Plastic bottles and packaging are the most dangerous threat to our environment. Manufacturers should choose to use glass rather than plastic as it is recycled more easily and is also re-used more easily. If you take a walk down Melkbosstrand beach you will find thousands of plastic products including bottles and packaging that have been dumped into the ocean, and are purchased at shops around the corner from you and I. Suppliers choose plastic because it is cheaper and lighter in storage. In fact, it is a death sentence for our ocean life, and to the bio-diversity of the entire planet. It doesn’t matter what quality plastic you buy, and how low the prices are, the bottom line is that we’ll never be able to see the environmental costs until it is too late.
The problem with plastic bottles and packaging is that they are not naturally biodegradable. In fact, there are great sea trenches that are filled with so much plastic, that the fish have now begun to show plastic in their cells and make-up. Manufacturers are also damaging our planet in another way, because of the high carbon costs in making plastic due to the reliance on petrol. Suppliers choose plastic because it does not break easily, and thus may seem to be superior quality to glass or metal. This is not the case. Our environment is not disposable, and until everyone takes responsibility for their effects on it, we will not be able to stop this scourge.
Yes, there are some plastics that are recyclable, and recycling facilities are becoming more easily accessible, but plastic is not re-usable. Glass is perfect because it can simply be washed and re-used without too much trouble. Glass is easily recyclable, and it is as durable as any plastic. It’s time to encourage manufacturers, suppliers and shops to make the move away from plastic to a more sustainable future; a future without plastic bottles and packaging.