From: lessgovt@gmail.com   
      
   Orange County NC, Solid Waste & Recycling E-News: August 2023   
   [ . . . ]   
   With the end of July came the closure of the annual Plastic Free July   
   campaign.    
   However, even though initiatives can end, plastic and its impacts on the   
   planet remain.    
   Roughly 400 million tons of plastic are produced each year. About 36%, or 144   
   million tons,    
   are used for packaging, such as single-use food and beverage packaging. Items   
   like    
   plastic cups, cereal and chip bags, and Styrofoam trays cannot be recycled and   
   end up    
   as trash or, when disposed of improperly, litter (unep.org).   
      
   Most single-use plastics – an estimated 98% – are produced using fossil   
   fuels, contributing    
   to greenhouse gas emissions, global warming, and climate change. Currently,   
   most single-use    
   plastics cannot be recycled in Orange County. The recycling industry alone   
   will not be able    
   to solve the issue of plastic pollution, as plastic production rates continue   
   to increase    
   every year and not all plastic is intended to be recycled (plast   
   csoupfoundation.org).   
      
   Consider ways you or your household can continue to reduce plastic use in your   
   daily lives.    
   Set new goals on reducing plastic consumption and challenge yourself to refuse   
   single-use    
   plastics at stores and restaurants. Simple actions like bringing your own mug   
   to a coffee    
   shop or swapping your plastic snack bags for reusable containers may seem   
   small, but    
   collective small actions add up to larger, noticeable changes as the County   
   strives to    
   reach “Zero Waste” by 2045.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)