 72 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:38,240 Speaker 1: and the non biodegradable bags performed the same. The biodegradable 73 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:41,560 Speaker 1: bags exposed to sun did break down, but that's not 74 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:45,800 Speaker 1: necessarily a positive either. The small particles from that degradation 75 00:04:45,960 --> 00:04:49,400 Speaker 1: can quickly spread throughout the environment. Think air, ocean, or 76 00:04:49,480 --> 00:04:52,880 Speaker 1: the belly of hungry animals who mistake plastic fragments for food. 77 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:56,880 Speaker 1: Another reason many countries are prohibiting single use plastics is 78 00:04:56,920 --> 00:05:00,400 Speaker 1: because they shouldn't be reused, despite our best and engines. 79 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:04,680 Speaker 1: As many municipalities for go recycling, it's tempting to take 80 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:08,240 Speaker 1: matters into your own hands by reusing plastic bottles and containers. 81 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:12,240 Speaker 1: And sure, this may work for bags, but experts say 82 00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:14,440 Speaker 1: to take caution when it comes to plastic bottles or 83 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:18,840 Speaker 1: food containers. One study in Environmental Health Perspectives showed that 84 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:22,159 Speaker 1: all plastics used in food containers and plastic bottles could 85 00:05:22,200 --> 00:05:26,120 Speaker 1: release harmful chemicals if used repeatedly. This includes those said 86 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:28,960 Speaker 1: to be free of b p A, a controversial chemical 87 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:33,760 Speaker 1: that's been linked to hormone disruption. While researchers are still 88 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:38,159 Speaker 1: analyzing the safety of repeated plastic reuse, experts recommend glass 89 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:42,120 Speaker 1: or metal to avoid potentially harmful chemicals, and according to Weldon, 90 00:05:42,440 --> 00:05:45,800 Speaker 1: it's time we adopt a reuse mindset. Be at cotton 91 00:05:45,839 --> 00:05:49,520 Speaker 1: produce bags, stainless steel, straws, or full on zero waste. 92 00:05:50,480 --> 00:05:53,640 Speaker 1: She said, the worst thing about any single use item 93 00:05:53,760 --> 00:05:55,839 Speaker 1: is that we devalue something to the point that we 94 00:05:55,920 --> 00:05:59,880 Speaker 1: intend to throw it away. The convenience culture has normalized 95 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:03,800 Speaker 1: destructive behavior, and as a result, we produce millions of 96 00:06:03,839 --> 00:06:06,560 Speaker 1: tons of it every single year. If we change our 97 00:06:06,600 --> 00:06:09,320 Speaker 1: mindset on what we consume, will be more aware of 98 00:06:09,320 --> 00:06:11,520 Speaker 1: the single use plastic we use and how we can 99 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:19,400 Speaker 1: avoid it. Today's episode was written by Stephanie Vermillion and 100 00:06:19,400 --> 00:06:22,000 Speaker 1: produced by Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is a production of 101 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:24,200 Speaker 1: I Heart Radios How Stuff Works. For more on this 102 00:06:24,279 --> 00:06:26,719 Speaker 1: and lots of other multi use topics, visit our home planet, 103 00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:29,440 Speaker 1: how stuff Works dot com. And for more podcasts from 104 00:06:29,440 --> 00:06:32,440 Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 105 00:06:32,480 --> 00:06:34,200 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.