Friend or Foam: The Perils of Single-Use Plastics


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Plastic is an amazing material. It can be flexible, hard, waterproof, and beyond. Plastic allows for all kinds of medical and technological advances, such as IV bags, car parts, and modern appliances. Yet the most remarkable fact about plastic is that we primarily squander this modern marvel in single-use items such as polystyrene foam containers.

Issues introduced in the Friend or Foam series are symptoms of a larger problem. For a small island community, our habits are frankly trashy. We generate about 1.6 million tons [pdf] annually, or about 6.6 pounds of waste per resident, per day. The national average is 4.4 pounds per day.



Often accepted as an instinctive convenience, single-use plastic consumption continues to rise at astounding levels. The 2006 City and County of Honolulu waste characterization study [pdf] estimates that 7,000 tons of polystyrene foam entered H-Power or Oahu landfills. That’s 38,000 pounds each day. Oahu recycles 5,400 tons of type 1 and 2 plastics each year. However, in 2006, H-Power and the landfill received 114,000 tons of containers, bottles, and bags that could not be or were not recycled.

Plastic products represent around 12% of our nation’s (not recycled) municipal solid waste stream. Nationally, we purchase over 25 billion single serving, plastic water bottles each year. Americans also use over 100 billion plastic bags each year.

The EPA estimates that less than 8% of all plastics in our country ever get recycled. Less than 30% of type 1 and 2 containers get recycled. That’s our water, soda, and detergent bottles (not lids). Less than 1% of type 3, 4, 6, or 7 are recycled. Polystyrene foam is type 6. Plastic chemical type is indicated by the chasing-arrows symbol on your container. Oahu Opala redemption centers only accept type 1 and 2 plastics.

The same qualities that make plastic such a common choice of material also make it impossible to dispose of in a sustainable way. Ultimately neither recycling nor incineration are entirely satisfactory solutions.

For one, we should be careful not to be over comforted by the abilities of H-Power to reduce our waste mass. The investment in upgrades to H-Power comes at the exclusion of investment in other more-sustainable energy sources. Each year, H-Power still sends 100,000 tons of ash to the landfill. We should be aware of the potential health hazards that plastics in the ash or in the landfill could cause for the shores and communities on West Oahu.

Second, unlike glass or metal, recycling plastic is costly and does not stem the production of virgin plastic products. Glass and aluminum are easily recycled into the same quality product while plastics are typically “downcycled” into lower quality products. Further, most of our recyclable plastic is exported to countries with lighter regulations for working with dangerous chemicals. Oahu’s plastic is sent to the highest bidder, currently companies in China. We’re making our trash someone else’s problem at great risk to their health and environment.

Beyond these perils of recycling and incineration, there are a number of key reasons to add another “R” to our “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” mantra: Refuse.

Single-use plastics are the main source of plastic pollution. A foam cup is used for seconds, but it will last over 50 years. Plastic bottles can endure 450 years or longer in most landfill conditions. In our marine environment, plastic does not biodegrade, but photo-degrades into smaller pieces that can entangle or be ingested by wildlife. This pollution also damages reefs and clogs waterways.

Ditching plastic can save you money and resources. Take, for example, one of the biggest villains in our plastic waste stream: bottled water. We gulp down this manufactured demand at a price often higher than gasoline. If you buy bottled water from the vending machine for $1.50, the cost is $11.34 per gallon. But bottled water is not FDA regulated nor safer than tap water. Speaking of gasoline, the creation and the transportation of plastic packaging depend entirely on non-renewable fossil fuels such as petroleum and natural gas. If you fill a PET bottle about one-third of the way full, that is how much oil it takes to make and move your water.

American cities spend an estimated $64 billion in tax dollars for plastic bag clean up from roads, parks, and waterways. That’s $.17 per bag in San Francisco. A recent Los Angeles case study showed bag clean up costs at $.21 per bag. Additionally, consumers actually pay around $15 to $37.50 a year in hidden costs for so-called free bags at check out.



Finally, plastic packaging is poisoning our bodies and our food chain. The chemicals in plastic that make it hard or pliable are not inert as originally thought. Harmful chemicals such as Bisphenol-A, Styrene, phthalates, and dioxins are leached into the seafood we catch, into our soil and water, and by storage containers into our food or drink.

The hopeful point here is that consumption of single-use plastics is more often than not a personal choice. You can choose to refuse bottled drinks, foam cups and containers, grocery bags, and plastic cutlery. You can replace them with reusable, healthier, inexpensive items. Although we should keep fighting for reforms, such as improvements to recycling programs or bag and foam bills, we truly cannot afford to wait for public policy or the packaging industry to meet up with these concerns. The solutions to this problem all begin with an individual’s or a business’s commitment to change.


About the author: 
Rachel Harvey is a volunteer for Kanu Hawaii and Kokua Hawaii Foundation. She recently finisher her PhD in anthropology and is interested in community sustainability projects. When Rachel moved to Kailua in 2010, one of the first things she noticed was the insidious presence of micro-plastics and marine debris on the beach. She helped start the Plastic Free Kailua chapter, leading volunteers to collect over 700 pounds of marine debris at Kailua Beach Park in the first year and getting local businesses to join Kokua’s budding plastic free business coalition. Rachel is also the Chair of this year’s No Waste Challenge for Kanu Hawaii.

Read our related stories about plastic foam in Hawaii:

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