Save Our Waterways: Pledge Your Commitment…
One person can make a difference! Eliminating just one type of single use plastic or styrofoam item from your daily habits can really add up to a big impact.
That being said…much like a diet, it’s important not to overcommit and overwhelm yourself. It’s best to take things step-by-step. We got into these societal habits of disposable plastic/styrofoam items over time, and it will likewise take time to get back out of these habits. Eliminating one single-use item a year is a great way to make that impact!
choose one of the items to give up for a year: MAKE your pledge at the bottom of page
Plastic Bottles | Styrofoam Cups | Plastic Straws | Disposable Lighters | Plastic Bags
Cutting out plastic bottles for 1 year = 167 bottles saved per person
Plastic bottles
Plastic bottles are by far the item we pull out the most on the Tennessee River and it’s the same story for our river and coastal cleanup friends around the world.
Reusable stainless steel water bottles, tumblers, and mugs are all great solutions to our plastic bottle problem, which ultimately becomes a micro plastic problem when they break down in our water source.
An added bonus: Bringing in reusable cups to a gas station to use at the fountain drink station is far less expensive than buying bottled beverages! Hurray for $$ saved on road trips!
Cutting out styrofoam cups for 1 year = 82 cups saved per person
Styrofoam cups
Styrofoam has been projected to take anywhere from 800 to 2,000 years to break down. Mind you, that’s break down—not biodegrade. Instead, they break down into those little balls that pollute our waters, flow through our rivers and streams to the ocean, and be consumed by the very fish we eat.
Reusable stainless steel water bottles, tumblers, and mugs are all great solutions to our plastic bottle problem, which ultimately becomes a micro plastic problem when they break down in our water source.
Eliminating disposable straws for 1 year = 584 straws saved per person
Plastic straws
We’ve all seen the video of the turtle struggling with a plastic straw lodged in its nostril. The truth is the these plastic items are as extremely invasive as they are nice and light. That makes it easier for them to get washed or blown into our waterways and lodged into all kinds of crevices.
There are several ways to continue enjoying straw use without concern of polluting our waterways. Reusable straws come in different kinds of materials: silicone, metal, and bamboo.
Eliminating disposable cigarette lighters for 1 year = 17 lighters saved per smoker
Disposable lighters
While called ‘disposable lighters,’ that doesn’t make littering them okay. We find way too many lighters on Tennessee River shorelines. On top of the plastic concern, there may be traces of lighter fluid that wind up in our water source. Even if these plastic nuisances are properly disposed, they can easily be washed into our waterways with heavy rains.
Non-disposable, refillable lighters are a great solution, and they make you look a little more sophisticated, too! Price ranges for non-disposable lighters run from $15 and up, depending on how fancy you want to get…
Eliminating bags for 1 year =
1,500 bags saved per household
plastic bags
Plastic bags are probably the easiest item to be unintentionally littered. Even when disposed of properly, they easily blow out of trash cans or dump trucks and wind up in our waterways. They’e also easily wrapped around wildlife, caught on waterfront tree branches, and are often mistaken for food by wildlife.
Reusable bags are an easy answer, but even paper bags are preferred over plastic as they at least can be more easily recycled.