Plastic Pollution: How Schools Can Make A Difference
In recent years, young people have begun to demonstrate their awareness of environmental issues and they are at the forefront of change. Young people stand to lose the most from the effects of climate change and pollution in the coming years. Schools and their pupils must be proactive in order to educate and bring about action. The future is in our children’s hands.
The Problem
Our lifestyles and consumer-led behaviours mean that plastic products are often the most convenient for us in the moment, but the majority of these items have lasting environmental effects. The biggest contributor to the issue of plastic pollution is our use of single-use plastics as they are often non-recyclable and, therefore, ultimately end up in our oceans. According to SLO Active, “80% of all marine debris stems from land-based sources”.
Millions of tons of plastics are produced each year, with an estimated 50% being single-use. Many plastics are manufactured using a number of materials and pigments which means they are difficult to separate for recycling. Further, because of their chemical make-up, some plastics burn instead of melting making them altogether impossible to recycle. In addition, whilst many plastics can be recycled, logistics, market value, and health & safety all impact on whether organisations and authorities choose to recycle them.
When plastics are not, or cannot be recycled, they are destined for landfill or are shipped overseas for disposal or recycling. It is this process of transportation that often leads to many plastics ending up in our oceans. As well, of course, as discarded items ending up in tributaries to oceans.
Once in the ocean, plastics often remain for many years due to their durability; the very reason we favour them in the first place. The plastics that do break down often decompose into tiny plastic particles and harmful chemicals.
Large pieces of plastic are often washed up on shore where they cause havoc for wildlife. Marine life also get caught up in and injured by plastic floating in the ocean. The devastation in our oceans is most clearly seen, however, in the build-up caused when environmental systems combine to deposit plastics in stagnant ‘garbage islands’.
As expressed by SLO Active, garbage islands are “more like a plastic soup, consisting mostly of tiny bits of invisible microplastic.” Microplastics are small enough for animals to ingest, but not always small enough to digest. Marine life will often suffer from the digestion of small plastics or the harmful chemical release from digested microplastics. Animals that have digested harmful chemicals often end up in the human food chain, thus passing those harmful chemicals onto us.
The Guardian recently reported on the devastating spread of microplastics. “Microplastic pollution spans the world, according to new studies showing contamination in the UK’s lake and rivers, in groundwater in the US and along the Yangtze river in China and the coast of Spain.”
The Solution(s)
The most obvious solution is to reduce our reliance on single-use plastics. We can reduce our use personally but, even more powerfully, we can reduce use in schools, communities, and businesses.
SLO Active has produced a good starting guide of ways we can avoid using plastic every day.
Becoming a Plastic Free School
In December 2018, the education secretary, Damian Hinds, urged schools in England to be free of single-use plastics by 2022. Hinds was impressed by the Surfers Against Sewage movement and their work with a Devon primary school. Changes were made throughout Georgeham primary that has resulted in their status being awarded to them by the surfer-led charity.
There are a number of small ways that schools can reduce their single-use plastic usage. Schools working towards becoming plastic-free have:
- Switched milk product packaging (via suppliers) from cartons & plastic straws, to recyclable cartons without straws
- Swapped cling-film for aluminum foil and reusable containers in kitchens
- Replaced plastic straws with metal ones
- Reduced use of polystyrene in packaging
- Installed water stations and encouraged pupils to bring reusable bottles
- Stopped laminating
- Picked litter up in the community
- Educated their community on the effects of single-use plastics and ways to reduce usage
There are a number of organisations working with schools and children to encourage more environmentally friendly practices; here’s how you can get involved:
- Surfers Against Sewage award Plastic Free Schools Status to qualifying schools – https://www.sas.org.uk/plastic-free-schools/
- Kids Against Plastic is a charity set up “by kids for kids” and aims to raise awareness, encourage pupil participation and empower children to “believe they can make a difference”. They have educational resources and activities on their site – http://www.kidsagainstplastic.co.uk/
- The Plastic Pollution Coalition aims to “reduce plastic pollution on school campuses around the world”. They encourage participation through Education, Collaboration, Investigation, and Action – http://www.kidsagainstplastic.co.uk/
- WWF Green Ambassadors is a programme for schools that “is all about encouraging a new generation of sustainability champions” – https://www.wwf.org.uk/get-involved/schools/green-ambassadors
Simple changes in your school can have a big impact. Even if you cannot become a 100% plastic-free school, any reduction is positive. Longer lasting effects will be secured by educating pupils, parents and the wider community about the damaging effects of plastic pollution and the relatively small changes we can all make to reduce our plastic use.
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