For three years, Lamiaa Biaz has been on a zero-plastic journey. You can discover how she managed to eliminate 95% of plastic on her Captain Forest blog:
How I Eliminated Plastic From my Life in 1 Year (part II) | Captain Forest
Since September 2019, Lamiaa has also stopped throwing plastic out. She stores it in her apartment as it will likely end up littering the environment or entering the ocean. And the chances are that a bird or a fish will digest her plastic waste by mistake.
Even though plastic is cheap and makes our lives much easier, it is a pollutant.
The Plastic Myth
99% of plastic is made from fossil fuels which release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere,
And 91% of plastic produced has never been recycled.
In reality, there are myths behind plastic recycling:
- recyclable does NOT mean recycled
- recyclable often means shipping everything to developing countries and
- recycled involves mixing a proportion of recyclable plastic with new plastic cells anyway.
And recycle logos on product packaging are misleading. They do not mean that the product will be recycled but that the producer has made a financial contribution towards the recovery and recycling of packaging.
World Economic Forum Statistics
32% of plastic packaging ends up littering the environment
40% is sent landfills somewhere
14% is incinerated
14% recycled BUT ONLY 2% is EFFECTIVELY RECYCLED.
Also, the United Nations reported that every year 8 million tons of plastic enter the ocean.
40% of marine mammals and 44% of seabird species are affected by marine debris ingestion.
As a result, 1 million sea birds, 100,000 sea mammals, marine turtles, and countless fish are killed.
Is our comfort and convenience more important than biodiversity loss and climate change? Lamiaa has solutions for political and business leaders:
- Invest in plastic-free solutions and reuse infrastructures
- Replace single-use plastic products with reusable and sustainable alternatives
- Push for more policies to move towards a circular economy
- Give companies incentives to produce, package and distribute differently.
You can join Lamiaa’s movement here: Home | Captain Forest