How Can We Be Plastic-Free, Beyond July? Look Into Beyond Plastics!
By Ruth Ann Smalley
If you’re like me and tried to be extra conscious about single-use plastics for Plastic-Free July, you are likely to have had several frustrating but enlightening moments.
For me, these happened when I hadn’t planned ahead or done enough homework-–like the time we landed in a convenience store right after a super sweaty rail-trail bike ride. No plastic-free water, seltzer or tea in sight, and we had polished off the contents of our own water bottles.
Then there was the week when I tracked down a second-hand linen dress from Poshmark, in just the brand I wanted. Only to realize when it arrived: the “sparkles” were all created by countless tiny plastic sequins all over the front of the dress! But really, even if you do your due diligence, it is awfully hard to avoid plastic and the rogues gallery of chemicals in plastic-–some 16,000 or so of them!
Those were annoying incidents, for sure. But an enlightening moment came when I read this article by Sharon Lerner, seasoned environmental journalist, about the experience of chemist Kris Hansen when she made unwelcome discoveries in her research for 3M: How 3M Execs Convinced a Scientist the Forever Chemicals She Found in Human Blood Were Safe — ProPublica The piece is compelling and nuanced, and helped me feel motivated to stay on course. Lerner gives readers insight not only into the problem of PFOS/PFAS, but also the corporate culture—their “playbook,” as Hansen calls it—which has made it so much harder to prevent the continued release of these chemicals into the environment. The story of how Hansen first reached out to Sharon Lerner to cover her experience is fascinating as well.
That’s why I was excited to see that Judith Enck, of Beyond Plastics, had recently put together a webinar featuring Lerner and Hansen. I highly recommend you check out the replay here and share it with others.
It’s a one hour interview that packs a lot of punch. The three women discussed how and why these are not only “Forever Chemicals,” but also “Everywhere Chemicals.” They don’t occur in nature, and nature doesn’t break them down. They bioaccumulate. They constitute a huge family with about 10,000 members. Moreover, they continue to be in use, in items as common as cookware, guitar strings, dental floss, and even hand sanitizer, to name a few. They are also in our watersheds and in our bloodstreams.
Basically, these toxic substances are just on the loose. In an incident in 2021 that actually helped prompt Hansen to contact Lerner, John Oliver focused on them, declaring that “the world is covered in devil’s piss” (PFAS: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)). Their use is so prolific in manufacturing that Hansen noted that “sometimes the corporation doesn’t even know what fluorochemicals are in their products.” In response to the question of why they are still produced, Lerner had a short answer: “Because no one has stopped them.”
People are trying to stop them, however, and that’s the hopeful message to come out of this conversation. Judith Enck pointed out that the Packaging Reduction bill, that has yet to pass in New York state, would reduce plastic packaging and “ban 18 chemicals and the entire PFAS family.” That’s big. According to Enck, “progress is slow, but things are moving in the right direction.”
If you would like to know more, or get involved, visit this site for important resources and information. Enck is also offering a fall virtual class, through Bennington College.
I’ve signed up to audit the course; I strongly agree with Hansen that “we need to be aware that what happened at 3M was not unique,” and we need to “be working with our elected leaders to stop this from happening again, and again, and again.” Stay tuned for more updates!