Plastics & the Environment

Many of the things in our homes are made from plastic--it is everywhere. However, it has damaging effects from manufacture all the way to disposal. Here are some of the things I've learned through recent research: production requires high levels of energy which depletes non renewable resources. Production of chemicals produces dangerous VOCs into the air. Also, they do not degrade which means more and more landfill space is being taken up. Recycling is always a better alternative than just throwing water bottles away, but it really isn't saving any energy or resources in the water bottle industry. This is because recycled water bottles are "downcycled," which means they are recycled into something less usable. They are not recycled into more water bottles, but if they were it would save energy and non renewable resources. Also, it will not be recycled into a third our fourth thing, which means that the secondary item that is made will go directly into a landfill. There is a lot of waste either way.