We’ve all been guilty of using plastic bottles, lugging home our take-out in plastic containers, and even purchasing plastic items like toys or baby bottles for our children, but as research has proven, plastic is an absolute nightmare for the environment, and your health. It’s time to break up with plastic. Here’s why:
Plastic Can Take Thousands of Years to Break Down
A single plastic bottle can take 450 to 1000 years to break down in the environment. Imagine what your body does when absorbing plastic fumes or particles? 90 percent of plastic bottles are not recycled, either, so that single-use bottle ends up clogging our rivers, oceans, and streams, choking wildlife, and ruining habitats for animals large and small.
Plastic Leaches into Your Food
The plastic that is used to keep your food fresh, or to help you transport it from a restaurant or grocery store into your home leaches into your food. Even plastics that are advertised as “BPA free” mimic the hormones in your body to cause health problems. They disrupt the endocrine system – the part of your body responsible for regulating hormones.
The plastic problem has become so pervasive, that some researchers believe it is causing birth defects, miscarriages, and the malformation of animal and human species.
Plastic Morphs into Dangerous Chemicals
UV light and the salt in seawater cause microscopic particles of plastic to emit toxic chemicals such as PCBs and DDT.
DDT was used as a pesticide in the 1950s, but was later banned in several countries because it was causing cancer, liver tumors, birth defects, and reproductive health failure.
PCBs, also known as polychlorinated biphenyls, are cancer-causing, neurotoxic, and lead to the malfunction of the thyroid gland, among other problems.
There are additional health-damaging effect of plastic, yet this invasive product has taken over our world. What can you do instead of using plastic?
Try to shop from bulk-food stores using your own glass, or non-plastic containers. When you go shopping, use a re-usable fabric bag, and find a cup or mug that can be refilled again and again, instead of using single-use plastic bottles. Some retailers are also using plastic-alternatives, like hemp or plant fibers to make food containers and cups. If they do, recommend them to your friends, and be sure to thank them for looking out for your health!
These small changes can add up, and decrease the amount of plastic you re exposed to, while also helping to clean up the environment.
Author:
Christina L Sarich
She is an experienced and lascivious linguist of the English dialect (American English). She has written over a million words for online health and wellness related forums, blogs, and magazines. She has been featured on sites like Natural Society and InfoWars. She has also been a staff writer for numerous sites, including NationofChange, WakingTimes, MindUnleashed, UndergroundReporter, and NaturalSociety.
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