I attended a talk the other night\nwith one of the youth, Denise, that was aimed at addressing the plastics\nproblems in Hamilton, Ont. Delivered by a knowledgeable lady (from an\norganization that I won’t name), we were provided some interesting information\nabout the statistics of the plastic problem that is plaguing Hamilton (and many\nother cities across Canada and worldwide). In March 2019, the City of Hamilton\nofficially declared a climate emergency. Concerns regarding the amount of plastics,\nnamely, single-use plastics, that have ended up in the city’s landfills were\nidentified as a large concern. The lady went on to discuss some statistics of “trash”\nthat is accumulated at home that can’t be recycled like large Styrofoam from\ncarefully packaged Tv’s, Styrofoam peanuts from packing, black plastic from\ntake-out containers, energy drinks, and disposable teacups and lids, among\nother things. She then identified some policies within Canada aimed at banning\nsingle-use plastics by 2021 under the Federal Environmental Protection Act. She\nacknowledged, however, that this ban was something put in place by the federal government,\nand in order for it to be successful, provincial governments need to also enact\ntheir own laws and sanctions. At the local level in Hamilton, a proposal was\nput forth to explore bi-weekly garbage pick-up (instead of weekly pick-up) and to\ncontinue with the normal weekly recycle pickup. She identified a few arguments in\nsupport of bi-weekly garbage pickup that claim that, 1) garbage trucks are gas\nguzzlers and switching to bi-weekly pickup will limit the amount of gasoline\nused which will also save a lot of money, 2) residents will be more likely to\nutilize their recycling and green bin during this time to lessen the amount of\nwaste needing to be stored between pickups and also lessening the smell from\nperhaps organic materials that should be composted, and 3) through residents utilizing\ntheir recycling and green bins, in the end, more waste will be diverted away\nfrom the landfills. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the presentation, other\nways were discussed on how at a personal level, we can reduce our own use of\nsingle-use plastics. There were suggestions for bringing our own bags to the\ngrocery store, using reusable, resealable lunch and snack bags, buying reusable\nstraws, reusable wrap and attempting, where possible, to buy items with less\npackaging. I heard whispers coming from behind me of some older women claiming\nthat over the past four months, they only collected one garbage bag of “trash”,\nand that they always brought their reusable bags with them when they shopped.\nOthers talked about their reusable straws and bringing their own bottles or take-out\ncontainers when they went to buy food or ate at restaurants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the presentation, Denise\nand I talked about aspects of the presentation that we found interesting. The\nfirst thing we both noted was that the presenter, and the majority of the\npeople attending the talk all came from white, middle class backgrounds. We dove\ndeep into a conversation about the “plastics divide”, and how it may be easier (financially\nspeaking) for those who come from more financially stable backgrounds to be\nable to afford reusable items that aren’t cheap (like silicone lunch and snack\nbags, beeswax wrap, etc.). We then thought further about the intersections with\nrace, location, socioeconomic background, gender, and politics that are\nimplicated in the plastic problem. What about people from disadvantaged\nbackgrounds who may not be able to afford reusable products? We thought about\nthe single parent, or low-income families who for the sake of convenience,\ntime, and money purchase prepared meals or TV dinners? It seemed that this\nreflection was missing from the discussion on the plastics problems in\nHamilton. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Furthermore, when thinking about “waste”\nproducts that make their way into the landfills, there are ways in which gender\nis unequally called into practice. Feminine hygiene products are one example of\nhow other unnecessary plastics from tampon applicators and materials used to make\nmaxi pads make their way into landfills and into the water. While alternative\nmethods have been created to help address these concerns including silicone “cups”,\nthese products are more expensive, further entangling socioeconomic status and\ngender in the plastic divide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
All in all, it was an informative presentation and we both acknowledged that at minimum, conversations regarding plastics in the water are starting to be addressed locally within the community. If we had to sum-up the night with one question it would be this: In what ways are socioeconomic status, gender, race, and politics called unequally into the plastics crisis? And, how can these intersections be effectively addressed in any municipal or provincial sanctions or laws that come into effect? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I attended a talk the other night with one of the youth, Denise, that was aimed at addressing the plastics problems in Hamilton, Ont. Delivered by a knowledgeable lady (from an organization that I won’t name), we were provided some interesting information about the statistics of the plastic problem that is plaguing Hamilton (and many … <\/p>\n