Addicted to plastic

How managed the practical and single-use plastics to dominate our

life; and how can we dishabituate for the future of planet!

It is hard to figure it out at a first sight what tootbrushes, car

tires, cigarettes and footwear have in commun.
But at a closer look, we can notice that , as well as many other
objects in our daily life, they tend to be manufacturated from the
magic material: the plastic.
This material has become a worldwide problem. Sometimes
because it is mixed with other- including other types of plastic, as in
the case of shoes- it is difficult or impossible to recycle. In many
areas, the recycle , inceneration or collecting in landfills are not
possible, not to mention the garbage that are thrown away in rivers
and oceans. Therefore , after a short service life , the objects from
plastic start- in the form of waste- a life after death that can subsit for
centuries.
They are thrown into rivers and carried to the sea. They are
breaking down into tiny fragments called microplastic which are
consumed by the big and small marine creatures. Some of them are
mixing with sea salt and we get to eat them, with insufficient proven
effects. We are breathing others: smaller particles, called nanoplastic,
which the researchers has discovered on isolated mountain peaks and
even in Arctic, where they are carried by the wind and mixing with
the rain and snow.
The miracle has bacome a nightmare.
We face more often with the challenge of trading on the
advantages of plastic, but without disadvantages. For a half century,
the solution of environmentalists was ” Reduction, reuse, recycle”.
But the companies which sell products or package of plastic are too
little motivated to encourage the reduction or reuse, and the recycle-
considered a time ago an universal remedy- is in some cases
complicated and expensive.But now, because the pollution with
plastic has become a wordwilde problem , the bet is more and more
bigger as the degree of public awareness.
A cultural change seems to be preparing. Plastic wastes start to
worry us. Entrepreneurs create new options to avoid generating them.
The main ideea is not to demonise something which was invented
from solid reasons and good intentions, but to find a way to mantain
the plastic, but not into the body and environment. Each side of our
life which is marked with plastic represent a diffrent challenge. Each
object has a story. Here are some of them- and some solutions.

The toothbrushes
The plastic is so related to the projection of toothbrush, so it is
about impossible to clean our teeth without it. The handles are usually
made from polyethylene and the brushes from nylon. Concerning the
fact of slow plastic decay, almost all toothbrushes made in 30 so far
are still somewhere in the world in form(by means of) of wastes.
Cleaning of teeth is an old, universal practice. The archaeologists
have found ” toothpicks” in the Egyptian pharaohs’ tombs; in entire
Asia and Middle East, people were chewing sticks until they
scratched their heads so they could clean their teeth with it. In the
second half of the 15th century, in China appeared a simple pattern
which has remained unchanged for centuries: a short, thick sheaf
from the pig's backhead caught in a wooden handle or bone. In
Europe until the end of 19th century, only rich people could afford it.
The American Army has contributed to make known the oral hygiene
to the population. During the civil war, soldiers had to be able to break
with teeht the thick paper in which the ammunition was wrapped.
Furthermore, without some healthy teeth, the American troops were
not able to eat the dry military ratios. The army has an standard quite
elementary-”to have six teeth in mouth in order to mastecate”,
says the hystorian Alyssa Picard.
The soldiers from World War II have brought with them the
toothbrushes with the military effects, and the cheap and easy to shape
plastic allowed to Americans a better oral hygiene. In an opinion
survey about inovations made in 2003 by MIT, the toothbrushes has
obtained a bigger scor than the car, pc and mobile phone as an object
considered needful by the respondents.
”I like to ask people: what is the first thing which you take in
your hand in the monrning? Probably the tootbrush”, says Kahi
Pacarro , the founder of Sustainable Coastlnes Hawaii NGO, who
collected enough tootbrushes on the Hawaiian beach. ”Do you really
want that the first object you are touching day by day to be from
plastic?” Some designers, are using recently even natural materials.
Handles can be from metal or bamboo; the heads can be removed, and
brushes can be more thick, in order to have a long service life. Perhaps
the toothbrushes of future will contain plastic, only less(fewer).

Boomul urias colectează plasticul

Dispozitivul de curatare a oceanelor isi incepe activitatea
Un efort inovator de a coleccta gunoiul din plastic din mari a
prins resturile plutitoare pentru prima data. Bayan Slat, fondatorul
”The Ocean Clean up” a spus ca dupa esecul de anul trecut, sistemul
lui gigantic in forma de ”V” a inceput sa indeparteze deseurile . ”Noi
avem acum un sistem bine pus la punct ( de sine statator) in marele
petic de gunoi din Pacific, adica foloseste fortele naturale ale
oceanului pentru a prinde pasiv si a concentra plasticul”, a spus el
pentru o conferinta de presa.
 Slat spune ca sistemul poate colecta plastic de orice dimensiune,
de la microplastic la plase fantoma pentru pescuit, precum si alte
gunoaie.
”Lipseste cuiva o roata ?” a glumit el pe Twitter.
In orice caz animalele au fost si ele capturate, inclusiv hidroizi si
hidrozoi, rude ale meduzelor care sunt mancate de pasari, pesti si
broaste testoase.The Ocean Cleanup spune ca nu este prea fericit de
toate acestea, dar se asteapta ca impactul sa fie unul minim.