Today’s topic is a discussion about recycled plastic sustainability.
This is a very tough topic, because as you search on the web you will find both pros and cons for both. Though we are here to shed some light overall on the “plastic sustainable” debate.
Resourceful Living believes that using materials that have already been manufactured is far better for the environment than creating new materials from scratch. Currently 91% of plastic is not recycled and we believe this number needs to greatly increase if we want to see any sign of change.
For a product or material to be truly described as sustainable it must be environmentally, economically and socially sustainable. These aspects have become known as the Three Pillars of Sustainability. Plastics make a positive contribution to all three pillars of sustainability.
Frans Timmermans, vice-president of the European Commission, declared war on “single-use plastics that take five seconds to produce, are used for five minutes, then take 500 years to break down again.’” Our aim is to make furniture and other products out of these plastics that have already been created, give them more lives and use them for years rather than minutes.
There is a consensus that plastics are an unsustainable material. And yes, plastics are certainly an enormous problem, but they don’t necessarily have to be. The main issue is with our linear economic model: goods are produced, consumed, then disposed of. This model assumes endless economic growth and doesn’t consider the planet’s exhaustible resources. We need to change our model to be circular and take pride and knowing if we do our part, it makes the next person’s role easier.
Did you know, eight million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean each year. Countries like China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam contribute to 60% of ocean plastic due to mismanaged landfills.
When we all work together and choose sustainable options, this is when we will truly see change.
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