Sustainable Switches

“Be diligent in serving the poor. Love the poor, honor them, my children, as you would honor Christ Himself.”

St. Louise de Marillac

By Katelyn Rieder, Communications co-op

The theme for this year’s Earth Day (April 22) is “Planet vs. Plastics,” as announced by earthday.org. This comes as a result of more awareness on how harmful plastics can be to the environment and to our long-term health.

Plastics don’t have the ability to break down over time, so they remain in our environment for years after disposal. Things like bottles, straws, and more products have flooded our oceans and rivers, causing detrimental damage to marine life. For example, smaller pieces of plastics can be mistaken for food by sea creatures, resulting in ingestion and then various internal injuries.

Disposed plastics instead break up into smaller pieces of itself (microplastics), and filter into our world just about everywhere. Microplastics can be practically invisible to the naked eye, so it’s near-impossible to do anything to remove them from our environment.

The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in an article, “Single-Use Plastics 101,” provides some alarming statistics about the state of plastics in our world:

3 billion metric tons of plastics have been produced since the 1950s, and half of that in the past 15 years alone.
91 percent of all plastic isn’t recycled at all. Instead it ends up in landfills or in the environment.
Just 10 rivers carry 93 percent of the world’s total amount of plastic that enters the oceans via rivers each year.
Recent studies found plastic in the guts of 90 percent of the seabirds tested and 100 percent of the turtles.
Alarmingly, scientists estimate that there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by weight in 2050.

While the situation is grim, we can still take preventative action against the dangers of plastics.

To protect the future of ourselves and our planet, here are a few physical and mental switches we can make every day:

Instead of buying single-use plastics, use reusable products.

Whether it’s a tote bag for grocery shopping, an insulated water bottle, or just a simple metal straw, reusable products are a great way to make a small difference every day. With the rise of the climate crisis, there are more and more sustainable swaps becoming available for purchase. For more detailed recommendations, check out our Eco-Friendly Gift-Giving article.

Instead of shopping online, try to shop in-person.

Even though it’s incredibly convenient, make an effort to do your shopping in-person when possible. Often the environmental cost of shipping products long distances and packaging greatly outweighs the cost of driving to a store. Just think about the last product you bought online—how much packaging did it come with that you threw away?

If it is necessary to shop online, try to look for companies with some sort of sustainable shipping or minimal packaging option. As the climate crisis continues, more and more corporations are integrating better environmental policies; you may be surprised just how many businesses are providing more sustainable options.

Instead of being passive, speak up for better environmental policies.

The only way we can accomplish change is by voicing our opinions. Write or call your government representatives and urge them to vote on climate policies. Attend rallies and peaceful protests that align with your beliefs. Use social media accounts to share climate news or calls to action. Join environmental organizations or groups. Anything is better than nothing.

Instead of moving on, continue learning about our environment.

Earth Day is incredibly important for more of us to become aware of the Earth’s status, but it’s also important that we don’t just move on after the day is over. We should take all the information we learn this Earth Day and continue to apply it every day. Utilizing the swaps we have mentioned so far are great starting places for being more environmentally conscious, but it’s also important to continue learning beyond just our resources.

Regardless of your involvement this Earth Day, we hope that these sustainable switches have made you think deeper about our impact on the planet. If you wish to know more about how the crisis developed, we encourage you to visit our references linked below. These (and many more resources) are essential to educating others on plastics, climate change, and more.

We hope you have a happy Earth Day!

References“Planet vs. Plastics.” Earthday.org. 2024. https://www.earthday.org/planet-vs-plastics/Lindwall, Courtney. “Single-Use Plastics 101.” NRDC. January 9, 2020. https://www.nrdc.org/stories/single-use-plastics-101#what.

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