Don’t Let the Coronavirus Make You Believe Plastics are Safer
The Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic has led to flurry of misinformation, panic, and inevitably people trying to take advantage of the situation. While people are worried about the transmission of the virus, the newness of COVID-19 and the lack of understanding of biology has led companies and the general public to revert back to wasteful behaviors thinking they are better.
Starbucks Cups
The Problem
It started weeks ago (it feels like ages ago) at the beginning, when Starbucks announced they would stop allowing customers to use their reusable cups. Given the fact that people can be infected with the Coronavirus COVID-19 for up to 12 days before showing symptoms and be contagious during those 12 days, this measure made sense. In using a reusable cup, if a person is infected, they are possibly handing a contaminated cup to the barista would handles potentially hundreds of cups in a shift.
The Solutions
Instead of giving out single-use cups to those who brought their own, Starbucks should have reusable cups that the barista can use to pour the drink into a personal cup. Or reusable cups to put at the bar so that a customer can pour it into their personal cup themselves and drop the reusable cup at a self-bussing station.
Another solution would have been to allow customers to use the Starbucks “for here” mugs. Given state health codes make sure that commercial dishwashers kill all pathogens including the Coronavirus, their mugs should be fine to use. To prevent the barista from touching used mugs, Starbucks could have set up a self-bussing station to drop off used mugs and designate a non-barista employee to collect and clean the mugs.
Bag Bans Postponed
The Problem
Several states that have recently passed plastic bag bans have postponed the implementation of these bans citing the Coronavirus as the reason. This suggests that reusable bags are unsafe which is not true.
This does however give grocery stores and restaurants, if applicable, some time to implement new bags after the Coronavirus dies out. Basically, it allows grocery stores and restaurants to focus on feeding us first–which is the top priority.
The Solution
Grocery stores and restaurants should continue with bans voluntarily. Since most were scheduled to go into affect soon or already in affect, the stores were already preparing for the change. If customers bring their own bags, to reduce the risk of possible transmission, customers should be asked to bag their own groceries–something I would prefer anyways, since it’s one less person touching my food. Or grocery workers can place the food back in the cart and customers can place their groceries in their own bags after leaving the store.
Plastics Lobby
The Problem
The postponement of several bag bans and the fear of transmission has given the plastics lobby the fuel they need to fight the growing number of plastic bans.
In a letter obtained by Politico, the plastics lobby has asked the federal Health and Human Services Department to speak out against bag bans and state that single-use plastics are the safest choice.
This is particularly underhanded since they site a study showing e.coli on randomly tested reusable bags. The study was funded by American Chemistry Council (i.e. Big Plastic).
What the letter failed to mention was the COVID-19 survives much longer on plastics than on other materials like metals, cardboard or in the air.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the plastics industry has been exploiting health concerns in their favor. You can read the step-by-step plays of the plastics industry in this GreenPeace Report.
The Solution
The best solution is awareness. As an engineer I’m always questioning things. If I’m reading something that briefly touches on science but doesn’t have concrete facts, I question who it’s written by and what their motives might be. It’s terrible that we now live in a world where the truth has “versions” but the best we can do is to stay informed. And when you see an Action Alert from a non-profit you trust, take that action!
Plastics Do Not Mean Clean
The Problem
We associate plastics with clean. When we see a plastic fork in a bin at a restaurant and we assume it’s clean–despite the fact that it’s open to the air and multiple hands have been in the bin before yours.
When we open something sealed in plastic, we assume it’s clean. But oftentimes, unless it was made in a cleanroom, items can be contaminated during manufacturing.
Yes, medical devices also come in plastic but those have been sterilized. Meaning it was run through radiation or gas that is guaranteed to kill all bacteria or virus to a certain degree of assurance. Your average single-use plastic has not gone through the same sterilization process.
The Solution
We need to remember that plastic does not mean clean. A study showed that COVID-19 survives on plastic for 2 – 3 days.
Continue to use reusables but make sure you wash your reusables. Like I mentioned earlier, dishwashers are designed to kill bacteria and viruses. Between the heat and the prolonged washing the bacteria and viruses cannot survive. It’s also beneficial that this particular strain of the Coronavirus is sensitive to soap and heat.
Wash your grocery bags too. If they’re not made of a material that’s washer friendly, then wipe them down and put them in the sun to sterilize them.
Also, dedicate a separate reusable grocery bag for meat. I bring my own containers to get meat at the butcher and I have a specific bag for that meat. I do this because sometimes butchers forget to remove gloves and get meat juices on the outside of my container. I don’t want that meat juice touching my kale!
The Bigger Picture Solution
More than ever, the outbreak has shown that we need a system of reusables that does not depend on the customer. It should be the business (or a 3rd party) that provides, collects, cleans, and sterilizes reusables.
When things go back to normal, people need to support reusable systems like Vessel which provides reusable cups you can check out using their app at no fee. When you’re finished you drop it off at a collection station. Vessel picks it up cleans it and drops it back off at participating coffee shops.
GoBox, Dispatch Goods and other companies do the same for to-go food.
The more reusable systems we have, the more we can ensure the safety of diners and food workers but also ensure that our planet won’t be trashed by our dining habits.
What do you think? Are you interested in a reusable to-go container check out system?
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