Why plastic-free?

With the average person using 0.34 kg of plastic every single day, humanity produces an astonishing 460–500 million metric tons of plastic waste each year. To put that into perspective, that’s the weight of 3,700 to 4,000 Statues of Liberty (with pedestal and base) made entirely of plastic trash—every single year.

Unlike organic matter, plastics don’t break down into harmless byproducts like CO₂ or water. The very properties that make plastics so useful—durability, flexibility, and resistance to degradation—become deeply problematic after disposal. Instead of disappearing, plastics simply fragment into smaller and smaller pieces, becoming what we call microplastics (MPs, <5 mm).

 

Over time, these MPs can be inhaled or ingested by animals and humans, where they may lodge in tissues, trigger inflammation, and cause long-term health risks. Even worse, plastics act like sponges in the environment—absorbing heavy metals and “forever chemicals” like PFAS, which they then transfer to any organism unlucky enough to consume them.

 

With only about 10% of plastics ever recycled, our plastic future looks grim unless we choose a different path. But here’s the paradox: plastics are also woven into the fabric of our daily lives. They keep blood sterile in hospitals, extend the shelf life of food, and provide unparalleled convenience.

 

This love–hate relationship with plastics is at the heart of our mission. At Plastic-Free Pals, we empower students and adults alike to understand the plastic problem and discover how everyday lifestyle changes and collective action can help turn the tide against plastic pollution.

Learn More - MPs in the Soil (ArcGIS Storymap)

7Rs of Renewability

 

Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Recycle, Rot, Rethink

 

 

The 7Rs of renewability begin with “Refusing” plastics, which means completely cutting plastics out of our lives and forgoing the convenience that plastic brings. However, with everything made with or wrapped with plastics, “Reducing” plastics becomes the most realistic path of renewability. Living out these actions require adopting an expensive lifestyle committed to purchasing more expensive non-plastic alternatives and bearing the inconvenience themselves by bringing their containers and tote bags whenever they go out. This lifestyle also requires creativity in finding ways to reduce plastic waste, such as opting for an ice cream to be served on a cone instead of in a dish.

 

The next option, “Reuse,” encourages consumers to creatively reuse products longer than their presumed lifespan. For example, single-use plastics could be rebelliously used several times before disposal, or car tires could be converted into shoes. Similarly, the lifetime of products should be extended through “Repair” at local makerspaces, which provide the tools and expertise to repair any items. Moreover, as a society, we must shift our mentality from the current “buy and throw away” mindset to one that seeks to repair damaged belongings for us to see widespread change.

 

The next factors, “Rot” and “Recycling,” work in tandem as organic material needs to be cleaned from plastics to get it ready for recycling. By doing our part to separate degradable material from plastics, we simultaneously improve the recyclability of plastic and enhance the quality of the degradable composts for fertilizers. Lastly, we must “Rethink” and redesign our plastic use for the future. Scientists must work together with industries to design bioplastics that can degrade and work on the standardization of plastic items to make consumer products more compatible with one another, and most importantly, products must be built and designed to be upcycled for a circular economy to take place.