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Generation Green’s Environmental Health Tip of the Week

The Center for Environmental Health is working on a number of projects to protect children and families from dangerous chemicals in plastics, like Bisphenol-A in plastic water bottles and canned food linings and lead in fake leather plastic.

But the problem with plastics is more than just the immediate effect they can have on people’s health. Plastic waste builds up and overwhelms our landfills and municipal waste systems because it doesn’t biodegrade like natural materials do. Think about it: those disposable plastic cups that we all drank from and tossed in the trash at the ballgame, street festival, or Earth Day celebration twelve years ago may have broken down into smaller parts, but each of those parts is still the same undigestible, undegradable polymer that can choke ecosystems. Same goes for our plastic bags. And the straws in our drinks. And our spoons from the ice cream shop. And the lids on our coffee cups. . .

When it all adds up, it creates some really nasty problems, like the Great Pacific Gyre. So, today we’re sharing some of the blogs and sites that we look to in order to help us find ways to use less plastic.

Fake Plastic Fish: This is a great blog detailing realistic ways to cut down on your plastic usage in everyday life. It follows a Bay Area resident’s attempt to cut her plastic waste down to almost nothing during the span of a year. http://fakeplasticfish.com/

Life Without Plastic: This site offers home products—from dishware and food storage items to children’s toys—with plastic-free items that use alternative materials. http://lifewithoutplastic.com/

The Story of Stuff: This is the popular, 20-minute video that takes viewers on a fun, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our society’s production and consumption patterns. http://storyofstuff.org/