Steps towards a plastic free future

Welcome to the July edition of Green Steps. 

Plastics can sometimes be a contentious subject in East Hampshire, because only bottle-shaped plastics can be recycled at HCC's recycling centres (MRFs). However, the best thing we can do for the environment is avoid single-use plastic where possible and Plastic Free July is a great opportunity to start. 

The problem with plastic

Plastic currently outweighs all the land and sea creatures currently alive and contributes to around 3.5% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The equivalent of 2,000 bin lorries full of plastic are dumped in the world’s rivers and oceans every day.

Plastics aren’t easy to recycle and even when they can be, for most plastics, the quality of the material deteriorates, reducing the number of things it can be recycled into.

The BBC and Open University have produced a straightforward video explaining the problem with plastic, and how we can solve it. 

The perils of plastic litter

A Loughborough University study in 2022 found that plastics make up a significant proportion of the more than two million pieces of litter dropped in the UK every day.

Plastics break down into smaller and smaller pieces (known as microplastics) and have been found in fish, animals and humans. Plastics can take between 20 and 500 years to break down but even when they do, they represent a problem for living things.

Alton Climate Action Network’s (ACAN) Action on Plastics group will be running their monthly litter pick on Thursday 3 July.

What are the alternatives?

Unlike plastic, glass and metal can be effectively recycled forever without losing quality.

If you need to buy something for a single use, pick cans or glass bottles before you choose plastics.

Better still, buy reusable bottles which are often made of metal or recycled plastic.

The WWF website has tips to reduce your plastic waste and more environmentally friendly alternatives.