An Earth Day Petition from NCPIRG
Submitted by UNC Students
(Editor’s note: The following were submitted individually by members of NCPIRG, a student-led organization that facilities an informative approach to tackling many environmental and social injustices, in support of a petition calling on UNC-Chapel Hill to reduce plastic waste.)
Mariam Ali
My name is Mariam Ali, and I’m a volunteer at NCPIRG’s Media Outreach Committee at UNC-Chapel Hill. NCPIRG is a student-led organization that facilitates an informative approach to tackling many environmental and social injustices.
There’s no doubt that, unfortunately, the overconsumption of plastics has triggered many environmental and social injustices. Not only that, but there are little efforts made to raise awareness about this issue to all of those that need to hear it on campus. Plastics have demonstrated a significant influence on our lives. They’re inevitable to avoid since they’re always at our disposal. However, our constant reliance on plastics has contributed to more harm than good. It’s mind-bottling to learn that by the year 2050, there will be more plastic waste in our oceans than there will be fish. This problem starts with the ultimate culprits of the problem – us. That’s why NCPIRG’s Break Free From Plastic campaign prioritizes the highly overlooked issue of plastic usage. We, as collective individuals, are the primary sources of this issue. As Earth week approaches relatively soon, we believe it’s vital to address the problems we’re experiencing as we become more educated about plastic’s negative environmental impacts.
This semester, we are pivoting our focus on the utilization and, frankly, overconsumption of plastics. With an optimistic mindset for alternating the future status, our organization expresses no hesitation in reinstating the absolute significance of looking after our planet and ultimately us. We have the power to manipulate how we interact with the environment, and the least we can do is repay it by taking care of it. By spreading awareness and increasing engagement in such a vital topic, we can further reduce our adverse impacts by utilizing sustainable approaches, such as re-using material instead of wasting it.
Elie Zakhem
In light of Earth Day this week, we student’s at NCPIRG have been thinking long and hard about the best possible gift we can give to Mother Nature this year. It has become paramount that we do our best to preserve this planet, as well as all of its inhabitants, which is why we believe that the best possible thing to do this year is focus on decreasing the consumption of single-use plastics in our everyday lives.
Of the 300 million tons of plastic waste produced each year, only about 9% of it is actually recycled. This leaves 273 million tons of plastic to be improperly disposed of both on land and in our oceans. At the rate we’re going now, there will be more plastic than fish in our oceans by 2050.
At NCPIRG, we are working on a solution to this issue, which would have UNC Chapel Hill pledge to reduce the universities consumption of single-use plastics to zero in the future. By getting UNC to sign the Break Free From Plastics pledge, the university would promise to outline and execute a plan to limit plastic waste consumption and do its part in preserving our planet.
We only get one Earth, so this Earth Day we should do our part and pledge to keep it clean. Sign our petition calling on UNC Chapel Hill to break free from plastics!
Julia Straight
Celebrate Earth Day the Right Way
From Mt. Everest to the Mariana Trench, plastic has reached every part of our Earth. In Chapel Hill, UNC is contributing to the overuse of plastic; the UNC campus regularly throws away single-use plastics such as wrappers, containers, bottles, and bags. Out of all the plastic used at UNC and around the world, only about 9% of it is recycled.
Our current rate of plastic consumption is not sustainable — we need to do something about it. At NCPIRG, we have been working on a plan for UNC to protect our Earth: develop a Zero-Waste Task Force, replace single-use plastic with readily-available alternatives, establish long term elimination of single-use plastic, and implement campus-wide plastic management systems.
This Earth Day and every day, we need to focus on reducing plastic waste. Use your voice by signing our petition for UNC to break free from plastics!
Tatum Pryor
Why stop with reusable boxes?!
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, eating at UNC cafeterias look different. As many students are taking food to go, single-use plastic bags and utensils can be seen strewn across virtually all of campus.
This perpetuates the overwhelming plastic accumulation polluting our land and ocean ecosystems. When plastics break down, they don’t go away. Rather, they break up. The remnants of such breakdown are microplastics and chemicals detrimental to the health of human and non-human organisms.
Moreover, the production of plastics takes significant energy, and emits large amounts of pollution through all stages of manufacturing. If continuing at it’s current pace, plastic production could add 1.34 gigatons of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere by 2030 (did someone say climate change?).
Though recycling has become more prevalent in recent years, approximately 91% of plastic goes unrecycled each year. Single-use plastics particularly are often harder to recycle due to their size and ability to get stuck in crevices of recycling machines. Hence, the most productive way to limit the consequences of plastics is to stop using them.
Therefore, as plastics are causing degradation to both the health of humans and the environment, NCPIRG is calling for UNC to end it’s use of single use plastics. When there are plenty of biodegradable and multi-use alternatives, there is really no excuse.
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