I just read a very depressing article online about a sea of plastic that can be found in remote areas of the Pacific. The article contained disturbing photographs of a sea turtle's shell being constrained by a plastic band. There were other horrific photographs of tangled plastic containers clogging parts of the ocean. Even more disturbing, were references to the fact that tiny particles of plastic can be found on the water and on some beaches, mixed with sand--even in remote parts of the world--which indicates that plastic may be permeating the food chain and may be something that can be breathed, eaten and otherwise absorbed by humans.

This article seemed at first glance, a reminder for those who use plastic containers, to recycle them. Yet, the message was more grim than that. Recycling plastic is not an easy feat and (per this article) only 3%-5% is actually made into another product. Unlike glass, which can be easily made into another bottle, plastic milk containers, for example, cannot usually be made into another beverage container, without the use of more virgin plastic. Accordingly, most recycled plastic is used for garments, like fleece, or other non-consumable uses. As such, recycling plastic does not really save energy with respect to producing beverage or other food containers made of plastic. Despite some of our best efforts (and beliefs that all of our recycling efforts will be for the betterment of the world), most plastic lands in the dump. So what do we do? Do we not buy items at the store made of plastic? Perhaps if I see a chance to buy more glass bottles, rather than plastic, I will do that. My hope is that more and more research will go into producing plastic that can biodegrade or be recycled easily without leaching or the release of harmful chemicals. We are using a great deal of energy for the convenience of plastic, yet if plastic never disappears when we are done with it and can't easily be converted into something else, then are we going to grow to hate this material at some point?