City of Boise challenges residents: Can you reduce your reliance on single-use plastic?

Single-use plastics like straws, takeout containers and plastic bags contribute hundreds of tons of waste to landfills every year.

During the month of July, the City of Boise hopes to encourage residents to reduce their single-use plastic reliance by participating in the Boise Plastics Challenge.

“Recycling is reactionary. We need to shift the conversation to reducing the amount of waste,” said Colin Hickman, communication manager for public works at the City of Boise, in an interview with the Idaho Statesman.

With China’s ban on importing recycling waste, U.S. cities must find other ways to recycle and reduce plastic waste. Some plastics are easily recyclable, while others must be placed in special orange bags for separate processing. But reducing the amount of plastic that enters recycling bins and landfills is more sustainable.

“In school, we are taught reduce, reuse and recycle,” said Hickman “We have been laser-focused on recycling, but we need to move the conversation to reducing waste. Let’s start and elevate a community discussion to reduce single-use plastics.”

Single-use plastics facts, according to the city of Boise:

• Each American uses on average 700 plastic bags a year, adding up to more than 11% of plastic waste.
• Each American on average uses 580 plastic straws per person per year.
• The average American uses 156 plastic water bottles every year.
• Plastic takeout containers are 31% of plastic waste, adding up to about 269,000 tons of annual waste from plastic takeout containers, cutlery and cups.
• Almost 30% of plastic waste comes from packaging.

Take the Boise plastics challenge

To participate in the challenge, fill out the form on the City of Boise’s website and commit to one or more of the following actions to reduce single-use plastic use:

• Stop using plastic bags.
• Stop using plastic water bottles.
• Stop using plastic straws.
• Stop using plastic takeout containers, cutlery and cups.
• Stop using all single-use plastics.
• Talk with five businesses about how they are reducing plastics.

According to Natalie Monro, City of Boise public works communications coordinator, 688 people have committed to the Plastics Challenge as of Tuesday. The most common commitments are stopping the use of plastic bags and plastic water bottles, but most people have committed to multiple single-use reductions.

“There will be more to come later this summer with surveys and focus groups to talk about values and behavior changes,” Hickman said. “People are frustrated with the amount of plastics, and people are looking to do things in a different way. This is a way to tackle the plastics issue as a community.”

Rachel Hager is writing for the Idaho Statesman this summer on a fellowship through the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She is a master’s student in ecology at Utah State University and earned a bachelor’s degree in biology at Bryn Mawr College.

This story was originally published July 2, 2019 at 5:37 PM.