WHY PLASTIC SHOULD BE AVOIDED

How much single-use plastic packaging did you throw "away" today?

I was amazed to learn that the "chasing arrows" seen on the bottom of many plastic items does NOT indicate that the material is recyclable.  That number is placed on the item by the manufacturer to indicate the type of plastic used.  According to the plastics industry, those arrows were added  as a "catchy graphic" to frame the numerical code and were “never intended” to indicate that a container was recyclable or had recycled content.

On Maui, only some of type 2 plastic (milk bottles and laundry soap type bottles) can be remade into a usable product (plastic lumber). All the other plastic types require shipment off-island and usually the bulk of it ends up in someone else's landfill.

In addition to the sheer bulk that single-use plastic packaging generates for our landfill, the manufacture and disposal of plastics creates toxins that persist in our environment.  According to the EPA's 1994 Toxic Release Inventory, the plastics industry annually contributes 14% of the national total of toxic releases to the atmosphere.

Our waste stream on Maui is about 25% plastic by volume, according to a 1994 County of Maui study.  This is creating a legacy of toxins for future generations here on the Valley Isle.

Just say NO to single use plastic packaging.  You do have a choice.  You can choose glass and aluminum over plastic.  Vote with your dollars for our community's health.

There is no such place as "away."

Bob Armantrout