Beyond Plastics Greater Mankato Area

Resolution to reduce single use throwaway plastics in North Mankato

• Whereas plastic never completely breaks down but breaks into smaller microplastic and nanoplastic particles that remain in our environment indefinitely (approximately 9 billion tons in total);
• Whereas only 8% is recycled or recyclable;
• Whereas about 8 million tons of plastic waste escape into the oceans annually (a dump truck full a minute), killing millions of animals and marine organisms;
• Whereas we breath in 272 microplastic particles a day and ingest a credit card’s worth of microplastics a week from dust particles that carry 1000 to 4000 tons of plastics a year;
• Whereas the 144 toxic chemical additives in plastic bags and food ware are known to cause breast and prostate cancer and harm our reproductive, neurological, cardiovascular and hormonal system;
• Whereas microplastics found in human fetuses cause miscarriage, low birth weight, immune problems, gene damage and developmental changes;
• Whereas the 30 to 36% increase in plastic production in the next 6 years will become an international health issue that will pose serious threats to future generations;
• Whereas a recent scientific study concluded that the cocktail of chemical pollution that pervades the planet now threatens the stability of global ecosystems upon which humanity depends;
• Whereas 130 plastics facilities report greenhouse gas emissions roughly equal to 57 average 500-megawatt coal-fired power plants with another 42 plastics facilities slated to open by 2025;
• Whereas an average local grocery store gives out approximately 1.5 million plastic bags a year that are used once and thrown away;
• Whereas Americans throw away 25 trillion Styrofoam cups, 40 billion plastic utensils and four billion plastic straws a year that are not recycled and contaminate our environment;
• Whereas Polystyrene components, Benzene and Styrene, are known carcinogens and neurotoxins and the industry is the 5^th largest creator of toxic waste in the U.S.;
• Whereas chemicals such as vinyl chloride and benzene released during the production of plastic utensils are known carcinogens and neurotoxins;

Be it resolved that the city of North Mankato authorize the following actions to protect our environment and health of our community from throwaway plastic pollution:

1.Put a fee on all plastic and paper bags in all retail establishments;

2. Ban all polystyrene takeout food containers and cups;

3. Provide plastic straws and utensils upon request only.

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City of North Mankato Resolution to Reduce Single Use Throwaway Plastics

References for Plastics Resolution:

https://www.beyondplastics.org/

http://www.bagitduluth.org/

https://oceana.org/

75% of the people want a worldwide ban on single use plastics.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/75-people-want-single-plastics-000351848.html

Chemical Pollution is now threatening earth’s life support systems.

https://chemtrust.org/news/global-chemical-pollution/Benchmarking the in Vitro and chemical composition of plastic consumer products

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.9b02293Widespread chemical contamination of recycled plastic pellets globally (IPEN)

US Plastic Waste Export Data

https://ipen.org/documents/widespread-chemical-contamination-recycled-plastic-pellets-globally

Polystyrene Fact Sheet: 8 reasons to ban Styrofoam

https://greendiningalliance.org/2015/10/8-reasons-to-ban-styro-foam/#:~:text=These%20are%20the%20reasons%20people,Washington%20D.C.%20have%20banned%20it.

https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/environmental-impact-plastic-cutlery-and-solutions.php

https://www.forbes.com/sites/lauratenenbaum/2019/07/16/plastic-cutlery-is-terrible-for-the-environment-and-we-dont-need-to-have-it-delivered/?sh=7c93c1e34019

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/whopping-91-percent-plastic-isnt-recycled/

 

Plastic Pollution

https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2021/04/atmospheric-travel-scientists-find-microplastic-everywhere

https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Microplastic+pollution+devastating+soil+species,+study+finds&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart

https://globalnews.ca/news/7537031/microplastics-human-placenta-fetus-study/

Dr.Shanna H. Swan’s book:  Countdown:  How Our World is Threatening Sperm Counts,  Altering Male and Female Reproductive Development, and Imperiling the Future of the Human Race, Scribner, New York, 2020

Videos

Earth’s Super Polluters

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaEiBK2a2as

https://www.breakfreefromplastic.org/films-and-documentaries/

https://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/ppc-webinar-031622

Resources on alternatives to throwaway plastic:

https://www.breakfreefromplastic.org/2021/04/29/what-we-waste-report-top-asian-countries-with-sharpest-decline-of-market-share-of-refillables-in-the-beverage-industry-identified-in-landmark-global-report/

https://www.breakfreefromplastic.org/we-choose-reuse/

Reusable Solutions

https://www.breakfreefromplastic.org › 2019/10 PDF