In 2019 alone, more than 450 million tons of plastic was produced globally. This amounts to a staggering 900,000,000,000 pounds (that’s 900 billion pounds), and the equivalent of more than 112 pounds of plastic produced each year, for every person on the planet.

Since its inception in the early 1900s, synthetic plastic has become the gold standard for convenience products and packaging across the globe. From utensils and cutlery, to bottles, bags and most other packaging items, plastic has found its way into more products than we can imagine. But what is plastic and what consequences are we experiencing from its global production and overuse?

A product of fossil fuels

Synthetic plastics are derived from crude oil, natural gas, and petroleum that are refined into ethylene and propylene. Together, these two chemical compounds form the polymers used in new or ‘virgin’ plastic production.

Plastic continues to be so widely used for single-use and other packaging products because it is inexpensive and easy to produce. Unfortunately, it is not biodegradable – meaning that plastic doesn’t break down. This strength has become our greatest challenge in that every single piece of plastic ever created on Earth still exists on the planet today.

Inevitably, plastic becomes pollution in our environment after it serves an intended purpose. In Maine, much of our plastic waste not recycled is incinerated in trash-to-energy facilities like ecomaine in Portland. While energy creation and emissions capture technologies are used in these facilities, there is no way to completely avoid the release of harmful greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollutants.

Other plastics end up in our waterways and oceans, polluting the marine environments that many Mainers survive on. Ultimately, how we manage plastics and plastic pollution today can lead to the creation of the thriving ecosystems we all hope to see return in the future.

This month, we’ll take a deeper dive into the world of plastic by looking at how our communities have developed such a reliance on plastics (and how pervasive they are in everyday items), how we can embrace plastic alternatives in our lives, and how the state’s Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging Law (EPR) will systematically help reduce the need for plastics.

Coffee & Climate: Plastic and Producer Responsibility

Join the One Climate Future team for July’s Coffee & Climate Event: Plastics and Producer Responsibility, Friday, July 14 from 8 to 9 a.m. at Tandem Coffee Roasters – Cafe & Roastery, fondly referred to as “Little Tandem” at 122 Anderson St. in Portland.

Vanessa Berry, Sustainable Maine outreach coordinator from the Natural Resources Council of Maine, Laura Marston, founder of Go-Go Refill, and Lexi Doudera, founder and executive director of Saltwater Classroom, will share how plastics have shaped our world – and how we as a community can move forward without relying on new plastics production.

Grab some coffee and join us for a discussion on sustainability, plastic-free options, and how you can join in to clean up the plastic pollution right here in Portland at the in-person event.

No registration is required to attend. We hope to see you at Little Tandem, Friday, July 14 at 8 a.m.

Our Sustainable City is a recurring column in the Sentry intended to provide residents with news and information about sustainability initiatives in South Portland. Follow the Sustainability Office on Instagram @soposustainability.

Steve Genovese is an AmeriCorps/Greater Portland Council of Governments Resilience Corps fellow serving in the South Portland Sustainability Office through September 2023. He can be reached at sgenovese@southportland.org.