Plastic Pollution

Hold Manufacturers Responsible for Non Recyclable packaging

Contact companies and businesses that sell products in non recyclable packages and urge them to switch to compostable or paper bags/containers. Write legislators and urge them to pass bills holding manufacturers accountable for their plastic waste (Maine and Oregon just passed such laws).

Update Sept. 2, 2021:

Please read the following article about Terracycle, a company that greenwashes corporation's attempt to do nothing about the plastic they create (Thanks to Rose Shank for info).

Clean up around your neighborhoods

Hold Manufacturers Responsible for Non Recyclable packaging

Going for a walk around the block? Grab your trash grabber or wear gloves to pick up trash in gutters and especially at drainage sites where plastic pieces often gather before they flow down into streams, rivers, and ultimately, the ocean. Participate in local creek and beach clean-ups. It's sad how much plastic is in our waterways and oceans.

Make informed Choices

Hold Manufacturers Responsible for Non Recyclable packaging

Make informed Choices

Choose sustainably sourced products that do not contain plastic such as wood, cotton, bamboo, etc. See the fabric list below-left for more information. Limit the amount of meat you eat by including plant based protein alternatives. Become a living example of how to live well.

A word of caution:

Please consider non-animal sourced alternatives. Please consider not buying items and clothing made from leather, wool, fur, and feathers. Thank you!!

Microplastics, Fabrics, and Resources

Fabrics that Release And Do Not Release Microplastics - Thanks to @ReduceWasteNow

Releases Microplastics:

Polyester

Nylon (aka Polyamide)

Acrylic

Fleece

Microfleece

Spandex

Acetate

Do NOT Release Microplastics:

Cotton

Flax

Hemp

Jute

Linen

Ramie

Sisal

Kenaf

I've had to stop myself before purchasing any new item such as clothing, bedding, furniture, kitchen towels, etc. I check what it is made of and often reconsider if I can reuse/recreate what I already have or live without it.

Items You May Not Know Contain Plastic - Thanks to @ReduceWasteNow

Fabrics that Release And Do Not Release Microplastics - Thanks to @ReduceWasteNow

Chewing gum

Bottled Water

Receipt Paper

Sea Salt (My comment: from the ocean)

Glittery Eyeshadow

Band-Aids

Nail Polish

I'm adding:

Microplastics are found in fish and in gray water from washing clothes that are made from plastic

I'm sure there's a lot more, but the point is that we need to be vigilant and aware that plastic pollution is often unseen and therefore unrecognized as a serious threat to our health and the health of other creatures as well as our planet.

Recommended Websites and Instagram Sites

Fabrics that Release And Do Not Release Microplastics - Thanks to @ReduceWasteNow

Alternative paints that are Earth-friendly!

The following are helpful sites to learn more what you can do to help stop plastic pollution.

Plastic Pollution Coalition

Free the Ocean

Surf Rider Foundation

Zero Waste (Portland, OR)

The Earthling Company

Instagram sites:

@threads4thought

@ecofootprintearth

@NetZeroCo.

@eco.alts.store

@PlasticFreeJuly

@TheZeroWasteGuide

@SayNoToPlastics

@EcofootprintEarth

@MyEarthBreeze

@ReduceWasteNow

Alternative paints that are Earth-friendly!

Please consider not using acrylic paints. Check the ingredients of your art materials and look into alternatives such as:

Beam Paints

Natural Earth Paint

And when considering

house paints:

The Good Trade

Here's an article by artist Terri Hughs-Oelrich (September 2021) regarding her plastic cap art project and about single-use plastics.

See "Art Fun with Plastic Caps" Below!

Plastic Straws: the Nightmare

Alternative paints that are Earth-friendly!

Plastic Straws: the Nightmare

How many videos and photos have I seen showing plastic straws endangering wildlife and how many plastic straws have my husband and I picked up by drainage ditches?

Too many, I am sad to say.

Please go to:

See Turtles

for a program about what you can do about plastic pollution in our oceans that is killing sea turtles and many other sea animals.

There are many alternatives for plastic straws!

There are paper, bamboo, and metal straws available at many outlets. Please visit:

The Last Plastic Straw

The website above will give you information and provide you with very useful forms you can print and take with you to share with businesses.

One addition to the ongoing nightmare, for me, are toothbrushes. Every toothbrush you have ever thrown away still exists. Please contact your dentist and request they offer alternative brushes like bamboo. And try Brush with Bamboo toothbrushes!

Brush with Bamboo

Whole Foods and New Seasons stores, for example, have other brand bamboo toothbrushes, too.

The Truth about Recycling

Alternative paints that are Earth-friendly!

Plastic Straws: the Nightmare

Below are charts from

Science News Magazine

January 30, 2021

that explains recycling symbols.

We've all been led to believe that if we put things in the recycling bins and it has a triangle with some number in it, it will be recycled.

Think again.

Recycling centers are overwhelmed with too many things to recycle and not having updated technology to deal with the problem. @PlasticPollutes: I read that "64.3% of all plastic cannot be recycled in the current system." Thanks to my friend Rose Shank for the information.

The bottom line is:

REDUCE

REUSE or

REPURPOSE

RECYCLE

DISPOSE

Urge your legislators to sponsor bills that update current recycling systems to meet the challenges and needs we have today, while also educating people how to reduce the burden on an overwhelmed system by making sustainable choices.

Here are two great sites, Thanks to Liam Williams from Troop 218 for the information!!

For Tire Disposal in Every State and

How to Get Rid of Everyday Household Items, please click on the underlined titles.

Thanks to Martha from Texas for the additional helpful sites regarding recycling information!!

Earth 911

WhatTheyThink

If you find any up to date articles, websites, and resources about recycling, please contact me via my "Contact Me" tab so I can share your information!!

Thank you!!!

Summer, 2021

Summer 2021

Dressed to Kill: The hidden plastic in our clothing and What you can do about it.

Marianne Bickett, artist

Sherwood Center for the Arts "Those Who Teach" Art Exhibit

August 3 - October 4, 2021

A Video of the dress was featured on Instagram through @WoArtBlog in "My Story", a New York based Art Gallery.

Art as Process:

Although many years ago I created a simple vest out of non-recyclable plastics for an elementary art unit on repurposing plastic for art, this was my first attempt to create something more sophisticated.

The problem of plastic pollution is far underrated and one of unseen damage. We don’t see the plastic in our food, but if you eat fish, it is most likely present. Microplastics are microscopic pieces of plastic that is in our water and soil…and in our clothing. When you wash clothing that is made from, for example, polyester, microplastics leak into the gray water when rinsing. I was horrified last year when I realized polyester is plastic. Now, when I purchase clothing, bedding, kitchen towels, etc, I always check to see what it made of, and I do not buy anything made with plastic. We need to make tough choices that are not easy and can lead us to rethinking the way we consume food and products. Something has to give. Clothing cannot be recycled and ends up, ultimately, in landfills. It can be reused and repurposed, though.

Art Fun with Plastic Caps

My goal is to keep as much plastic out of landfills as possible. Plastic bottle caps are not recyclable, no matter what they say. Most recycling centers are not equipped to deal with them as they scatter and clog machines and pose a hazard to workers. So, save those caps! You can help Mother Nature by:

You and your children, students, or grandchildren can enjoy making all kinds of sculptures and designs with them. They can be temporary where you can reuse them over and over like legos or you can glue them on a surface to make a permanent relief sculpture.

Also, use them to make colorful prints!! Jaxon, age 3, making a plastic top print.

And, those caps that have a hinge, why they make great mobiles that create interesting sounds!

Fill larger caps with water and place in your garden for butterflies, bees, and birds to take thirsty sips! These are only a few ideas. Look under "Art Gallery" to see the plastic dress I created and please visit the tab "Plastic Pollution" for a plethora of information and resources, thank you!!!

Be sure to keep scrolling! There is a great deal of information, Thank you!!