One of the more disturbing byproducts of human endeavor is the colossal amount of plastics. Plastics, made of various synthetic polymers strung together, were created for their structural stability and resistance to degradation. Since the first discovery of a semi-synthetic in 1839, plastics have become as diverse as they have ubiquitous in our society. Plastic’s ubiquity in our world is precisely because it’s cheap and easily adapted. Nearly every consumer product contains plastics, was packaged in plastic, or used some plastic product in its creation or delivery.

The result of our global dependence on plastics is that at least 25% of all waste in landfills are plastics (Environmental Literary Council). However, hundreds of tons of plastic waste doesn’t end up in landfills, but in our oceans. Plastics make up 90% of all trash in the world’s oceans. Plastics don’t biodegrade like other materials, chemically changing into constituent parts that our planet can recycle naturally. Plastics, which were are used exactly for their material stability, instead erode, breaking up into smaller and smaller parts. Right now, plastic is measured in our oceans at 46,000 pieces per square mile (savemyoceans.com).

A lot of the garbage in the ocean, of which most is plastic, ends up in gyres, or dead spots where there isn’t ocean current activity. The North Pacific Gyre has been recast as the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” because of the astounding amount of plastic that has collected there. According to the National marine Life Center, this floating “water”fill is twice the size of Texas and outnumbers sea life by 6 to 1.

This is to say nothing of the cocktail of toxins that leach out of plastics into our oceans, ground water, and beverages. Often, if we don’t ingest these chemicals directly, something in our food chain does and some form of the pollutants do reach us.

Though plastics aren’t necessarily on the mainstream radar with respect to environmental issues, they will be. Plastic has become a global standard against the problems of sanitation, sterilization, and protection. As the world’s population continues to grow, so will the demand for plastics. How do we reconcile our dependence on plastics for very real needs with the overall health and sustainability of the planet?

One solution is, and has been for some time, recycling. However, recycling plastics into other plastics only works as well as the consumers that dispose of their garbage and the demand for those recycled products are willing to cooperate. You can’t make someone recycle (though culturally, we’ve come a long way in valuing recycling) and you can’t make a consumer search the store for products made of recycled materials.

One environmental entrepreneur has already begun to develop ways to address the plastic paradox; enter Tyson Toussant, founder of Bionic Yarn. One of the unique qualities of plastic that makes it so versatile is its malleability, or the quality of being molded many times, in many ways. Bionic Yarn recycles plastics (bottles, packaging, and other kinds that frequently end up in landfills or the ocean) into fibers that are then woven into clothing, accessories, furniture, and luggage/backpacks. These products are often designed with current trends and fashions in mind. For more information on Bionic Yarn, their mission and products, go to www.bionicyarn.com.

Photo courtesy of alternativechannel.tv