One olive = $40 Thousand Dollars?

After learning about how much money American Airlines saved by removing something so seemingly insignificant it got me to thinking. WHAT IF just one day a week we decided to take our reusable coffee mugs to Starbucks for our specialty coffee drinks? What if JUST ONE day a week we used a Klean Kanteen or other NON-Disposable bottle for our drinking water? WHAT IF JUST ONE DAY A WEEK we filled a REUSABLE bag with our groceries instead of plastic bags??? Every piece of plastic that you use will be on this planet for hundreds, maybe even thousands, of years, unless it is incinerated (which isn't good either, ie. air pollution). With a simple change (it doesn't even have to be every day) we could make a substantial difference.

Here are some facts:

The United Nations Environment Programme estimates that more than 13,000 pieces of plastic litter are floating in every square kilometer of the ocean worldwide. The Surfrider Foundation estimates that more than half of the litter on beaches is plastic. Many researchers and environmental organizations now list plastic as the number one threat to our marine environments around the planet. In addition, chemicals in some plastics have been linked by researchers to a laundry list of diseases, including breast cancer, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, liver abnormalities, and prostate cancer. It can seem a little overwhelming.

• Americans throw out 38 billion empty water bottles a year, more than $1 billion worth of plastic. (Fast Company, December, 2007)
• In the U.S. alone, more than 24 billion pounds of plastic packaging is produced every year. Most of that packaging is designed for single usage, meaning it’s designed to be thrown out as soon as that package is opened. (Surfrider Foundation)
• Worldwide, human beings use more than 1 trillion plastic shopping bags a year.
• Every reusable bag bought or distributed prevents about 400 plastic bags from being used. (Surfrider Foundation)
• Every 13 plastic bags saved equals enough petroleum to drive a car one mile. (Surfrider Foundation)

Learn More About Plastics and What YOU Can Do:

• Rise Above Plastics, a campaign of the Surfrider Foundation
• Journal of American Medical Association, September, 2008 study

*information gathered here can be found on the Klean Kantine website.

*photo of plastic bottles courtesy of:
ThingsThatMakeYouGoGreen.com