Plastics are woven into every aspect of our lives, but what was once the poster child for convenience is fast becoming a pariah product. The era of single-use plastic must end; banning it is the only practical way forward.

Some 430 million metric tons of plastic are produced annually, with much of it being single-use, and 91 percent of it becomes waste, contributing to a serious global plastic problem. Some countries are finally taking much-needed action. In America, 12 states and many local governments, including several in the Charleston region, have outlawed plastic bags. The European Union is cracking down on everything from plastic straws and cutlery to earbuds, and in 2020, China began rolling out sweeping plastic bans targeting bags, packaging and hotel freebies.

This global push to curb plastic waste is about more than cleaning up -- it's about protecting public health. Increasingly, credible, peer-reviewed studies are revealing that plastic pollution is not only an environmental emergency but also a looming public health crisis.

Here's the issue: Plastic doesn't just go away. Unlike organic materials, such as paper and glass, plastics aren't fully biodegrade. Instead, plastic breaks down into smaller pieces over long periods of time and continually sheds into tiny particles called microplastics. These are in the air we breathe, our water, soil and even the food we eat.

Microplastics -- and the toxic chemicals they release -- can get inside our bodies. They have been found in major organs, our blood and the reproductive system. Plastic chemicals such as phthalates and bisphenol A are linked to serious health problems, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, strokes, hormone disruptions, fertility issues, metabolic and chronic illnesses, neurological damage and some cancers. What's even more worrying is that plastics can especially harm vulnerable groups such as babies.

We have to wean ourselves off single-use plastics quickly, and banning them is the most effective way of achieving that.

We got hooked on plastics after World War II, when the nascent plastic industry promoted plastic consumer products as "disposable." A 1955 Life magazine article titled "Throwaway Living" celebrated the convenience of plastic items, framing them as symbols of progress and hygiene. It is not surprising that two-thirds of all plastics produced globally each year are single-use.

There is clear evidence that banning single-use products has immediate benefits. A recent study in the journal Science found that plastic bag fees and bans in the United States led to a 25 percent to 47 percent decrease in plastic bag litter on shorelines. In California, for example, a San Jose plastic bag ban cut river bag litter to less than one-third within a year. In Santa Cruz, the amount of plastic bag trash dropped 10-fold in beach cleanups after local bans were implemented. In Santa Barbara, a two-year ban resulted in the elimination of 45 million plastic bags.

Similar bans and results have been observed in 100 countries that have implemented full or partial bans on single-use plastic bags, including the European Union.

Many people assume recycling is the solution. It's not. Less than 10 percent of all plastic ever produced has been recycled. More than 90 percent of plastic ends up in landfills, incinerators or the environment. Even when plastics are recycled, they actually shed more microplastics than virgin plastics.

So-called waste management solutions such as chemical recycling are little more than greenwashing. They equate melting down old plastics to "management," when in reality the process produces more low-quality feedstock and promotes the false narrative of a "circular economy."

Some worry that banning single-use plastics will harm businesses and consumers. The reality tells a different story. A recent study found that the health care costs linked to chemicals in plastics are a staggering $250 billion annually in the United States; that's 1.22 percent of the country's GDP that could be saved. Beyond health cost savings, cities that have banned plastic bags also save money by reducing clogged storm drains and the need for public litter cleanups.

The plastics industry won't take U.S. plastic bans lightly. Already, it is encouraging states to pass preemptive laws blocking local bans, effectively protecting plastic use. These include Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Wisconsin -- all of which prevent cities and counties from regulating or taxing items like plastic bags and containers. Efforts to do the same in South Carolina repeatedly have failed, but that doesn't stop the industry from trying again.

Banning single-use plastic is inevitable because people are increasingly aware of the harm it is doing to the environment and, more importantly, to their health. The question is simple: How quickly will we act to break free from plastic's chokehold and reclaim a healthier future for ourselves and the planet?

Aminah Taariq-Sidibe is the manager of the End Plastics Initiative at EarthDay.org. She wrote this for InsideSources.com.

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