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Name an everyday product — computer, peanut butter jar, gloves, park bench, water bottle, keychain. Chances are whatever you name can be made from plastics. 

 

So much of what’s used in everyday life is made of plastics. Plastic is great for churning out mass-produced, affordable products. The compound can be colored and shaped in nearly any way a manufacturer wishes and has powered economies around the world. So, why is plastic bad?
 

• Plastic is not biodegradable. Unlike food or paper products, it takes an awfully long time to disintegrate. How long? A single-use water bottle will take up to 400 years to break down after you throw it in the trash can.
   

• Microplastics account for an enormous portion of the estimated eight million tons of plastic that clog the world’s oceans every year. Scientists believe that by 2050, there will be as much plastic in the ocean as there are fish. 
   

• At least 100,000 sea animals die from plastic pollution each year. Sea turtles, for example, frequently mistake plastic bags floating in the water for jellyfish. More than half of all sea turtles and approximately 90% of seabirds are estimated to have eaten plastic waste.
   

Plastics pose a nightmarish environmental problem. They clog landfills, litter waterways, and dramatically harm natural habitats and creatures. So how do we go about addressing this plastic problem?
 

Yes, Recycling Can Work

Part of solving the plastic problem is asking, “Why do we need to reduce, reuse, and recycle?”
 

Here’s the thing: If consumers can bypass the waste stream, there will be less need for landfills.
 

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, plastics were the second largest contributor to the nearly 140 million tons of annual waste produced by humans — second to food waste. Making up 19% of all the world’s waste, 26.5 million tons of plastic get discarded each year. 
 

When you recycle, you reduce the amount of plastic that enters the waste stream, help to save energy, and use a product to its fullest potential by conserving and repurposing a resource.
 

Unfortunately, not every kind of plastic can be recycled; some plastics can’t be melted down and sold to a manufacturer to produce new items. If there is no recycling sign on a plastic item, that item is headed to the trash heap.

 

 

 

Checkout our latest exhibition Taiwan Hype that showcases the innovated ways to reduce and reuse plastic utensils in Taiwan.

Buy in Bulk

Let’s say you’re in the market looking for a snack. You could purchase a bag of snack mix from a convenience store — this snack would be wrapped in a single-use plastic bag that you’ll toss away once you’ve finished eating. Or you could buy a huge jar of snack mix and reuse or recycle that sturdier plastic jar afterward.

Buying in bulk is a strategic way to reduce the amount of plastics that enter the waste stream — there is less wasteful packaging for more product. Many stores even offer zero-waste options that let you fill your own jars with oats, granola, coffee beans, and nearly any other pantry staple. 
 

Zero Waste

What is zero waste? In short, zero waste is the goal to send nothing to landfills by making mindful decisions about product purchases and usage. It’s an effort to reduce overall consumption, reuse products and materials that exist, and either recycle or compost the leftovers. 
 

In zero-waste stores, employees will often weigh your container and then subtract that amount when they fill it up with laundry soap, lentils, candy, or whatever other product you want to purchase. It’s an effective way to reduce the amount of plastics that end up as waste while still allowing consumers access to the goods they desire.
 

Businesses should also strive for zero waste. This will help with everything from their public image to their bottom line. The process often involves working with consultants that have experience with green practices to reduce plastic waste and use existing materials effectively and efficiently in the daily workflow. 
 

Look for Plastic Alternatives

There are many environmentally-friendly alternatives to traditional plastic products. 

When buying everyday items, look for greener packaging solutions:
 

• Choose the cardboard egg containers and milk cartons over the plastic ones
   

• Buy toilet paper wrapped in paper instead of plastic
   

• Avoid single-use plastic bags in favor of cloth or paper bags
   

Alternatives to traditional plastics are growing — and for the better. As consumers demand greater accountability from their favorite brands, companies are beginning to invest in plant-based solutions to the plastic problem.
 

You might have seen some packaging that, unlike Styrofoam or plastics that last forever, melt upon contact with water. These are examples of plant-based bioplastics that are compostable and reusable.
 

Try Upcycling

Individuals and businesses can both address the world’s plastic problem with a revolutionary technique: upcycling. Upcycling is the process of using discarded products and transforming them into new products that are of equal or even higher quality.
 

For example:

• Homeowners can upcycle plastic bags by stuffing them with cement and placing them in between wine bottles to build a sturdy wall.
   

• Factories can repurpose plastics to serve as fuel to run their machines.
   

• Engineers can break down plastic molecules to produce new polyethylene that could make up new, stable structures.
   

Why do people upcycle? It’s simple: Plastics will outlast everyone living on Earth, and yet consumers continue to purchase single-use plastics almost every day without a second thought. Upcycling is an effective way to curb the harmful effects of plastic consumption without reducing product quality.

 

 

 

What does Miniwiz do?

 

Thinking Ahead for Earth's Future

Businesses and consumers alike must find solutions to the world’s plastic problem: 
 

• Individuals can help by being mindful of how they can reduce, reuse, and recycle plastic products.
   

• Businesses can help by evaluating and revising their production processes to include greener techniques such as upcycling.
   

Consumers are now demanding brands to be more environmentally responsible and conscious. Miniwiz works with companies throughout all industries to find solutions that reduce overall plastic consumption while also improving operational efficiency.
 

To learn more about Miniwiz’s turnkey solutions, which include upcycling projects for institutions, government agencies, and brands of all sizes, browse our works to see what's been done with architecture, building modules, re-materials, consumer goods, and furniture.

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