Meet Jane Dow – Environmental Activist
I met Jane Dow at the Great Lakes Collaborative Retreat at Cedar Valley Retreat Center. Jane did a presentation on plastics. She has great insight and knowledge about this subject. I’m hoping Jane will give us regular articles on what we can do do help mitigate the harm plastics cause. Here is an interview by Susan Webb, Editor, Kairos Newsletter
- Tell me a little about yourself – where you live, church, work history.
I live in Mankato, Minnesota, a city 90 miles south of Minneapolis. Although this city has a population of 40,000 and is considered small, it has a progressive base of nonprofit groups working on sustainable measures for our city and pushing the government to enact a climate energy plan. We also lay claim to many beautiful nature trails and parks. Our Minneopa State Park has a large waterfall and was formed by glaciers. The park has savanna and native prairie grasslands overlooking the scenic Minnesota River Valley. It is also home to a herd of 40 pure bred wild bison and many bird species. Another beautiful Park, Sibley, is in the city limits and considered very spiritually significant to the Dakota people who lived there. It is located at the confluence of the Minnesota and Blue Earth Rivers.
I belong to First Congregational UCC Mankato. We are a very progressive church and early on became open and affirming as well as immigrant welcoming. As you all know, the UCC denomination has a long progressive history. We were the first church to welcome black and women ministers and the first to affirm that nature has rights. We funded the defense for the slaves who revolted against slave masters on Amistad ship and won their freedom. We were abolitionists. We passed resolutions to endorse the Green New Deal and divestment from fossil fuel. I support all these measures and that led me to join this church and denomination although I was raised in an Episcopalian family.
When I graduated from college, I joined the Peace Corps and was stationed in Afghanistan where I treated Tuberculosis patients in a rural Northern town called Baghlan. That experience woke me up to the acute suffering and poverty that exists in the world from first hand experience. It deeply affected me and set me on a lifelong path to address inequality and injustice in the hope of changing the world for the better.
Once back home and married, my husband and I moved to Duluth to help start a whole foods coop bakery called Positively Third Street bakery. While working there, I volunteered for a housing coalition working on addressing homelessness. I also worked with the immigrant community and a family from Eritrea whose father worked in our bakery.
- and 3. What started your plastic journey? And where has it led you?
We moved to Mankato from Duluth so that my husband could return to school to get his masters in humanistic economics, I worked for the post office. My first volunteer experience in Mankato was working with a British man who had a lot of experience in the Fair Trade movement in England. We started a Fair Trade group that eventually led to Mankato becoming the first Fair Trade town in Minnesota with the first K-12 grade fair Trade school in the country.
In the process of working with Fair Trade and also a few housing advocacy groups, I met people who were interested in organizing a community visioning event. At that event, I asked people who were interested in working to reduce waste and landfills to form a zero waste group. Many people were interested in this topic so we started a group called Mankato Area Zero Waste. My interest in this area was based on my concern about what suffering pollution is causing to animals and people. Of great concern was the pollution that landfills cause and contribute to climate change. Three of us women committed to the task of starting an organics recycling pilot program that led to us receiving a grant to expand the program and offer dumpsters for people to drop off their compostable food. We convinced the city council and local government to take over the program and offer free organics recycling. We want to do everything we can to reduce waste going to the landfill or being burned because burying and burning garbage creates air, soil and water pollution that affects us all.
In the process of learning about waste and pollution, I read more and more research about the existential threat plastic is causing our planet and all the terrible harm it is causing our health. I became passionate about reducing plastic harm in our community and started a sub group to the Zero Waste group called Beyond Plastics Greater Mankato Area. We affiliated with the national Beyond Plastics organization. Right now we are working to get signatures for a resolution to create an ordinance to have a fee on plastic bags and hand out other throwaway products upon request only. We are also working on educating the community about the harm from plastics and reaching out to food establishments to switch from plastic throwaway to reusable sustainable products. We hope to eventually have curbside pickup.
But, as in any endeavor to protect our communities, we have to pass legislation to make big changes for the better. The good news is we are starting to pass meaningful legislation to reduce plastic. I joined the Coalition for Plastic Reduction and Rise and Repair to support legislative bills that protect our planet and people’s rights. Another organization I work with called Isaiah is a social justice advocacy organization of interdenominational membership that works with legislators to pass legislation addressing environmental justice, health care, childcare, voting rights, immigration rights, decarbonization and other social justice legislation. Isaiah has had amazing success getting legislators to pass legislation in these areas in the last legislative session.
- Give us some facts about plastic.
Microplastics and the added chemicals are causing existential threat to our planet and all living things. The microplastics never break down so the 8 to 9 billion tons we have produced since the 1950s are still in our water, soil and air. Production of plastics went from 200 million metric tons in the 1950’s to 400 million metric tons of plastic now annually and is expected to triple by 2060 according to a new report from the Minderoo-Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health. If current production stays on track, yearly plastic production could reach 1.1 billion metric tons by 2050. The whole chain of production emitted 1.8 billion tons of CO2 in 2015. By 2050, greenhouse gas emissions could reach over 56 gigatons, 10 to 13% of the remaining carbon budget. In the U.S. the plastic industry emits 232 million tons a year equal to CO2 emissions from 50 million cars and predicted to outpace coal emissions by 2030
Plastics are made from ethane mainly and over 12.000 added chemicals. Plastics break down into microplastics the size of a grain of rice. Microplastics break down further into nano plastics that are so small you can’t see them. They are attracted to dust and carried all over the world. The biggest sources of contamination are from car tires, sea spray and soil dust. We are eating and breathing in an average of 3.8 million a particles a year. The microplastics and added chemicals have been found in all of our food and drink. Bottled water has between 250,000 and 500,000 nano plastics per liter. Microplastics and the chemicals are in the blood of 80% of the population and PFAS is in 99% of the world population.
The microplastics we breath in harm our lungs and the microplastics we eat enter our blood stream. From there they can travel all over our bodies, entering our organs and blood cells and brains, where they can damage and cause diseases like cancer. Doctors are particularly concerned about the damage they can cause in fetuses and children who are still developing. They are linked to irritable bowel disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes, dementia, strokes, heart attacks and other cardiovascular disorders, infertility and cancers especially of the breast, prostate, testicles and ovaries. Doctors report that patients undergoing surgery for heart attacks have high concentrations of microplastics in their blood vessels. Patients with irritable bowel syndrome have high concentrations of microplastics in their feces. Doctors predict that if we don’t reduce our production of plastic by one third, the microplastics and chemical additives will cause us to lose our ability to reproduce normally by 2050. The microplastics also weaken our immune systems so they don’t protect us and they cause vaccinations to be less effective. Our bodies see the microplastics as a foreign object and set up an inflammatory response. Researchers are now studying a potential connection between microplastic in our brain and Alzheimer’s disease.
The added chemicals like Phthalates, bisphenols, flame retardants, PFAS and toxic metals are hormone disrupting chemicals that interfere with our hormone’s ability to carry on normal body functions. They have been implicated in the rise of ADHD and autism as well as obesity, diabetes and cancer. These plasticizers can affect development of sexual differentiation. With the presence of plastic in fetus, they could potentially poison the child directly or reduce its supply of oxygen, cause stillbirths, low birth weight and the immune system being disturbed. The hormone disrupters fundamentally disrupt fetal brain development. The health care costs from cardiovascular disease and cancer deaths caused by phthalates alone are in the billions annually. Phthalate exposures were associated with cardiovascular mortality and societal costs approximating $39 billion a year
Scientist say the oceans will become dead – devoid of life by 2050 if we don’t reduce the plastics going into the oceans. We are dumping the equivalent of 2 dump trucks of plastic a minute in the oceans. There are an estimated 171 trillion plastic particles in the northern oceans. They are killing our fish, birds, mammals and even the smallest creatures called phytoplankton in the oceans. All of these animals eat the microplastics and die from poisoning and malnutrition.
Our soil is more contaminated than the oceans now because of the sludge farmers use fertilizer and the fertilizers that are coated in plastic. Our polyester clothing gives off microfibers when washed that enter the wastewater treatment plants and can’t be filtered out so they are concentrated in the sludge that farmers use on their fields. This contamination affects the bacteria and bugs that decompose the organics matter into compost. The microplastics also are taken up by the plants, interfering with their growth.
- Does recycling work?
No, recycling doesn’t’ work. Less than 10% of plastics are recycled and only 2 kinds are even recyclable. Recycling cannot work because plastic products are so full of toxic chemical additives that can’t be removed from plastic material, making recycled plastic unsafe for later uses. Also, different plastic products have different properties that make it impossible to recycle them together. The most frightening fact is, in the process of shredding plastic to recycle it, the recycling plant releases about 400,000 tons of microplastics a year into the air, equal to about 29,000 dump trucks of microplastics. So trying to recycle plastics can cause greter contamination of our environment. We shipped 1.4 billion tons of plastic trash overseas in 2020 (50% of our throwaway plastic), much to developing countries that do not have the infrastructure to manage the plastic trash. The state of California is now suing the Exxon Mobile for environmental damage and recycling lies.
Burning plastic (incineration) has the highest climate impact of any waste management practice.
12% is burned in 66 incinerators emitting toxic pollution equal to 14 million tons of CO2 a year or 1.6 million cars driven for a year (875 million gallons of gas).
Chemical recycling, pyrolysis and gasification are another recycling myth. They mainly turn plastic into oil that generates contaminated fuels, toxic dioxin emissions, GHG and other toxic pollution. Possible health effects are cancer, nervous system, reproductive, developmental and organ damage. The 10 chemical recycling facilities in the U.S. only recycle 1.3 % of plastics. So communities near incinerators suffer health effects just like communities near plastic making factories
- What are the most dangerous plastics.
Plastics with the #3 symbol have PVC in them. Products with PVC are vinyl flooring and siding, water pipes, furniture, clothing, toys and shower curtains. PVC is a toxic chemical that the EPA is examining with the purpose of banning it. It is a known carcinogen. Polystyrene #6 (Styrofoam) such as packaging foam, Styrofoam drink cups and food containers, insulation, DVD cases, packing peanuts, is also toxic and listed as a carcinogen. PET #1 pop and water bottles are the most commonly used plastics and intended for single use only. Repeated use increases the risk of leaching and bacteria with the release the 250,000 to 500,000 microplastics per liter.
Black-colored plastic used in children’s toys, takeout containers, kitchen utensils and grocery meat and produce trays may contain alarming levels of toxic flame retardants that may be leaching from electronic products during recycling. “It appears the plastics used to make the consumer products were contaminated with flame retardants due to mistakes in the recycling of electronic waste.” That chemical is a member of the polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDE, class of flame retardants. People with the highest blood levels of PBDEs were approximately 300% more likely to die from cancer as people with the lowest levels, according to this study https://apple.news/AsLxcmRWxRdq72-aDY8Z5Dw
- What can we do?
On a personal level:
- Stop using balloons and plastic/Styrofoam take out containers, utensils, straws, cups.
- Tell restaurants and businesses no thank you to straws, plastic bags, utensils and other giveaways you don’t need.
- Borrow, rent or share items like party decorations, tools, baby clothes, books.
- Repair products rather than throw them away and buy new.
- Replace plastic stirring spoons and spatulas with wooden or metal
- Cookware—best PFAS free alternatives are clay, stainless steel, cast-iron and ceramic
- Donate belongings or left-over food to nonprofits like the food shelf, church, thrift store, community center, school. The Good Samaritan Law exempts you from liability for donated food.
- Avoid personal care products with polypropylene, polyethylene, phthalates and parabens.
- Buy air filters for your home (small particle size) and reverse osmosis water filter.
- Avoid these cosmetic Chemicals: triclosan, dibutyl, phthalate, , EDC,DBP, parabens such as methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl and isobutyl parabens, benzophenone-3, polyethylene glycol, formaldehyde, sodium lauryl sulfate, BHA, BHT, MEA, DEA, TEA, ethanolamine, hydroquinone, methylisothiazolinone, toluene, octinoxate, methylchloroisothiazolinone, benzalkonium chloride, oxybenzone and avobenzone
www.beyondplastics.org, www.mankatozerowaste.com, www.breakfreefromplastic.org, https://balloonsblow.org/environmentally-friendly-alternatives/
On a legislative level:
- Letters to legislators to support The Break Free From Plastic Act SF bill # 3127 and HF bill # 6053 by Senator Jeff Merkley and Rep Jared Huffman
- The Fighting Fibers Act of 2024, introduced Senator Jeff Merkley, to require a filter on all new washing machines sold in the United States.
- Letter to federal legislators to ban chemical recycling
- Letter to federal legislators to support standards for the Global Plastic Treaty
- Letter to EPA to support a vinyl chloride ban
- Letter to state legislators to support the state 100% E- Waste Collection and Recycling bill
- Letter to state legislator to support a bottle deposit/refund bill.
- Letter and info to state senator to support a Packaging Reduction bill to reduce plastic waste. This bill passed in Minnesota last session. It is a bill to hold producers responsible for recycling their products, redesigning them to be sustainable in packaging and banning some of the toxic chemicals plus banning chemical recycling.
- Letter to state legislators supporting a lawsuit against PepsiCo for polluting.
- Letter to the CEO of Coca Cola to support replacing plastic bottles with a reusable/refillable container system
- Letters to Cub, Hy-Vee, Target and Walmart asking them to switch from single use plastic packaging to bulk, reusable and sustainable packaging like glass, metal, paper or compostable
- Where do you find hope?
There are so many legislative bills being introduced now all over the country. 5 extended producer responsibility bills, making producers of plastic responsible for reducing and redesigning their packaging, have been passed and many more are being introduced. Representative Jeff Brand passed the Minnesota PFAS ban that will keep this toxic chemical out of our water. Clean Water is working on a bill to ban the most toxic chemicals in plastic. That would go a long way to cleaning up the worst chemical pollution. 175 countries voted to adopt a legally binding treaty to reduce plastic pollution. The treaty aims to hold countries to a common standard on plastic consumption and create a path to a future without plastic pollution. California and several environmental non-profits filed a lawsuit against Exxon/Mobile for lying about recycling and causing terrible pollution.
8 states have banned plastic bags. 9 states have partial reduction laws. There are 500 local ordinances in 28 states. 77 countries have full or partial bans. Styrofoam bans are in 11 states, 100 U.S. cities, 29 countries. The European Union, India, China, Thailand, Canada, Antigua, Barbuda, Colombia, Romania, Senegal, South Korea, Tunisia Albania, Georgia, Samoa, Bangladesh, and 34 African countries have banned Single Use Plastics.
A court in Montana ruled that a state law prohibiting both citizens and local governments from regulating single-use plastics violates the state’s constitution. A second municipality in the Ohio River Valley has passed a local moratorium on chemical recycling. New York is poised to pass the strongest packaging reduction bill in the nation. From South Carolina to California, nearly 60 lawsuits have been filed since 2015, mostly by citizens or environmental groups, targeting the plastics industry. Most recently, attorneys general in Connecticut, Minnesota and New York have raised the stakes with their own plastics lawsuits.
The trend toward refillable and reusable packaging is gaining momentum as more companies explore ways to reduce their use of single-use, hard-to-recycle packaging. This growth is partly driven by the goal of the Plastic Pact to deliver reusable packaging by 2025. Many of these initiatives are coming from startup and smaller brands, but multinational companies are also beginning to test the waters with small-scale trials and pilots. Starbucks committed to reducing waste by 50% by 2030 and moving towards reusable packaging. Amazon India, after pressure from communities and local government eliminated all single use plastic in its packaging, including the tape which is plastic free and biodegradable. Coca Cola pledged to shift to 25% refillable returnable containers by 2030.
In South Asia, at all railway stations in India, tea will soon be served in perfectly biodegradable and environment-friendly earthen cups instead of plastic ones.
Another sign of hope is the number of studies now being published by news media, exposing the harm from plastics and the lies the fossil fuel industry has been perpetuating for years. The word is getting out finally. As we become more informed and realize the extent of the threat, we are speaking out more and demanding plastic producers stop polluting our world, causing disease and death. As Martin Luther King wisely spoke, “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”