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Open Your Eyes to the Dangers of Plastic

Open Your Eyes to the Dangers of Plastic

Food Wrap (or cling film) is one of the most common household throwaway items. It can be made from a variety of plastics, however the original and most popular material is polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Research proves how this plastic is damaging human health but it is also a single-use product, meaning it is ending up in landfills and in our oceans where it is causing harm to the environment and nature.

 

Harmful to Human Health

Plastic is made up of chemicals. Toxic chemicals leach out of plastic and are found in the blood and tissue of nearly all of us. Exposure to them is linked to cancers, birth defects, impaired immunity, endocrine disruption and other ailments. Concern over the leaching of these chemicals into the natural environment and transference of them into our food and drink, has occupied scientists for decades. This worry has led to the recent popularity of ‘BPA-free’ plastics for food and drink storage. Although better, these are not failsafe. “New evidence suggests that heat makes chemicals in plastic storage boxes and bottles leach into food and drink: two major reports last year linked 175 compounds to health problems connected to cancers, fertility and foetal development.” “Even Cancer Research UK, which had so far been sceptical, is now warning that cling film should not be allowed to touch the food it is covering during microwaving.” (Source: Forge Recycling - Ditch Cling Film).

Like other non-recyclables, plastic food wrap ends up on landfill at best, and as litter on land and in the sea at worst. On landfill it will sit and possibly leach its chemicals for years, not degrading, and elsewhere it will do the same, whilst also being a risk to wildlife or fish who may get caught up in it or eat it.

 

Detrimental to the Environment

Plastic never goes away. Plastic cannot biodegrade; it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces (microplastics).

Plastic spoils our groundwater. There are tens of thousands of landfills in the world. Buried beneath each one of them, toxic chemicals from plastics drain out and seep into groundwater, flowing downstream into lakes and rivers.

Plastic threatens wildlife. Wildlife become entangled in plastic, they eat it or mistake it for food and feed it to their young, and it is found littered in even extremely remote areas of the Earth. In our oceans alone, plastic debris outweighs zooplankton by a ratio of 36-to-1.

Plastic poisons our food chain. Even plankton, the tiniest creatures in our oceans, are eating microplastics and absorbing their hazardous chemicals. The tiny, broken down pieces of plastic are displacing the algae needed to sustain larger sea life who feed on them.

Plastic piles up in the environment. Only a small percentage is recycled. The rest ends up in landfills, is burnt or becomes litter. More than 5 trillion plastic pieces weighing over 250,000 tons are afloat at sea. 

 

Jeff Bridges is an ambassador of the Plastic Pollution Coalition. He has made a very poignant video on the dangers of our plastic usage. You only need to watch the first 2 minutes for a jaw-dropping education. The remainder of the Open Your Eyes video introduces the Plastic Pollution Coalition and their mission. 

 

Keep Food Alive with abeego Food Wrap 

abeego beeswax wrap was created in 2008 by Toni Desrosiers, on two founding principles. Firstly, it’s logical. It breathes. If living food needed to be wrapped in airtight wrap the rind, peel or skin would be airtight. It’s not. Secondly, it’s inspirational. It looks good, feels good, smells good and fosters a healthier relationship with food. The best part? abeego is sustainable on many levels:

  • abeego is all natural. Every ingredient used comes from the earth and will return to it without a trace. Reusable | Antibacterial | Breathable | Plastic Free | Compostable.
  • abeego is zero waste. “Waste” is actually a resource. From day one Toni adopted a waste free commitment so they make amazing twist ties and fire starters, for example, with the excess.
  • abeego lasts. Beeswax is valuable so they make Abeego durable. You’ll will most likely add to your collection before replacing tired wraps. Wash in cold water with eco-friendly dish soap: Wrap | Wash | Reuse
  • abeego uses minimal energy to produce. Primarily people powered, except their fabulous waxing machine that has tripled their output using the same amount of energy.

Each abeego product page contains a different video demonstrating its endless uses.

 

How to Replace Plastic Food Wrap in the Kitchen

Replacing cling film in the kitchen is easier than you might think. Here are some suggestions how to do it:

  • Use abeego food wrap!
  • Use reusable containers with lids instead of covering plates and bowls with cling film to refrigerate food and liquids.
  • Place sandwiches in lunchboxes or wrap in wax paper instead of wrapping with cling film.
  • Use ceramic or glass containers to reheat food in ovens or microwaves, and cover with a non-plastic plate if required.
"We but mirror the world...As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him." Ghandi.
Today. Tomorrow. Forever.