the resulting waste after plastic is used is a problem that is overwhelming and difficult to solve. in particular, non-point-source pollution of plastic into oceans that breaks down into microplastics that then enter the food chain, is a terrifying new reality for our planet. so, it is hard to believe that for some elderly people today, like my grandmother jane, born in 1930, the distant memories of a world without plastic do remain. i turn to jane in my search for answers to the plastic problem.

when i spoke with jane about the issue of plastic, our conversation began with a deep dive into how her family acquired groceries when she was a child. jane grew up in connecticut, and she told me, “i was 10… [when] they opened the first supermarket. before that, my mother ordered her groceries over the phone.” jane described a system where different products came from separate stores as opposed to one large hub of the supermarket. “the milk was delivered and left on your back porch every morning. we always thought it was a great thing, if it was cold enough, the milk froze. the milk was separated, it wasn’t homogenized the way it is now. so, we had cream floating on top… then we’d spoon off some of this rich icy cream. it was a treat.” 

beyond the perk of this icy cream at a time before freezers and an endless supply of ice cream you could take home, was the lack of plastic waste in this milk delivery system. jane explained, “[the milk] came in a glass bottle… the milk truck used to go by every single morning, early in the morning, and the milkman used to jump out with your three or four bottles or whatever you ordered, quart-sized bottles.” i responded asking her what happened to the bottles once her family drank all the milk. “well, you’d wash them and then when the milkman delivered your new milk bottles filled with milk, he took the old ones away, and he sterilized them at the dairy, and you’d reuse them. of course some of them got broken, but they were pretty tough glass, pretty thick and hard to break.”

i realize that what jane detailed is a closed-loop system, where packaging does not have a single-use lifespan, but instead is reused over and over. while this precise system of a milkman might not be replicable everywhere in the united states, several organizations are endeavoring to popularize the practice once again, and the same concept could be applied with a system where people return glass bottles to the store themselves.

after jane described these systems that were separate from the new concept of the supermarket, i asked her to describe what the packaging was like in grocery stores during her childhood. she said simply, “there wasn’t [packaging]. everything was in bins. and you would go in and there would be a paper bag, and you would put what you wanted in a paper bag, and usually there was a scale so you could weigh it if you wanted to. but the customer did it themselves and took what they wanted. and you could pick it over; you didn’t get spoiled fruit or anything.” 

essentially, all grocery stores were set up the way that some farmer’s markets still are today. while today we also still do have sections of the grocery store with fruit and vegetables to pick on your own, they are placed in plastic bags, and berries, for example, always come in a plastic container. jane told me that for those small fruits, they came in wooden boxes. she concluded, “in other words, everything was degradable.” the city she lived in connecticut as a child even had a system where trash was divided between the edible and the inedible. “all the edible food had to be put in separately so it could be fed to the pigs.”

part of what’s so fascinating about jane’s accounts of the past are that she did not live in an “environmentalist” world. our concepts of individual environmental accountability today, like bringing a reusable bag to the store, were not something people thought to do during her childhood and young adulthood in the 1940s and 1950s. additionally, she told me that in her honest memory and experience, that while she became sensitive to concepts of environmental pollution after rachel carson’s a silent spring was published, she didn’t really become aware of global warming until much later, in the late 1990s when al gore was running for president. she recalled that in her social circles, “nobody took al gore seriously, which is something i passionately regret. they really, really did not.” 

so, how is it that today, where yale climate opinion maps from 2021 cite that 72% of americans believe in climate change, that related environmental problems, such as plastic waste, are so much worse than they were during jane’s childhood? how is it that we have gone from a significantly less wasteful society with no environmental concern, to a surplus of waste society where more than the majority of people are concerned about environmental problems like climate change?

the answer is that the system has fundamentally changed, from one where waste’s biodegradability was inevitable to one where long-lasting waste is impossible to avoid. of course, the plastic industry itself drove this change, despite its initial slow start. jane recalled that “the sort of bendable plastic, like what we would call plastic wrap was the first thing. that started sometime after the war. it just came into gradual use. it was nothing that was very sudden. some places used it, and some places didn’t, and as time went by, more and more places used it, and at some point it became pretty standard that all your produce would be wrapped.”

thus, our solutions to the plastic problem must be aimed at changing systems. since plastic went from being unheard of to quickly taking over, our alternatives could do the same. we need to find new material industries that are biodegradable to take over the places where we rely on plastic, such as for preservation. at the same time, we need to re-introduce systems of the past of both reusability and minimal packaging where possible. simply put, in jane’s words: “we lived without all the plastic.”

in Ángela and the plastic problem, she embarks on a journey to discover what her local community and communities across her country are doing to increase sustainability by combating plastic waste. learning about intiatives in other cities and even going on a trip to the marvelous galápagos islands, she is helped and inspired along the way by her best friend, julia, and her mamá.

Ángela meets new friends like pedro and his mother to continue her exploration of ecuador, facing her fears to discover how community can tackle plastic pollution together.

in this children’s book, youth will hopefully be inspired to take action after learning about what other people are doing to combat plastic waste. 

Ángela and the plastic problem was written as an original story by first-time and emerging authors maria zaharatos & shelby atherton, edited and published with support from elena negrón, and illustrated by ruby walker.

the following two page spreads are an excerpt from the book. 

the book is made available through the texas-based educational nonprofit organization, faro: projects for global education, which writes educational curricula and children’s books on global issues.

for interested readers who liked this excerpt, you can check out the full book available on amazon, and keep an eye out for our kindle version coming soon! 

for teachers or others who want to use the book for educational purposes – please contact faro at info@faropge.org

full transcript:

ghana, an african coastal nation of over 30 million people, is a perfect destination for westerners –– especially those tracing their roots. yet, the cost of living in ghana is higher than most arrivals may expect. one of the main drivers for the high real estate prices is the expensive cost of building materials.

what if there was a solution that doesn’t only provide affordable housing, but helps to protect the fragile environment which is already vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change?

nelson boateng, founder and chief executive officer of nelplast eco ghana limited is a young ghanain entrepreneur, a leading voice that is repurposing and diverting tons of plastic waste from landfills and oceans into affordable building materials for the construction of low-cost houses in ghana.

“when the collected plastics are brought to us, we scale and pay the collectors according to the weight. the plastics are crushed, washed semi-dried and mixed with sand and sometimes, pigments to add beauty. the mixture is then fed into an extruder with 3 heating zones, which we build ourselves. since we are using all kinds of plastic waste at their right proportion, these plastics have different melting points. as they travel through the extruder, let’s say starting from 150 degrees celsius, 180 to 220 degrees celsius, the heating zones ensure that all kinds of plastic waste is well melted and mixed with sand. this mixer comes out as a paste, which is placed in a mold with a cooling system around it and then pressed under hydraulic press. between 60 to 70 seconds, we eject one product out depending on the size and shape of the product. this product would then be packed on the palette and ready to be installed. nelplast echo plastic houses are 30% to 35% cheaper than the concrete buildings that we have, and most of our clients are happy with our projects.”

for the longest time, plastic has been the material of choice for different kinds of packaging due to its lightweight, affordability and ease of use. however, the long run consequences of easy packaging on the environment are far reaching. according to a recent undp report, ghana generates over a million tons of plastic waste every year and only 2% to 5% of the plastic waste is being recycled, and project drawdown reveals that recycling could help reduce our carbon footprints by 2 gigatons come 2030. yet, more and more concerns on the negative effects of plastic use on health, raises questions on whether there are any negative impacts of living in a house constructed from plastic waste! and how solid and resilient are these structures to natural disasters? 

“nelplast bricks are not laid with cement. they are interlocked with each other and due to that nature, they are able to contract and expand when there’s uncertainty on the earth. it can also withstand earthquakes because the walls are not rigid. they have the ability to be flexible when there is any earthquake. also in terms of cracks, the wall with plastics doesn’t crack so easily. the bricks are cheaper and stronger than conventional bricks. they can withstand water lock areas and also avoid dampness to the walls. they are safe in terms of fire, because the high percentage of the sand makes the product fire retardant. it’s not easy for these bricks to just get burnt. the bricks are designed in such a way that there is a groove in the middle of the brick that heat from outside to penetrate into the inner part of the room and also maintain the temperature of the inner part of the bricks.”

reduce, reuse, and recycle! this is the recommended way of life that boateng is actively working to promote in his home country – ghana. nelplast eco ghana limited, born out of frustration with the disturbing amounts of plastic waste continuously buried in landfills is an initiative committed to rid the country of the gulf of plastic waste that is polluting the environment and water bodies, while securing economic opportunities for the unemployed youth in ghana.

“we have the problem of plastic waste, the problem of school infrastructure, housing deficit and  unemployment. nelplast is trying to use the problem of plastic waste to build affordable houses and solve the problem of housing in ghana. build schools, create jobs for unemployed youth to reduce social violence and clean the environment. currently, nelplast employees 63 workers directly and over 300 indirect workers and 98% of this indirect workers are women who go around the landfills, drainage and beaches to collect plastic waste and sell to us – and that’s how they earn their living.”

boateng’s drive to save the environment from plastic pollution does not go by unsupported or unnoticed. 

“we won ghana uk based achievement award as innovation and technology of the year; emy africa – the green corporate star award; african product and service award; ghana property award as best echo construction product; ghana industry award; seed low carbon award and the business executive excellence award.” 

however, his ability to scale the business is confronted by many challenges.

“ghana has a lot of challenges and one of them is the cost of electricity. there are no subsidies for recyclers in ghana and that is really discouraging others to join the line. i have passion with plastics because at the age of 13 i was already working with the plastic industry. i did computer network engineering but my passion is how to deal with plastic waste. also, because of our capacity issues we get a little bit scared of accepting more contracts. a lot of people are calling who want a house, but the problem has to do with our capacity. so because of that, this year we are handling only 15 clients, next year we can add on. if we can have subsidies from the government on electricity bills, soft loans to help us expand, i think it will go a very long way.”

a recent world bank report projects that waste will grow from 2 billion tonnes in 2020 to nearly 3 billion tonnes by 2050, and the effects may be more adverse for developing countries, where more than 90% of trash is either dumped in the open or burned, worsening the climate crisis. as many look forward to the un international climate conference – cop27 – just around the corner, boateng is curious to know where plastic pollution fits in the conversations.

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[editor’s note: this transcript was edited for clarity.]

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correction (9/7/2022): an earlier version of this story misidentified where in africa ghana is located. this version corrects it.

gw purchased 26,000 reusable water bottles from didómi, a water bottle company with the mission to combat the water crisis in developing countries and provide high-quality reusable water bottles to encourage individuals to reduce their plastic consumption. 

not only will gw’s purchase of these reusable water bottles reduce plastic use on campus –– this financial investment will reach beyond campus. didómi partners with the nonprofit organization water is life to provide reliable access to water across africa. according to didómi, each bottle purchased provides 10 years of water access to a person in africa. using the funds from the partnership with gw, didómi will donate 50% of its profits to fund the nonprofit’s water projects. 

on the morning of march 21, two of didómi’s founders, lamah bility and brian bishop, came to gw’s campus to distribute water bottles. while telling the mission of their company, bility shared the personal story of fellow co-founder anaa jibicho. jibicho, a refugee from ethiopia, lost two siblings to water-borne diseases. when jibicho lived in liberia before his family won a lottery to move to the united states, he had to wake up each morning to walk miles to fetch water for his family, billy said. jibicho had a realization about the accessibility of water once in the u.s., where clean water conveniently flows from the tap in many places.

while listening to didómi’s story, students colored and personalized their water bottles. junior sarah teague painted clouds on her new bottle, placing her personalized design around the gw’s plastic campaign logo and didómi’s logo, the partnership aesthetically represented on the bottle.

teague says her interest in sustainably centers on gw divesting from fossil fuels. in 2020, after seven years of student organizing on the issue, gw committed to divest from all public and private companies with a focus on fossil fuel extraction by 2025, in alignment with recommendations from the university’s environmental, social, and governance (esg) responsibility task force. yet, there is a need for education around gw’s positive changes and events to announce gw’s sustainability-related efforts. 

volunteer audrey litto, a junior at gw involved with take back the tap, a student initiative to transition away from using single-use plastic water bottles to reusable, refillable bottles, shared that she hopes people will take advantage of the new water bottle stations popping up on campus and the new high-quality didómi water bottles. 

senior jack mcmorrow, a volunteer through a service-learning class at gw, has participated in passing out didómi bottles outside of the covid test trailers for the past week. 

“it felt great to be part of such an important initiative to reduce single-use plastic on campus,” mcmorrow said. “i was truly excited to see the enthusiasm of the members of our community who were willing to utilize these water bottles. so many people were excited to approach us and were eager to learn about ways to reduce plastic use.” 

didómi was named after the greek word meaning “to give.” the logo symbolizes crossed fingers representing hope, or optimism for better days together. through efforts like this, there is hope for gw as a collective to make a difference to reduce waste and help save the environment. 

university spokesperson crystal nosal said the task force, which convened in september, received administrative support and is now working on a plan to implement the proposals. nosal said executive vice president and chief financial officer mark diaz organized the group, which consists of officials from six departments, including offices within the division of safety and facilities and the office of procurement.

the student association senate passed a resolution in late october calling on officials to discontinue using single-use plastic bottles on campus. nosal said the task force’s goals align with the sa’s resolution.

scott burnotes, the vice president of safety and facilities, said officials have approved the plan, and the division of safety and facilities will now work on finding ways to implement the recommendations. he said officials will start to implement the plan in the “next several months” and are excited about the “shared commitment” to a zero-waste environment.

“gw’s commitment to phasing out single-use plastics will be a marathon, not a sprint, especially given the hurdles higher ed is already dealing with this year,” he said in an email.

kat ruane – the co-president of take back the tap, a student organization that works to reduce gw’s use of single-use plastics – said the task force meets at least once every two weeks. she said the task force’s members hope to organize educational initiatives with student organizations to discuss the harmful environmental effects of single-use plastics.

“we’re thinking from the human rights perspective that all students deserve a right to accessible clean water, not one that’s put behind a paywall of a plastic water bottle,” ruane said.

ruane said the draft plan includes proposals to eliminate all plastic bottles from vending machines, install reusable water fillers in residence halls and develop strategies to discourage community members from using non-reusable plastics.

she said officials have not yet offered the task force clear details on the next steps for the plan submitted to diaz, the chief financial officer, at the end of october.

“it is a bit frustrating because there is to some degree lack of transparency and lack of communication about what they’re actually going to do next from here because they’ve submitted their draft plan to mark diaz,” she said.

experts in sustainability said implementing programs that discourage people from using plastics has been the most effective method in reducing non-reusable plastics.

lyda harris, a university of washington ph.d. candidate studying microplastic contamination, said she has seen “limited success” in educational initiatives encouraging people to reduce their plastic use because people typically weigh convenience over sustainability when making purchases. she said implementing measures that make reducing plastic use easier, like installing water bottle filler stations, are more effective methods.

“if you give someone all the knowledge that they need, i personally think that it comes down to which one’s easier and which one do i have time for,” she said.

harris said the best way to reduce plastic consumption is to implement a system, like a small charge on plastic bags, that makes plastic products inconvenient to obtain. d.c. officials implemented a mandatory plastic bag tax in 2010.

“in europe, there is a really cool study that has been done about plastic bag taxes and bans,” she said. “and it basically said once you assign a 5-cent tax on a plastic bag, people stop using them up to like 96 percent. and so it just makes it harder to pollute the environment.”

evan ward, a professor of marine sciences at the university of connecticut, said non-reusable plastics can be incinerated, which increases the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, or buried, which can leak chemicals into groundwater over time.

“burying plastics is not that problematic, but over time, large amounts of plastic can leach a variety of chemicals, which can enter groundwater and contaminate drinking water, lakes, streams and near-shore environments,” he said in an email. “recycling is an option, but unfortunately only about 9 percent of all plastics are recycled.”

he said universities could take steps, like removing plastic water bottles carrying the institution’s logo, to draw people away from using single-use plastics.

“same goes for single-use plastic bags in the bookstore and elsewhere,” he said. “charge a small fee for selecting plastic bags over reusable bags – you will see how quickly everyone will remember to bring a reusable bag with them.”

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this piece was originally published by the gw hatchet. the photograph is attributed to alexander welling, senior staff photographer at the hatchet.

climate resilience can look different depending on the place and the people. but at its core, climate resilience is the ability to anticipate and bounce back from hardships related to climate change. however, this doesn’t come easily; it requires a lot of intentional and attentive action.

let’s start with the polymer. what is a polymer? a polymer is like that chain of paper clips you used to make in your fourth-grade history class. in greek, poly means “many” and meros means “parts.” plastics are polymers of synthetic materials, essentially long chains of thousands of individual parts. so if you think about it, the climate movement is a polymer – and necessarily so. 

we are becoming increasingly aware of the intersectionality of the climate crisis. by this i mean that it is impossible to separate racial justice from climate justice from migrant justice. these are all chunks of a larger systemic problem. and in order to deal with all the moving pieces of this complex issue, we are going to need many parts. there are about 328 million people in the united states alone. that’s a lot of parts if you ask me. that’s also a lot of potential to create impactful change on a local and national level.

at the risk of sounding cliché, every little bit helps. whether it’s a single vote, a $5 donation, or a reusable water bottle, these things add up. but i’m not here to tell you that all you need to do is donate a few bucks or carry around a bamboo straw. solving the climate crisis is going to take much more than that, and frankly, the solution is not entirely in our hands. the values and actions that have caused the climate crisis have been solidified in systems run by the rich and the powerful. but resilience doesn’t mean stopping when the going gets tough. and we’ve proven countless times that we are resilient people – just look at our history.

but to overthrow these harmful and violent systems, we are going to need a collective, a “cooperative enterprise.” the polymers in plastic are a cooperative collective. as i mentioned before, they are formed of single molecules, or monomers. the formation of polymers is a transformation. and isn’t that true for us? think about it, when two people are in a relationship, we call them a couple. they are each their individual selves, but they’ve created something more, something new. climate resilience is about joining. about linking. it is about creating something bigger than ourselves. because that is the only way to survive a crisis that is bigger than us. 

plastic is durable. unfortunately, our waterways, oceans, and landscapes know this all too well. plastic never fully goes away. it just breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces called microplastics. to me, this is both terrifying and intriguing. we have the power to create something that is everlasting. which means we can construct a movement and a world that will outlast us. realistically, climate change will not be solved in the next few years – although it needs to be. so when we think about climate resilience, we need to be planning for something both now and in the future. 

climate resilience requires intergenerational cooperation and dependence. we need each other; we always have. to act in this moment, while also having an eye toward what lies ahead, we need a variety of experiences, realities, and perspectives. we need the wisdom of our elders and ancestors and the vibrancy of the youth. the current climate movement has become synonymous with youth. but this is not sustainable, as much as we think it might be. we are tired; we are exhausted. burnout makes it hard to be resilient. the youth need the resources and support of older generations, while older generations need the vision and energy of the youth. this is how we create a durable, mutual movement that will outlast both generations. 

right now we are in a critical moment. we are poised to build back better. but we must ensure that the foundations we are building now are strong, able to withstand the trauma that comes with climate change. plastic is surprisingly shock-resistant. it can also withstand corrosion, water, and chemicals — basically, whatever we throw at it. 

yet resilience doesn’t require us to be impervious to these blows and disturbances. what makes a building earthquake resistant? it is flexible. the foundation is strong, yet there are devices built into the structure that allow the building to move with the shocks. you know what’s coming next – yup, plastic is also flexible. the word plastic originally comes from the greek word plastikos, which is derived from plassein, meaning to mold, or to form. plastic is naturally malleable, formed by it’s environment, such as a mold or a hot stovetop (it’s okay, we’ve all been there). 

resiliency means we have to be able to bounce back. we’ve already had a lot thrown at us in the past year alone – from floods to fires to a pandemic. and the scary thing? this is just the beginning. we are recognizing the mold we are in, one of a burning planet. we have to accept reality and begin to adapt to the difficulties we are facing and will face. we have to be malleable, like plastic. and we have to be agile, letting the punches roll off our back and moving with them. they still hurt, they are punches after all. but we are saving our energy for when it really matters. and we keep building. maybe the green new deal won’t pass congress. it will hurt; we will grieve. but then we lean into each other and adjust. 

building climate resilience is a hard, but necessary task if we are going to make it through this climate emergency. it requires us to join together: work together, cry together, laugh together. it requires us to build a durable and shock-resistant foundation. it requires us to create a flexible and evolving movement and community. and of all the things to turn to, ironically, we can look to plastic to be our guide. because plastic isn’t just one of those characteristics. what makes plastic plastic is the cumulation of all these traits.

we are creative, resourceful, powerfully imaginative. look at what we’ve made — the good and the bad. we invented plastic: our worst nightmare and potentially, metaphorically, our saving grace. but we also invented solar panels. we must recognize our influence and reclaim our detrimental behaviors and creations. this period in time could define us as a human race. do we want to ruin and decimate all that we have, including ourselves? or do we want to be like the problematic, yet wildly resilient plastic we’ve created? to me, the answer is clear.

in washington, d.c., a bag tax originated as part of an initiative to clean up the anacostia river. according to a 2008 study by the department of energy and environment, disposable plastic bags were one of the most prevalent forms of trash pollution in the river. as a result, the district created the anacostia river clean up and protection act of 2009. this law was the first of its kind in the nation, according to the doee. it requires any district business selling food or alcohol to charge five cents per paper or plastic bag, with a goal of shifting consumer behavior away from disposable bags. as of 2017, plastic bag usage had dropped 50% to 70% since the law took effect in 2009. 

across the country, bag taxes similar to d.c.’s were beginning to take effect early this year. however, with the onset of covid-19, all progress was halted due to fears that reusable bags would spread the virus. 

in new york, for example, a plastic bag ban was set to take effect on march 1, 2020. after initially delaying the ban 30 days due to a lawsuit, the delay was extended further due to the pandemic. the ban is now scheduled to take effect on oct. 19, 2020, according to the new york department of environmental conservation. 

additionally, u.s. senator tom udall and u.s. representative alan lowenthal formed the break free from plastic pollution act just a few weeks before the virus became a concern in the u.s. the congressmen are still urging legislative action, according to a statement. 

states and retailers across the country have temporarily suspended the disposable bag bans and taxes to ease fears of contamination by reusable bags. now, i’m concerned about how big an effect the pandemic will have on the previous environmental progress — could it be detrimental? 

according to a report from august, the demand for plastics is expected to increase by 40 percent because of safety concerns. the same study reported that the virus lasts longer on plastic than other surfaces — according to the national institute of health, two to three days — which begs the question: were the ban reversals a premature move, especially after society had finally adapted to using reusable bags? 

a july study also compared the increases of different types of plastics since the pandemic. 

has the plastic industry exploited pandemic fears to further their business? or were ban reversals the right call to make to ensure safety?

i believe reusable bags should be allowed in stores, despite the pandemic. at trader joe’s, for example, the bag tax was recently reinstated temporarily suspending it. they are also allowing customers to bring their own reusable bags if they bag their items themselves. following that precedent, while sanitizing check out counters after the presence of reusable bags, should maintain a level of safety that still follows the initiatives set before the pandemic, both in d.c. and nationwide. the pandemic shouldn’t derail the environmental progress made in the last decade — we don’t have to choose between our own safety and the safety of the anacostia.

since i was a teenager, getting my period has meant heading to cvs to replenish a stock of products from name brands like tampax or playtex and then, just as quickly, tossing them in the trash. 

i am not alone. according to data from the harvard business school, on average, users discard 11,000 tampons throughout their lifetime, which all adds up to 331 pounds of waste. 

traditional period care products are like trifle cakes of plastic. it is in product wrappers, applicators, receptacles for disposal, and even embedded in the product itself in some cases. menstrual pads specifically can be made up of 90% plastic. period care products cannot be recycled so the majority of this waste ends up in landfills. 

in the conversation surrounding sustainability, single-use plastics are normally at the forefront. reusable grocery bags and paper straws are championed as small steps you can take to reduce your impact. but, the impact of period products is talked about far less. 

the stigma surrounding periods for generations has contributed to both the impacts of menstrual waste and the fact that they are only recently coming to light. as an example, experts point to the extra plastic wrappers that tampons have, designed specifically to open without making any noise and keep your period a secret from (heaven forbid!) your stall-neighbor in a public restroom. 

luckily, we are beginning to shed the stigma around menstruation and shine a light on period care sustainability. new companies have stepped up to give eco-conscious menstruators some options. here are five brands that take five unique approaches to make periods greener…

1. natracare 

natracare gets the very first spot on this list because it created the world’s first-ever organic cotton tampon. 

statistics from their website explain how one pack of pads is equivalent in plastic content to four grocery bags. their mission since founding in 1989 has been to prevent this kind of waste by providing pads and tampons that are made from sustainably sourced materials. all of their products became completely compostable and plastic-free in 1995. 

2. dame 

dame, a u.k. based company whose motto is “bleed red, think green,” created the first-ever reusable tampon applicator. their product is ideal for the user who is attached to tampons and the comfort of a smooth applicator, but not to plastic waste. dame’s reusable applicator can be loaded with a tampon, used, and then rinsed off and stored until you need it again. 

a 2020 impact report published on their website claims their products have already saved 2.5 million plastic applicators from being thrown in the trash. as a bonus, the company boasts a carbon-negative certification. for every one metric ton of carbon dame emits, two more metric tons are offset. 

3. aisle

if you purchase pads regularly, a reusable cloth option may be the best bet to become more sustainable. aisle (formerly known as luna pads) is a company that sells a variety of period products including cloth pads. according to their website, thanks to the reusable aisle products purchased so far, more than 639,000 pounds of carbon which would have been used to produce disposable period products, have been avoided. aisle calculated this number using greenstory, a company focused on analyzing sustainability.

4. organicup

yet another approach to the green period problem, is replacing tampons and pads altogether with a menstrual cup. according to organicup’s website, their menstrual cup model lasts for up to two years. on average organicup calculated that this is equivalent to the use and disposal of 528 pads or tampons.

5. thinx

a final option, that eliminates the need for pads and any type of insertion, is period underwear. thinx is one company that has developed underpants designed to absorb period blood. their underwear options range from light absorbency to a super absorbency option that can hold up to 36 ml of blood, the equivalent of four regular tampons.

while my passion for the environment and for sustainability haven’t wavered, it would be naïve to neglect the fact that my philosophical understanding of environmental ethics has taken a new form. comprehending the pandemic and the actions necessary to mitigate it has forced me to reevaluate my ethical priorities. and along the way, i have had to adjust my own principles of living for the betterment of society.

let me explain.

after almost four months in strict lockdown in the heart of new york city, i decided to take advantage of my danish citizenship and spend my fall semester in denmark. the covid situation and restrictions there were very different over the summer months, having much to do with earlier shutdowns and the rapid testing that occurred faster than what we experienced in the united states. but unfortunately, denmark, and copenhagen in particular, experienced a harsh second wave of the virus as it approached the winter months.

the months in lockdown in new york, as well as living through a steady rise in danish cases shortly after, once again made me feel helpless. it’s difficult to appreciate all that is being done to tackle the virus when you simultaneously feel so removed from the progress.

but then, somehow, i managed to get involved.

through a few coincidental mutual friends and a fervent urge to do my part, i landed a job with a private company that provides rapid covid testing for patients. and suddenly, there i was, on “the front lines.” every positive test that i gave meant a complete change of gear: gown, gloves, mask, hairnet, wipe this, wipe that, spray disinfectant everywhere, crack the window, attempt to avoid inhaling all the fumes, wipe that again, and repeat.

the quick tests we give come individually wrapped and require the use of a single-use test tube, a single-use swab, and a single-use test kit—all parts sealed in a plastic sheath for protection. each patient is asked to fill out a paper form before we administer the test, requiring them to allow us to record their data if they do test positive, for governmental records. to get an idea, at the end of an 11-hour shift, i have sometimes filed away over 300 pieces of paper—and that’s just from my one room. we have 17 more rooms just in the mobile clinic that i work at.

if it wasn’t already clear, the amount of waste that accumulates after just a day’s worth of work is nauseating. i’m convinced it would be appalling even to those who aren’t acutely aware of the environmental impacts of single-use plastic. the guilt that hits me as i carry, sometimes up to five, stuffed black trash bags that i’ve filled behind “clinic no. 6” after my shift ends, hasn’t yet subsided.

but—i just cannot feel angry about it in the same way as i normally could. because this waste is a necessity to saving lives.

clearly, i desperately needed to adjust my priorities. it is ridiculous to feel the same level of guilt over the waste that is required for preventing disease transmission as i feel about avoidable day-to-day waste. perhaps if people were more conscious about avoiding waste in other areas of their lives, whether that be in product packaging, disposal items that have reusable alternatives, food waste, single-use plastic, etc., then it would be easier to dissipate the guilt of waste that will help halt the spread of covid.

it is once again extremely difficult to urge people to care about the environment at a time when there are more tangibly terrifying threats to our own species. so many of us have felt the personal ramifications of this pandemic and helping to stop its spread should no doubt be the priority. it would furthermore be impossible to focus on the many environmental challenges if you are burdened with illness yourself.

so, what i am asking for instead, is for us to collectively compromise. in order to test as many people as we can, these rapid test kits are necessary. the inconceivable portion waste that will continue to accumulate to prevent disease transmission therefore must proceed. that calls for everyone else, to once again, do their part. for the waste that can be avoided, twice the effort should be made so that twice as much waste is reduced and recycled. millions of people do have the means to dramatically reduce their footprint, and in this moment in history, they should be doing everything they possibly can. there is simply no excuse.

with everything that has divided us this past year, let us step into 2021 with a collective intention to work together to achieve a world that will benefit us all. if you can do your part to save the planet without any life-threatening risks, then you should do so, it’s a privilege. because people who cannot, are risking their lives in order to save lives.