Plastic - Is it really so bad?
Plastic is everywhere, and in almost everything. Is plastic really all that bad? Perhaps a better question is; is all the plastic we use today necessary? To answer that question, let's look at one industry that uses HUGE amounts of plastic every day.
Doctors, and medical staff use personal protective equipment (PPE) every day for protection and although there may be some alternatives, plastic and plastic derivatives are almost indispensable to their daily jobs. Can we really say that medical staff should not be using plastic? Of course not!
Medical staff may need plastic in order to do their jobs, and a lot of it in order to keep themselves and us safe and healthy, but what about other industries? Does the food industry always need to use plastic to cover and contain food? Are there alternatives to plastic for food storage?
Do we need to store our food, snacks, vegetables in plastic bags? What about if there was a better alternative? Before even considering an alternative, let's discuss plastic bags...
Some plastic bag facts...
Plastic bags start out as fossil fuels and end up as deadly waste in landfills and the ocean. Birds often mistake shredded plastic bags for food, filling their stomachs with toxic debris. For hungry sea turtles, it's nearly impossible to distinguish between jellyfish and floating plastic shopping bags. Fish eat thousands of tons of plastic a year, transferring it up the food chain to bigger fish and marine mammals. Microplastics are also consumed by people through food and in the air.
"It’s estimated that globally, people consume the equivalent of a credit card of plastic every week, and it’s expected that there will be more plastic than fish in the sea by 2050." www.biologicaldiversity.org
Up to 80% of ocean plastic pollution enters the ocean from the land.
The average family only recycles 15 bags per year, the rest end up in landfills as litter
Plastic bags are used for an average of 12 minutes
At least 267 species of marine life have been affected by plastic pollution in the ocean, and approximately 100,000 marine animals are killed by plastic bags annually
Every beeswax wrap can save up to 75 meters (82 yards) of plastic wrap going into landfill or ocean, per year. www.biologicaldiversity.org
What can WE do?
Boho Bee Company believes strongly that we CAN make a difference to our environment, and our own bodies by taking even one small step towards using less plastic. By not throwing away one plastic bag into the landfill or the ocean, we are making an actual difference. It is a 1:1 ratio. For every plastic bag not used, you are potentially saving one animal's life, and that bag will not break down into microplastics that will be ingested by fish or marine animals, and in turn, eventually us. We do NOT need to be eating a credit card worth of plastic every single week!
At Boho Bee Company, we think of ourselves as not anti-plastic, but beyond plastic (whenever possible). Moving away from putting plastic in, on , around, or near our foods is just one way we can reduce the microplastics from going into our bodies. Beeswax wraps are an excellent alternative to single use plastic wraps and bags for our foods. Our food storage options (both bags and flat wraps), have lots of benefits to offer. Not only are they environmentally sound - as a zero waste product, they are also great for keeping food fresh (thank you bees!!), and they do not have any plastic components, so they do not break down into those dreaded microplastics.
How are Boho Bee wax wraps eco-friendly?
They are washable, reusable, and "refreshable", and can last for up to two years
They are made with 100% natural products
They are biodegradable and compostable
They are a zero-waste product
They are plastic free and therefore they do not produce any microplastics
They do not harm animals on land or in the oceans
They do not contribute to the sea of garbage in the ocean
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