The Informer argued last week that the 2024 Earth Day theme, “Planet vs. Plastics,” really should’ve been “People vs. Plastics,” given that microplastics already reside in our bodies and humans are the only ones that can do much about it.
In actuality, based on who is most harmed by the plastic industry, the theme could also have been “Black People vs. Plastics.”
Consider the basic life cycle of a single-use plastic product: extracting and refining oil, turning it into plastic, transporting it, dealing with it as waste. Each step involves exposing Black communities to unjust levels of pollution connected to asthma, heart disease and cancer, among other health harms.
As of 2017, Black people were 75% more likely to live across the fence line from toxic oil and gas facilities than the average American. Highways, where diesel trucks transport a ceaseless stream of single-use products, tend to cut through Black, brown and low-income neighborhoods. Communities of color and low-income communities house a disproportionate number of U.S. landfills and nearly 80% of America’s large trash incinerators. On a local level, Wards 5, 7 and 8 deal with illegal dumping and plastic litter far more commonly than Wards 2 and 3.
Globally, the cost of plastic — for environments, economies and health — is about 10 times higher for low-income countries than for high-income ones, according to a recent study by the World Wildlife Fund. Low-income countries consume about three times less plastic per person than high-income ones.
Plastic production and plastic waste are civil rights issues, though we might not always think of it that way. If we want a livable planet and a fairer world for ourselves and the generations that come next, we need to address our collective single-use plastic addiction — and we can’t afford to wait until the next Earth Day.