Captain Forest is an international movement that aims to build a zero plastic/waste and permaculture world.
For three years, the founder, Lamiaa Biaz has been on a zero-plastic journey. She began by not throwing plastic away. She stored it in her apartment as it would likely end up littering the environment or entering the ocean. And the chances are that a bird or a fish could digest her plastic waste by mistake. 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
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 to 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
- 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