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)

A year long project has come to an end! It was great working with y'all! Tessa Vu Pawan Khanal Prajwal Poonacha and Victoria Valdivia !

 

An excerpt from one of the students (Tess Vu):

 

In January I waded into Cobbs Creek in 28°F weather with a sampler head that just fractured mid-collection. There was a beat to reassess then a quick trip to Lowe's and it was fixed with an L-joint and duct tape to continue the sampling. That was day two of the Philadelphia Emerging Contaminants Initiative, a program asking where contaminants are in Philadelphia's water, what moves them, and who's exposed.

Over three months, our team sampled 51 sites across waterways and public buildings in every PWD service area. We analyzed PFAS via LC-MS/MS, toxic metals via ICP-MS, and microplastics via fluorescence imaging, then mapped everything against land use, treatment infrastructure, and social vulnerability. Some of the key findings include:

Full interactive StoryMap: https://arcg.is/0WT0fb1

- Microplastics and PFAS were detected in almost every location tested.
- For tap water, PFAS values were very similar to those reported by PWD, which were sometimes above proposed regulatory limits.
- Toxic element (metals) concentration tended to increase from source to tap, likely due to leaching from pipes. 
- Centralized treatment means that neighborhoods typically had similar water quality even across social vulnerability index.
- The amount of industrial land immediately adjacent to Cobbs creek strongly correlated with increased lead concentrations in the water.