But plastic itself is not the underlying problem. Our exploitation of this material is the real issue. We manufacture something that is near indestructible but often employ it to be used just once. Once! On top of that, separation and sorting have become minefields. This is because there are so many types of plastic which is often mixed with or physically attached to other types of material. Think of strawberry punnets with plastic film lids or yogurt pots with card labels glued and wrapped around them.
Communities around the world are bogged down by this omnipresent material yet there seems little incentive for change. The scariest bit is that, in most cases, the cost of collection and recycling of this at times nightmarish material is not put on those who produce the stuff. That cost goes to, wait for it, YOU. You the consumer (via taxes), you the business owner (via waste charges).
Consider what might happen if producers instead footed most of that bill for collection, sorting and recycling. Or let’s shoot for the stars and dream up the scenario where they paid for the whole headache. Do you know what would happen? Well they’d probably look at their bottom line and think, this is getting expensive! They might actually find a way to overcome the cost by redesigning their packaging so that it can either be composted or easily and cheaply dealt with by local authorities.
Green Salon Collective has compiled a number of solutions to help your salon minimise its plastic waste and we also offer some services to help you with responsible disposal. Read our articles:
This article was written for Green Salon Collective by MeetthefiveRs
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References and further reading
MeetthefiveRs’ article, Plastic is not the enemy and paper is not necessarily the solution
Floyd Glass & Window’s YouTube video, How glass is made
The Guardian article, War on plastic waste faces setback as cost of recycled material soars
The BBC article, Plastic or paper: Which bag is greener?
Stanford University’s article, Frequently Asked Questions: Benefits of Recycling
Glass Packaging Institute’s article, Glass Recycling Facts
Waste 4 Change’s article, 7 Types of plastic that you need to know
Pebble Magazine’s article, Plastic Free Shopping: 102 Of The UK's Best Zero Waste Stores
RE-COMB website
Singular Mars website
First Mile website
Recycle Now website
Bleach London website
OWAY website
Cover photo by Brian Yurasits on Unsplash