Plastic pollution doesn’t just threaten sea turtles and marine mammals – human health is at risk as well.

That was the message Thursday evening from a panel of environmental activists and government officials who spoke at the Rocky River Public Library.   The discussion was sponsored by the League of Women Voters and the Bay Village and Rocky River Green Teams.

Panelists were Cheryl Johncox of the Sierra Club Ohio; Cuyahoga County District 11 councilwoman Sunny Simon; Sarah Damon from Surfrider Foundation; Sarah Mathews from Rumpke Waste; and Cristie Snyder from the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District.

Panelist discussed a number of issues related to plastic pollution, including growing health concerns, the role of fracking in plastic manufacturing, recycling, and House Bill 242. They urged attendees to become informed, take the problem seriously, take individual steps to reduce their use of plastic – especially single use plastic – and push legislators to enact policies that reduce plastic pollution.

Health impacts

Problems with plastic are magnified by a crucial characteristic: it never goes away. Except for the tiny fraction of plastic that has been incinerated, all of the plastic that has ever been produced remains in landfills or in the environment. Over time, plastic in the environment breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces, but it never breaks down chemically. These tiny particles are now found everywhere, from Antarctica, where they have been deposited by the wind, to your drinking water, to your bloodstream.

Plastic particles have even been found in human umbilical blood, said Johncox. “It is in all of our bodies right now.”

The health effects of long-term exposure to ingested plastic particles are still being studied, but Johncox said that we already know enough to be concerned about the plastic loading in the environment. “The science is not new on plastics,” she said. “It has been coming out of Europe for thirty years.”

In the United States, however, the petrochemical industry and their lobbyists have suppressed research into plastic’s effect on human health, added Johncox.

Still, it is widely known that elements of plastic act as endocrine disruptors, interfering with many of the bodies’ essential processes, said Johncox. These toxins affect human development, she added. Infants, people with chronic diseases, and the elderly are especially vulnerable.

It is worth noting, said Johncox, that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents not give children food or drink from plastic containers whenever possible.

We Are Using More and More

While awareness of the dangers of plastic has been growing in recent years, the plastic industry has ramped up production.  “Fifty percent of the plastic in the world today has been produced since 2013,” said Johncox.

While there are several reasons for the surge in plastic production, a key factor has been the growing use of fracking – hydraulic fracturing – as means of drilling for gas.

“A side product of the fracking process is feedstock for plastic production,” said Johncox.

Fracking yields significant amounts of ethane, which can be converted, or ‘cracked,’ to create ethylene, a key component of many types of plastic. The growing availability of inexpensive ethane has boosted plastic production and is sparking construction of new cracking facilities. Many of these facilities are planned or are under construction in Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, states where fracking is concentrated.

Recycling

Recycling is helpful process, but it is very far from the solution to plastic pollution, said panel members.

Plastic recycling rates are low, currently less than 10 percent of the plastic used in the United States is recycled. For plastic bags, the numbers are even worse. “Only one or two percent of people recycle their bags,” said Simon.

In the past two years there has been a major change in the world markets for recycled material.  Most notably, China has stopped taking recycled material from the United States. Sarah Mathews, of Rumpke Waste, said recycling is going through an especially difficult time, as the lack of markets restricts the material that they can sell. “End users determine which products can be recycled,” said Mathews.

As a result, cities across the country – including communities in Greater Cleveland – have limited the types of plastic they can accept in their curbside recycling programs.  Generally, in Greater Cleveland, the only types of plastic that are accepted are bottles and jugs. All other plastic ends up in a landfill or out in the environment.

But Rumpke remains committed to recycling as an industry.  “We are continuing to make investments on our recycling facilities,” Mathews said.

Plastic recycling is a last resort, said Johncox. “Our first choice should be to reduce – ask yourself, ‘do I really need this?’ If you can’t reduce, then reuse it. If you can’t reduce or reuse it, recycle.”

Mathews said recycling issues include contamination and wishcycling.

Contamination is a huge problem for recycling facilities, said Mathews. Reduces the value of other material, threatens the safety of recycling works, and damages recycling equipment.

Wishcycling is the practice of tossing non-recyclables into the recycling bin because you want them to be recycled, regardless of whether they actually will be recycled. Mixing recyclables and non-recyclables in recycling bins contaminates the contents of the bin, and often leads to landfilling of otherwise recyclable material, said Snyder.

“You can’t throw everything in the recycling bin and expect someone else to straighten it out,” said Snyder. “That only causes more problems.”

And even when plastic is recycled, it is not truly recycled the way aluminum, steel, or glass can be.  Plastic from bottles and jugs that is collected for recycling is not used to make new bottles or jugs. Instead, it used to create other plastic products, like park benches or playground mats. This is known as ‘downcycling,’ and while it reduces the amount of new plastic being produced, it doesn’t really remove the plastic from the environment. Eventually those benches and mats will break down and begin to leach tiny particles into the environment. By downcycling we have just delayed the process.  Far better not to produce those plastic bottles in the first place.

Bag Ban / HB 242

The potential harm and the low rate at which bags are recycled prompted Councilwoman Simon to sponsor a county ordinance that will prohibit retailers from providing plastic bags. the ordinance passed earlier this year and will take effect on January 21, 2021.

But Ohio state legislators are currently considering a bill – HB 242 – that would prevent local communities, like Cuyahoga County, from banning or taxing single-use plastic bags or other containers. The bill could pass Ohio’s Republican-controlled House and Senate before the end of this year and if it does it would prevent Cuyahoga County’s bag ban from taking effect. Sunny Simon warned that the impact of HB242, if it passes, will be “irreversible.”

HB 242 is part of a nationwide effort by the plastic industry to pre-empt regulation of plastic bags or other products, said Sarah Damron, of the Surfrider Foundation. Fifteen states already have pre-emptive laws on the books.

Many of these laws – including Ohio’s – were prepared with the assistance of the Progressive Bag Alliance, a plastics industry lobbying group that is fighting efforts to regulate plastic across the United States, said Damron. On its website, the Alliance describes itself as “The frontline defense against plastic bag bans and taxes nationwide.”

Simon said that she knew the pre-emption effort was coming, even as she worked to pass the county ban. Even if state law prevents implementation of the county’s bag ban, she said, passing the ban was worth it. “Raising awareness and consciousness about the issue is valuable, whether we get pre-empted or not.”

The county plans to conduct a public education campaign to inform consumers of the ban and explain the importance of the action. The goal of the ban, she said, is to change consumer behavior. “As consumers, we should reject plastic bags, straws, and other single-use plastic.”

If HB 242 becomes law, said Simon, the county will challenge the law in court, arguing that the law unconstitutionally interferes with the home rule powers of local communities.

What can people do?

The panel agreed that reducing the harm from plastic in the environment will require public awareness; changes to consumer behavior; and some forms of regulation, including bans, fees, and producer responsibility laws.

But Individuals don’t need to wait for government or industry to respond. Consumer pressure is one of the key drivers leading manufacturers to reduce packaging waste, said Damron, and continued consumer pressure can accelerate change. Individuals can stimulate change by:

• Refusing to accept single-use plastic packaging.
• Reducing and reusing products and packaging whenever possible. 
• Recycling properly to reduce contamination in the recycling stream.
• Opposing HB 242 – contact your state legislators and make your views known.
• Learn about plastics and share your information with others.

“We can all make a difference,” said Mathews.

August 30, 2019