"Reduce, Reuse, Recycle." I am sure you have heard this phrase several times throughout your life. Many people tend to attempt to abide by the rules to reuse and recycle, but in general, it is common for the "reduce" step to go over people's heads. Redusing can be made easy. The smallest act of purchasing a sustainable water bottle is already making more of an impact than you think. Plastic pollution is growing exponentially. Since 1950, global plastic production has risen 150-fold to 350 million metric tons, with packaging accounting for 40% of total use. Eight out of ten voters nationwide support municipal, state, and federal initiatives to limit single-use plastics, which make up half of all plastics produced, according to a recent national poll by the nonprofit organization Oceana. Reducing the plastics used is how we can face this problem head on. Repositioning minimization as a top priority is necessary. We must pass laws requiring a decrease in the number of single-use plastic items that begin as extracted fossil fuels and are processed into packaging and products at polluting plants located in our vulnerable communities. Reducing the weight of plastics in our packaging, products, and foodware is not enough. Reducing plastics used across the globe starts with change in policy, and change in policy starts with you.
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