WHY SHOULD WE ALL KICK THE PLASTIC HABIT?

1.  A plastic water bottle will not decompose for 500 years or more, maybe never if buried deep and dark in a landfill.  Most bottled water is simply tap water and has little regulation or required testing.

2.  Plastic comes from petroleum…crude oil.  Why shouldn’t we use this ingredient in our lives when we have alternatives?  First, petroleum is a limited resource.  Second, it is expensive.  Third, it leaches toxins into the air when manufactured, used and disposed of in the landfill.  There are sustainable, practical options we can’t afford not to start using.

3.  Chemicals used in plastics have been linked to neurological problems, endocrine disruption, behavioral issues in children, even certain types of cancer.  Enough evidence exists to convince you to reach for the glass, wood, fabric, metal or ceramic alternative.

4.  Our grandparents didn’t need plastic, neither do we.  We simply have built up a habit to an atmosphere filled with plastics.  Start to consider your options, and a better solution is usually right at hand.

5.  Plastic is practical and cheap, prevalent in all our lives and certainly a part of the “American Way”, but the disposal of it is wreaking havoc on wildlife and ocean life.  Read about the ocean’s island of plastic trash at “A Sea of Plastic: More plastic than plankton in the ocean”.