The Bulls Head-Oswego Meeting wants to help care for our planet by sharing these recycling statistics and tips.
Approximately 400 million metric tons of plastic end up in oceans, rivers,
shorelines, and landfills. Less than 10% of plastic waste gets recycled globally (NPR Article
11/13/2023).
• 32 % of Americans recycle (2018) Environmental Protection Agency
• The US generates more plastic waste than the 28 European Union countries put
together. (LifeKit NPR 7/13/2021)
Do an Inventory of plastic use in our meeting spaces and in our homes:
• Bags – trash bags, food packaging, toilet paper and paper towels packaging.
• Condiment bottles
• Plastic wrap
• Plastic beverage bottles
• Cleaning products
• Cups and utensils
• Coffee and tea containers
• Vitamins and supplements
• Bathroom and laundry supplies
See what can be recycled:
Call or check the website of your recycling company.
• Plastic bottles, glass, paper, and metal (no bottle or jar tops).
• Plastic with a 1 or 2 is highly recyclable.
• Some stores accept bread bags, plastic bags, wrappers for paper towels and tp
Sustainable Swaps:
• Reusable water bottles
• Glasses, mugs, plates, and utensils.
• Take a mug when getting coffee at a coffee shop.
• Purchase staples in bulk and bring your own containers or bags.
• Refill your shampoo bottle or use shampoo soap.
• Use bar soap wrapped in paper rather than liquid soap.
• Dish soap in a bottle made with recycled materials (7th Generation). Refill the
bottle.
• Food, beverages, condiments and vitamins/supplements in glass containers or
paper packaging.
• Coffee and tea in bags or boxes made of paper.
• Bring your baked goods in a tin or in a container with a reusable cover.
Manage our plastic use and waste:
• Awareness of what we bring into our meeting houses and our homes.
• Processed foods are often packaged with thin films of plastic that go into landfills.
• Doing an inventory of our garbage is also helpful.
Take action:
• Tell the company why you do not use their products on the website comment
form.
• Tell friends and family about the importance of reducing their use of plastic:
A plastic bottle will stay in the environment 450 years.
Plastic is found in every marine environment and inside marine life.
Plastic hurts people’s health – the toxins and chemical byproducts of plastic producing plants in
neighborhoods affecting mostly poor people.
Support Legislation:
• Bigger Better Bottle Bill (A10184). Introduced by Steven Englebright.
Reduce packaging, eliminate toxic chemicals from packaging and pay for the cost of recycling
and disposal of the plastic. Include non-carbonated beverage bottles in bottle returns at stores.
(New York).
Resources:
● NPR: The world is awash in plastic. Oil producers want a say in how it’s cleaned up.
Micheal Copley, Julia Simon. 11/13/2023.
● LifeKit NPR, 7/13/2021. The plastic problem isn’t your fault, but you can be part of the
solution. Rebecca Davis.
● United Nations. At the UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi on 3/2/2023 a historic
resolution to have a legally binding agreement to End Plastic Pollution to “take us
towards a future with no plastic pollution” Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi, Japan’s then
environment minister.
● Fenceline Watch: an environmental justice organization based in Houston, Texas. The
organization is dedicated to eradicating toxic multigenerational harm from oil, gas and
petrochemical facilities. Yvette Arellano.
● The Recycling Partnership. A mission driven NGO committed to advancing a circular
economy by building a better recycling system. Keefe Harrison.
● Geographies of Solitude. A movie. Available on Apple TV. An immersion into the rich
ecosystem of Sable Island, guided by naturalist and environmentalist Zoe Lucas who
has lived over 40 years on this remote sliver of land in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean.
October 2nd, 2023. Updated November 13 th, 2023.