On January 29th, 2008,Sustainable Fairfax hosted an event featuring Andy Peri and Stuart Moody from Green Sangha. The event was a part of Sustainable Fairfax’s monthly Community education series.

The event was an informational talk and presentation on the devastating effects that plastic consumption has on our oceans, landfills and bodies. It was followed by a discussion and demonstration of alternative choices we can make rather than consuming so many plastic goods or plastic packaging. A representative from Good Earth was also present with non-plastic alternative products available for sale.

A representative from the Fairfax Town Council was invited and presented information regarding the plastic bag ban initiative that will be coming up for Fairfax citizens to vote on later this year and spoke on this very pressing issue to help raise awareness, understanding and appreciation of the stakes involved.

Sustainable Fairfax encouraged parents to attend to learn more about the effects plastic is having on our children's health. There was a demonstration on ways to package lunches for school without creating plastic waste..

Green Sangha is a 6 year old spiritually based environmental activist organization based in Marin, Sonoma, San Francisco and East Bay Counties.

· Andy Peri is a founding member of Green Sangha. He has been working on marine and plastic-related issues for 5 years. He co-created the "Rethinking Plastics" campaign and along with his colleagues has made public presentation to dozens of groups throughout Marin and the greater Bay Area.

Andy is a faculty member at San Francisco State University and at College of Marin in environmental studies and geography.

· Stuart Moody is also on the executive committee of Green Sangha. He’s a founding member of the Green Yoga Association and serves on the advisory board of the Campaign against Plastics Plague. Stuart volunteers with Davidson Middle School’s Garden Project in San Rafael and has worked with a citizens’ advisory committee in Zero Waste for Marin County.

Highlights from the Green Sangha Presentation

The Problem

1) Plastics NEVER biodegrade. Every piece of plastic that has ever been manufactured still exists on the earth. It breaks into smaller and smaller pieces, but never disappears entirely.

2) At this point, there is 6 times as much plastic as plankton in the oceans. This means that, instead of eating healthy organisms, ocean wildlife is consuming toxic plastic. Brightly colored bottle lids are mistaken for fish, and neutral-colored plastic is mistaken for plants.

3) Research shows that plastic is embedded in the tissue of many dead fish and birds. And their stomachs are completely full of undigested plastic, which causes malnutrition, and ultimately starvation.

4) Americans are sheltered from the obvious impact of plastic on the earth, because we have a waste management infrastructure that hides this excess from our view. In poorer countries, the roads, waters and land are overflowing with plastic bags and other debris. In South Africa, they’ve deemed plastic bags their national flower, since there are so many of them hanging in the vegetation all around!

5) Plastic is linked to many human health problems as well, including cancer, premature puberty and infertility. The chemicals used to manufacture plastic are petroleum-based, and some of the most toxic imaginable. And there’s no safe way to “get rid of them,” once they’re produced.

Solutions

1) Recycling is NOT the answer. Only 30% of plastics are recyclable. And these are transformed into items that cannot be recycled again, such as car seats, luggage and polar fleece.

2) Biodegradable plastics are part of the answer. Containers made from soy and corn will break down over time (although only in ideal conditions).

3) Reduced consumption is the only true solution. Its important to remember that every time you buy anything in plastic for one-time use – shampoo, dishwashing detergent, laundry detergent, milk, water, disposable lunch-box containers – the container will be with us forever.

4) One consciousness-raising exercise is to imagine carrying your trash around with you for a month. Wherever you go, your bags of trash go with you. Wouldn’t this inspire a zero-waste mentality? Its not far from reality…the trash you produce really is a burden.

5) Don’t buy bottled water. It is estimated that 93 billion bottles of water are purchased and disposed of every year, and consumption is still on the rise. And the two biggest brands of bottled water (Aquafina and Dasani) are both sourced from municipal supplies! That’s right… you’re paying 200 times what you would for tap water, to corporations who are profiting from your ignorance. Invest in a reverse osmosis filter for your tap, and save money and the planet.

6) The onus is on us to re-think our consumption habits. Buy in bulk. Use refillable containers. Buy drinks in glass bottles ONLY. Use stainless steel water bottles (as opposed to the toxic hard, colored plastic bottles available everywhere.) And refuse plastic bags whenever possible. Bring your own bags to the store. And don’t put produce in plastic bags. Most fruit and vegetables are fine in their own skin!

Resources

For additional information about plastics, visit the following sites:

www.greensangha.org
www.akeplasticfish.com