Category: Plastics

Let’s not forget one of the most venerable helpers for sustainability!

On By Brian BerardoIn Environment, Good News, Health, Plastics

Hemp, the versatile plant, offers a plethora of applications across various domains. Let’s explore some of the remarkable real-life hemp products that showcase its benefits and sustainability:

  1. Clothing & Accessories:
    1. Hemp Shirts: Blending hemp with organic cotton results in durable, breathable shirts.
    1. Hemp Jeans: Fashionable and eco-friendly denim made from hemp fabric.
    1. Hemp Shoes: Comfortable sneakers crafted from hemp fibers.
    1. Hemp Wallets: Sturdy wallets that stand the test of time.
  2. Foods & Drinks:
    1. Hemp Seeds: Nutrient-rich seeds used in various culinary creations.
    1. Hemp Milk: A dairy-free alternative made from hemp seeds.
    1. Hemp Flour: Ground hemp seeds for baking and cooking.
    1. Hemp Butter: Spreadable goodness with a nutty flavor.
  3. Health & Wellness:
    1. Hemp Oil: Used in lotions, moisturizers, and shampoos.
    1. Hemp Protein Powder: A plant-based protein source.
    1. Hemp Supplements: Rich in essential fatty acids and vitamins.
  4. Beauty:
    1. Hemp Makeup: Hempseed oil as an ingredient in cosmetics.
    1. Hemp Nail Polish: Eco-friendly nail color.
    1. Hemp Lotion: Moisturizing and soothing for the skin.
  5. Pets:
    1. Hemp Pet Bedding: Comfortable and sustainable bedding material.
    1. Hemp Pet Treats: Nutritious snacks for furry friends.
  6. Home & Office:
    1. Hemp Paper: Environmentally friendly paper made from hemp fiber pulp.
    1. Hemp Toilet Paper: is a type of tissue paper entirely made from fibers extracted from the hemp plant.
    1. Hemp Canvas: Durable material for paintings and prints.
    1. Hemp Batteries: Energy storage solutions.
    1. Hemp Concrete Blocks: is the sustainable alternative to a traditional brick and concrete block home.
  7. Farming & Gardening:
    1. Hemp Mulch: Natural ground cover for gardens.
    1. Hemp Fiberboard: Used in construction and furniture.
    1. Hemp Surfboards: Sustainable boards for water sports.
  8. Automobiles:
    1. Hemp Plastic Products: Biodegradable alternatives to petroleum-based plastics.
    1. Hemp Fuel: Hemp biodiesel and ethanol/methanol options.

Remember, hemp’s potential extends far beyond this list. As awareness grows, we can embrace more of these incredible products and contribute to a greener, more sustainable world! 

Update on Nanoplastics

On By Brian BerardoIn Environment, Health, Plastics

In a recent study, researchers have discovered bottled water sold in stores can contain 10 to 100 times more bits of plastic than previously estimated — nanoparticles so infinitesimally tiny they cannot be seen under a microscope. Here’s the link to the complete article: https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/08/health/bottled-water-nanoplastics-study-wellness/index.html. Bottom line: we’re going to need to move to glass, ceramic, or stainless steel for our drinking water.

Some potentially GREAT news about a bacteria that eats plastic!!

On By Brian BerardoIn Environment, Plastics

Funny how I didn’t see this on any of the major news networks. Here’s the link to the story found on the goodnewsnetwork.org: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/scientists-engineered-a-bacteria-to-eat-plastic-bottles-and-transforming-them-into-useful-liquids/. We can only hope and pray that this research continues and can be made scalable. While we still think that reducing our production of plastics needs to happen, this brings new hope to an otherwise troubling future with plastics.

Report from BeyondPlastics.org on the folly of the plastics industry and their “Chemical Recycling”.

On By Brian BerardoIn Environment, Health, Plastics

I’m sharing this email from a friend of mine that came out yesterday (Halloween) and confirms what was already feared WRT (With Respect To) this heinous farce. The report itself is 159 pages, but the Fact Sheet paints a clear picture and is only 6 pages on the report link. Your may need to go to beyondplastics.org to access their links. They also have a link to take action and urge Congress to reject this dangerous “Chemical Recycling” fantasy.

“Ghosts and skeletons may be roaming the streets today but you know what really scares me? Chemical recycling, a set of dirty, polluting, climate change speeding technological processes the plastics and petrochemical industry is touting as the solution to the global plastic pollution crisis it created. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth…

To shine a light on the truth of this polluting set of supremely expensive stalling tactics, I am proud to share our new report, “Chemical Recycling: A Dangerous Deception” with you today.📄

Chemical Recycling: A Dangerous Deception

We wrote this report with our good friends at IPEN (the International Pollutants Elimination Network) who contributed incredibly valuable expertise and a remarkable volume of research hours.

Among the report’s major findings are the following:

  • Chemical recycling is a false solution to the plastic pollution crisis;
  • Chemical recycling is inefficient, energy-intensive, and speeds climate change;
  • Chemical recycling creates large amounts of toxic waste;
  • Chemical recycling is dangerous and dirty and threatens environmental justice communities across the country;
  • Plastics recycling moves poisons around our economy and environment;
  • Eliminating or relaxing existing regulations puts our health at risk; and more.

The report also includes a detailed investigation of the United States’ 11 existing chemical recycling facilities. Click here to download your free copy of the report now.>>

We know firsthand how complicated the topic of chemical recycling is and want to answer any questions that may arise for you as you read the report. Please join us for a free webinar on Tuesday, November 28 at 7:00 PM ET US.

Together with my colleague and report contributor, Jennifer Congdon and report author, Lee Bell of IPEN, we’ll dive into the findings. Register now for the free educational webinar. >>

📣We’d appreciate any help you can offer to get this new report out into the world and in front of more people’s eyeballs 👀. Please send this report to your members of Congress and state legislators. The chemical industry is pushing hard to promote this risky technology and we need to educate as many elected officials as possible.

Click here for a sharing toolkit you can use or feel free to just use the links below to share it on social media. 👉You can also simply forward this email to your friends and family

Thank you for helping to raise awareness of the threat chemical recycling poses to our climate, our health, our environment, and environmental justice communities across the country while failing to address our mounting plastic pollution crisis.☠️

I hope to see you at the webinar on Tuesday, November 28 and look forward to hearing your feedback on the report then.

Wishing you and yours a happy Halloween today.

Sincerely,

Judith Enck
President, Beyond Plastics
Former US EPA Regional Administrator”

A Short & Concise Article from Earthday.org

On By Brian BerardoIn Environment, Health, Plastics

This brief article manages to get to the heart of the problem with plastics and it’s entitled “Oil-Rich Countries Hinder the Global Plastics Treaty”. Here’s the link: https://www.earthday.org/oil-rich-countries-hinder-the-global-plastics-treaty/ . Bottom line, we can’t recycle our way out of the mess we’ve created for ourselves and the planet. As the article states, “Limiting, and eventually ending, plastic production is the only way toward a future free from the chokehold of plastic pollution.”. The article closes by urging you to add your voice to the Global Plastics Treaty petition. You CAN make a difference! Thank you Earthday.org!

Tell the EPA: plastic waste is NOT a renewable fuel 

On By Brian BerardoIn Environment, Health, Plastics

A friend of mine recently forwarded to me an article from BeyondPlastics.org. Check it out:

“Taking a page from George Orwell, the U.S. EPA is actually encouraging big companies to turn waste plastics into fossil fuels to be burned through it’s Renewable Fuel Standard program. But there’s absolutely nothing “renewable” about using plastics as fuel.

Please click here now to add your name to Beyond Plastics’ petition calling on the EPA to stop supporting “chemical recycling” and other false solutions to our plastic pollution crisis.

“Chemical recycling” is a polluting false solution to our plastic pollution crisis that’s being aggressively promoted by Big Plastic to enable the industry to continue to produce massive amounts of plastics (and profits).

“Chemical recycling” (also called “advanced recycling”, “molecular recycling”, “waste to fuel”, gasification, or pyrolysis) refers to a suite of processes that use high heat, chemicals or pressure to turn plastic waste into fossil fuels and other feedstocks that are most often burned.

It’s got a lot of names but no matter what you call it, making fuel from plastic is worse in many ways for the climate, our environment, and human health than simply burning fossil fuels.

👀If you’d like to learn more about this troubling trend at the EPA, I highly recommend reading this eye-opening ProPublica expose on the health and environmental hazards of so-called “chemical recycling”.

So-called “chemical recycling” is highly problematic because it creates toxic emissions and end products, typically uses more energy and emits more greenhouse gases than conventional recycling or even virgin plastic production, it requires huge investments of money and has not yet been proven viable at scale, and it relies on non-existent clean streams of used plastic to work even though the lack of clean used plastics is already a major stumbling block to conventional plastics recycling.

In addition to all of these critical issues, “chemical recycling” does nothing to turn off the plastic tap and would not reduce the demand for virgin plastics. We can’t afford to waste time and money investing in this false solution at the expense of enacting effective, true solutions to the plastic pollution crisis.

I hope you will join us in urging the EPA to stop supporting “chemical recycling” projects through its Renewable Fuel Standard Program and urge the agency to support solutions to our plastic pollution crisis that actually work and are readily available right now, such as eliminating plastic packaging and advancing reuse and refill systems.

Please add your name here then forward this email to your family and friends and urge them to join you in calling on the EPA to change course.

If you are active on social media, you can also like and share this action there using the links below:

Thank you so much for your help.

Cheers,

Judith Enck
President, Beyond Plastics
Former U.S. EPA Regional Administrator”

Consumer Alert!

On By Brian BerardoIn PlasticsLeave a comment

This is being repeated because it’s too important not to do so. My wife and I do a lot of our shopping at our local Safeway grocery stores.  They’ve been working hard, as do many grocers these days, in trying to provide products that are sustainable and organic.  That said, they recently took a WRONG TURN in the plastic packaging of many of their O Organics product line and it’s up to us to remind them.

Please note the following statement from O Organics, one of Safeway’s premier product lines:

“Why O Organics® ?

 With O Organics®, you know that what you feed your family is actually good for them. Because all O Organics® products are USDA Certified Organic. They are made responsibly, sustainably and safely (my highlighting). They are always non-GMO, and grown without synthetic pesticides.

Dear fellow consumers: feeding your family microplastics is NOT good for them and pumping MORE plastics into our environment is NOT helpful. https://www.safeway.com/shop/lp/o-organics-organic.html is the home of O Organics.  Please write to them and express your disdain for switching from paper containers to PLASTIC containers in many of their dairy products, e.g. Half and Half, Heavy Whipping Cream, etc.  This switch happened recently in 2021!  They also have countless other products that are being sold in plastic that could be packaged in a more sustainable manner.  We, as consumers, need to fight back or we will truly be even more awash in plastic.

Safeway is trying to do the right thing by going to a product line like O Organics.  We LAUD their efforts to bring us higher quality products.  Unfortunately, they’ve become distracted from their mission and it’s up to us to remind them that we DO care about our environment and the products we consume.  Please go to https://www.safeway.com/shop/lp/o-organics-organic.html and at the bottom of the page, under Quick Links, click on “Contact Us”.  Scroll down to the lower part of the next screen to the header ‘Contact Us’ and the right most of three boxes is a box “Other Ways To Contact Us“.  Click on “Comments and Questions” and explain to them that their sustainable practices are going BACKWARDS instead of forwards in their packaging.  This page also has addresses for Customer Support Center and Media Inquiries.  ANYTHING you can do to help mitigate this senseless INCREASE in plastics will help.   Your planet and your body THANK YOU!!!

DARIGOLD switching from paper packaging to PLASTIC!

On By Brian BerardoIn Environment, Plastics

I wrote to Darigold.com this morning:  they’ve switched from paper packaging for decades of their Half & Half dairy product to PLASTIC!  (Barcode is 264002760) I sent the following to their contact URL:

“Good day!!  Your website talks about Sustainability & Stewardship, the Environment, and then you switch from paper packaging to PLASTIC for your dairy products, e.g., Half & Half?  Are you kidding me?  For your reference that’s Barcode 2640022760.  I am OUTRAGED!!  Talk about hypocritical!  You have such a wonderful product and then you put it in PLASTIC?  WAKE UP!!!!  Not only will I not buy your product now, but I’ll do everything in my power to spread the word of your hypocrisy, including reporting you to Green Peace, Ocean Conservancy, Oceana.org, 5gyres.org, my own church, and worthyvisions.com.”

I urge you to PLEASE go to darigold.com and click on the Contact button and beg them to stop adding PLASTIC to our environment. Thank you!