Dumpster dive | March 5, 2024
Pictured above is a small section of the Gum Wall in Seattle, Washington. I've always admired its subversiveness and was an early contributor. Not all are fans, though, and the landmark was named one of the world's top five germiest tourist attractions in 2009. I suspect Bubblegum Alley in San Luis Obispo, California, was a close contender. [Wikipedia]
Now chew on this: Most gum base contains polyvinyl acetate and polyethylene. Or put more simply, plastic. Polyvinyl acetate is commonly known as wood glue, PVA glue, white glue, carpenter's glue, and school glue (aka Elmer's Glue here in the US). Polyethylene (PE) is the same plastic used in plastic bags and bottles. Maybe it's time to switch to mints. [EcoWatch]
Plastic was invented in 1869 to address the growing popularity of...billiards? Ironically, this first synthetic polymer was meant to protect nature and was viewed as a sustainable alternative to ivory, used for billiard balls. [Science History Institute]
Good to know: Litterless is a great resource for finding zero-waste products and stores (both local and online) plus local composting facilities.
I often try to imagine what exponential waste would look like: What if we piled up all the plastic that was manufactured every minute or the plastic bags that were used every ten seconds? Artist Chris Jordan provides stunning representations in his photo-based series Running the Numbers: Portraits of Human Mass Culture. (Give the page some time to load—it's worth the wait.) In his words, the series explores "how images representing these quantities might affect the mind differently than the raw data alone. Psychologists tell us that our brains cannot meaningfully grasp quantities higher than a few thousand; yet every day we hear about phenomena characterized by numbers in the millions, billions, even trillions. This mind-numbing information is all we have to go on, because the phenomena themselves are invisible at their full scale, spread across the world, impossible to photograph or otherwise behold in any way with our senses. In the absence of comprehension, it is hard to feel anything about these things, leading to a disconnection that puts us at risk for apathy."
A few more visuals: This gallery of images on the United Nations website shows the impact that plastic is having on our world and Reuter's shows us how much plastic we consume over the course of a lifetime.
ICYMI, meet Professor Richard Thompson, the newest Garbage Hero, and learn about his pioneering research on microplastics and his influence on the plastic industry.
64 countries have joined the High Ambition Coalition (HAC) to End Plastic Pollution, committing to an overarching political vision to end plastic pollution by 2040. You know who hasn't joined? The world's largest plastic polluter per capita, aka the United States. Contact your elected officials and ask for their help in getting the US to join. Feel free to use the text I sent to my elected officials: Subject: Request for US to join High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution I'm requesting your help in getting the United States to join the 64 other countries who have become members of the High Ambition Coalition (HAC) to End Plastic Pollution (https://hactoendplasticpollution.org/). The coalition calls out that "Plastic pollution constitutes a planetary crisis with impacts on ecosystems, biodiversity, the climate, and human health. Without new and effective control measures, plastic production is set to double in 20 years and plastic waste leaking into the ocean is projected to triple by 2040. This is an unacceptable burden to place on future generations." As the world's leading plastic polluter per capita, the United States has a responsibility to address the sources of plastic pollution and safeguard our planet. Joining the HAC to End Plastic Pollution will be an important step toward accountability and solving the plastic crisis we helped to create. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Image by GoToVan, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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