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Do you ever find yourself at the French Broad River staring at piles of plastic litter wondering what you can do to stop this?  Asheville GreenWorks and our sister page, Going Plastic Free, are here to help you make this happen! Mind Your Plastic May is a month-long campaign to inform you about the grave social and environmental harms that ensue from plastic waste and equip you with the knowledge to reduce plastic in your own life.  

All month long, we will be sharing plastic reduction tips, volunteer opportunities to address plastic waste, educational materials featuring local Asheville businesses, and much more. We aim to foster knowledge and encourage mindfulness around plastic consumption and disposal for individuals and business owners. This month, we hope you will follow us on Facebook and Instagram, where you will gain valuable knowledge about how to refuse, reduce, reuse, and recycle plastics, as well as learn about local waste reduction efforts.

Join our 
Race2Reduce and commit to decreasing your plastic usage for the entire month of May. Sign up here to join the challenge and earn points to win a $25/$50/$75 gift card to Ware!

Many thanks to the businesses and restaurants who supported this effort and are working hard to reduce their own plastic waste. #goingplasticfree

Join us in our love for the planet as we
 address and defeat our global plastic addition.
Donate now for a plastic-free future
Mind Your Plastic May is meant to encourage and challenge us in our journey to live plastic free. These posts are created by GreenWorks staff. If you've found these posts helpful and encouraging, please consider making a donation to support this work. If you have any questions, please email [email protected]

Plastic Bottles are Evil

5/17/2019

4 Comments

 
Ok, y’all, we now KNOW that plastic pollution is not an abstract threat, but rather, a threat relevant to everything alive on Earth. There’s no un-knowing what we know. Our oceans are projected to contain more plastic than fish by 2050, our seafood contains micro-plastic, our water contains micro-plastic, and the impact of plastic waste globally is impacting all systems and their functions. Friends, this is the hard truth we’re facing. But YOU care! I care! And SO many care to shift this tide – we can do it! So far this month, you’ve audited your bin, learned more about what’s actually recycled, explored the feel-good savings of shopping in Bulk, replaced plastic kitchen cleaning supplies with those more sustainable, broken up with plastic grocery bags and replaced them with reusable bags, considered alternatives to your personal products – you’ve taken these and SO many important steps in reducing single-use plastic pollution, not all of them easy. These steps require planning, researching, and a new layer of mindfulness as a consumer. CONGRATULATIONS! It feels good to do good.

Well, today’s post offers an easy tip, inviting a simple yet powerful swap that diverts plastic bottles from landfills and waterways: carry a reusable water bottle with you everywhere you go, and refuse single-use plastic-bottle consumption. Personally, I love my Hydro Flask, an insulated metal bottle that keeps beverages hot or cold, but there are countless options, even available at Goodwill or yard sales! This swap doesn’t have to cost a thing. In fact, your wallet will thank you when you begin to Refuse. ​
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According to a recent article in Forbes, “humans buy a million plastic bottles per minute. 91% of all plastic is not recycled. On top of that, it is estimated that over half a trillion plastic bottles will be sold in 2020.” Each plastic bottle we consume, made from polyethylene terephthalate (Pet), takes 500 years to naturally decompose. Unfortunately, plastic recycling is complex. Most material is transported across the globe to find markets for recycled materials. A recent Greenpeace report found six of the largest soft drinks companies, excluding Coca-Cola, use a combined average of just 6.6% recycled plastic globally. Why? New plastic is cheaper than recycled.

https://www.waecorp.com/ourgreenisblue/say-no-to-bottled-water/9
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What if water fountains were more numerous, and tap water more clearly available in cafes, restaurants and elsewhere? Before plastic and the marketing that made us think we needed bottled water in the first place, drinking fountains were an urban fixture. I’d like to see a revival! And what if, aside from times of natural or public health disaster when we have access to safe drinking water, we just refused these bottles? Our bodies would thank us, avoiding leached plastic and sugary drinks, our bank accounts would thank us, and the planet would thank us! Actress Emma Watson reminds us, “as consumers, we have so much power to change the world by just being careful in what we buy.” Or, what we DON’T buy. These days, plastic bottled beverages are at the top of my list.
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Tip: most any restaurant/café you pass will refill your water bottle if you ask nicely. And, if there’s a water spigot with single-use plastic cups beside it and you don’t have your own water bottle with you that day, just ask for a “for here” cup and they will gladly help you out, diverting one more item from its near-eternity as trash.​

For more on plastic bottles, check out this video, "The Story of Bottled Water" with Annie Leonard and The Story of Stuff.
Sincerely,
​Hilary Drake, Founder
Mind Your Plastic

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4 Comments
Suhana Morgan link
9/19/2019 02:40:52 am

Thanks for your infographic tutorial. Really here are you reflect the difference between bottle and boil water. I think boil water is perfect for leading a healthy life.

Reply
Marilyn Taplin link
11/17/2020 05:40:58 pm

I completely agree with what you have written. I hope this post could reach more people as this was truly an interesting post.

Reply
Grace M. link
2/23/2022 10:20:24 pm


I wanted to say thanks for the article you posted. I know how much of a hassle it is when we can't find what we're looking for so quickly. It's great that you made this information available and I'm sure other people appreciated it too!

Reply
Kedance J.
3/30/2022 09:45:22 am

Thank you. you are helping me with my assignment

Reply



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​Asheville GreenWorks is a 501(c)3 non-profit environmental organization, governed by a Board of Directors. Established in 1973, GreenWorks mission is to inspire, equip and mobilize individuals and communities to take care of the places we love to live.
  • Pollination Celebration
  • Donate
  • Hard 2 Recycle
  • Get Involved
    • Internships
    • Sponsorship
    • Volunteer
    • Wish List
    • Youth Environmental Leadership Program >
      • YELP Staff & Alumni
      • How to Apply
  • Programs
    • Bee City USA Asheville >
      • Native Pollinator Plants and Nurseries
      • Pollinator Garden Certification
      • Pollinator Gardens & Meadows Project
    • Education
    • Urban Forestry >
      • Cool Green Asheville
      • Food Tree Project
      • RRI
      • Tree Nursery
      • Treasured Trees >
        • Treasured Trees Calendar
    • Rivers & Roads >
      • Adopt-a-Street
      • Clean Streams Day
      • Cleanup Supply Stations
      • Trash Trout
    • Waste Reduction >
      • Asheville Bag Monster
      • Composting Information
      • Flip Your Lid
      • Plastics Reduction Task Force
      • Recycling Information
  • Upcoming Events
  • About
    • Job Openings
    • History
    • Staff/ Contact
  • Newsletter
  • Blog Roll
    • Latest News
    • Mind Your Plastic May
    • Protect our Pollinators
    • Voice for the Trees