December 11, 2024 The Community Calls for Action to Ban Single-use Plastics  In Harlem, NY, City College students protested against vending machines making off single-use plastics such as water bottles and plastic chip bags in the second floor cafeteria on Tuesday, November 19th from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm. CCNY is located at 160 Convent Ave., New York, NY, 10031. As a society, we are entitled to do better. This does not only include the community as a whole but the government as well. The government holds the most responsibility in ensuring that our community is free from harm, but how can that be if the existence of micro plastics…

Plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental issues of our time. Despite its convenience and widespread use, plastic is wreaking havoc on our planet. From the deepest ocean trenches to the remotest polar wrenches, plastic waste has infiltrated every corner of the Earth, posing significant threats to both the environment and public health especially in NYC. The plastic pollution crisis started as a by-product of greenhouse gas-emitting oil and natural gas refining to increasingly fragmented shards of micro and nano plastics in lakes, oceans and soil.  Since then, the world has seen an explosive increase in plastic production, reaching about 380 million metric tons annually by 2015.…

Key Takeaways Despite the ease and convenience of single-use plastic within everyday lives and in businesses globally, the use of single-use plastics has caused an immersive health and safety concern for people and the environment. Plastic consumption has quadrupled in the last 30 years (Global Plastics Outlook, 2022) and it is predicted to increase; it is estimated that in 2050 there could be more plastic in the ocean than fish by weight (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2016). With this growing population, it’s only a matter of time before the production, pollution and destruction of single-use plastic starts doing serious harm to not only our environment but to our bodies as well.…

By Shanelle Maksud Every year, New York City collects over 36 million pounds of plastic waste, much of it littering streets, parks, and waterways—turning the city that never sleeps into a city buried in trash. From discarded bags on sidewalks to bottles clogging waterways, single-use plastics have a noticeable impact on the city’s aesthetics. This pollution also ties deeply into the city’s economy, disproportionately affecting low-income neighborhoods. Understanding how single-use plastics harm both the beauty and economics of NYC is important in addressing this growing issue and creating a cleaner, fairer environment. Economic Disparities in Waste Management There being a disparity between neighborhoods in NYC demonstrates that the economic burden…

Next time you go to the supermarket, be sure to grab your stylish new tote! Reusable tote bags and biodegradable shopping bags have taken over the town as efforts to push sustainability and eco-friendly alternatives to New Yorkers have spurred cultural change. New York State’s law, banning plastic bags took place on March 1st in 2020, however, it wasn’t until October 19, 2020  (Plastic Bag Ban and Paper Bag Fee · NYC311, n.d.) when the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation began to enforce the law. The New York Plastic Bag Task Force says New Yorker’s currently use 23 billion plastic bags each year (NYS Plastic Bag Task Force,…

By Shanelle Maksud Plastic, once celebrated as a miracle material in post-war New York City, has now become one of the city’s biggest environmental threats. How did our love for single-use plastic turn into a crisis? In a city that’s as active as New York, small choices add up leading to a plastic pollution problem decades in the making. Today, the overuse of single-use plastics has left New York’s waterways, streets, and landfills overloaded with waste, posting a major challenge to city officials and citizens. Early Use of Plastics in NYC Initially, plastic was seen as an innovation that allowed people to enjoy convenience in a city where time and…