Before the pandemic, the world was making strides to reduce disposability. We were collectively returning to the idea that we should buy something and then make it last for life. Grabbing stuff off the shop shelves and then dumping it in the trash a couple of months later just wasn’t acceptable.
During the last couple of years, though, medical necessity put a spanner in the works. Sure, we still took our own bags to the grocery store, but at the same time, we started throwing away millions of disposable face masks and other personal protection equipment.
What’s more, with the expansion of medical provisions, a greater use of plastics became the norm. Single-wrapped items and drugs were all part of the response to the pandemic.
Disposability, therefore, returned. Single-use plastics were back and there didn’t seem much that the world could do about it. When push came to shove, they were necessary.
What This Means For Our Lifestyle
Some people have labeled the COVID-19 experience, “the plastic pandemic,” a reference to the fact that the use of plastics exploded from 2020 onwards. Experts believe that the amount of plastic being disposed of grew by around 50 percent in volume compared to pre-pandemic levels.
The recycling industry tried to compensate for the surge in waste production, but many of the wrappings and materials being used are not recyclable in the conventional sense. The only real way to get rid of them is through incineration, and that’s not popular because of the cost and pollution it produces.
In the home, though, the culture of making do remains. For instance, today there are multiple online community groups, websites and videos showing how to maintain items in your home. For example, you can learn how to clean a washing machine here. You can also find out how to strip down your oven, repair your dishwasher and fix odd items around the house, instead of discarding them.
People are trying to do the right thing and protect the planet for future generations. They’re looking for ways to cut down on single-use items and replace them with things that they can use over and over again to slash waste. They want to eliminate the most gratuitous parts of their lives and return to a more natural, way of living.
New Materials
The reason single-use plastics found widespread application during the pandemic is because they are incredibly easy to produce and distribute. Within days of realizing there was a problem, industry was able to ramp up production, supplying the necessary materials within a couple of months.
Longer-term, though, there are alternatives. Plastic is not necessarily the most hygienic material to use. In many cases, stainless steel may be better.
Single-use is often touted as being the most sanitary. However, that’s not always the case. It depends on logistics and manufacturing contamination. It may actually be safer to simply clean existing containers and packets, and then refill them.
Ultimately, disposability will yield to sustainability, but it is going to take time. And the pandemic made it clear that the world wasn’t yet ready.