Out of sight, out of mind no more: An open letter to the plastics industry

In the following post, naturalist and author, Sarah Roberts, writes about the importance of education when it comes to stemming the flow of plastics into the natural environment.

WORDS | Sarah Roberts, Naturalist and Founder of This Is Creature

The biggest culprit of plastic pollution is people. 'Out of sight, out of mind' is human nature and for too long we have become used to burying our waste without a second thought.

We are living in a consumerist world, where if something breaks, it’s less effort to replace it rather than fix it, and as the global population rises and our consumption of natural resources is more rampant than ever, our advances in technology have separated us even further from the natural world that we are a part of. As a result, we don’t often come face-to-face with our negative impact on the ecosystem.

I have seen everything from microplastics, fishing lines, bags, straws, and tampon applicators, right through to clothing and whole appliances dumped in rivers, streams and oceans. The problem is not limited to water sources though and there needs to be a focus on cleaning up farmland, woodland and even the urban ecosystem. But is the answer to live 'plastic free'?

Google solutions to plastic pollution and you’re likely to be greeted with the '#plasticfree' campaign. And with celebrities, conservation groups and the media all pumping it out en mass, an ordinary member of the public could be forgiven for assuming this may actually be a viable option.

However, most advocates often neglect to highlight our unequivocal reliance on this material as a society in every aspect of our lives. I wonder how many of these plastic-free backers are willing to turn down drips, injections or pills packaged in specially-developed polymer packaging?

We all know that plastic waste is an environmental problem, but what isn’t clear to the public is how we must learn to live with it.

This is where the plastics industry needs to take up the baton. We are not in a position to eradicate plastic, but new technological advances in how plastic can be recycled and how it can be made from different sources should be shouted about.

Plastic processors have a duty to help make it easy for consumers to recycle their plastics and the environmental impact and the lifecycle of each material should be openly disclosed. The more facts we can give consumers, the more pressure brands will be under to make environmental choices and as a result, the more sustainable the industry as a whole will become. Equally, there needs to be more investment in advanced recycling systems and in the development and testing of non-petrochemical feedstock materials.

In my career, I have delivered public talks and workshops from nursery, right the way up to retirement homes. I’m an ambassador for one of the largest environmental social media campaigns for 18-30 year-olds, (see www.ladbible.com/trashisles/welcome) with plans to deliver more college and university talks later this year.

My intention in writing 'Somebody Swallowed Stanley' and creating a lesson plan for primary schools, is not just to get plastic higher up the curriculum, but to find a fun way of communicating with children, parents and teachers too. We have a duty to educate the next generation about the world they are growing into, but at the same time, children have a great ability to educate and spread the message to adults. This is a huge environmental issue that needs everyone on board.

We want to inspire future scientists, so along with product designer Drew Kendrick and members of the plastics industry, I have developed an interactive lesson plan and practical experiment to highlight the importance of the safe disposal of plastic and demonstrate different types of plastic on the market. The experiment uses characters from the book, which has been used and approved by teachers, the media and conservation groups including Surfers against Sewage and The Wildlife Trust.

I am currently looking for sponsors and partners to put 'Somebody Swallowed Stanley' and our specially-designed science lesson, into every primary and special school in UK.

Right now, the plastic industry is under a barrage of bad press and has been scapegoated by the media. If you would like to support this project and demonstrate your company's commitment to preserving the environment, please get in touch via sarah@thisiscreature.com.

A problem of this size requires collaboration from all sectors.

This article was first published on BP&R's sister title EPPM.com and is republished here with the kind permission of the Editor.