Celeste Meiffren-Swango

There is simply no escape from plastic. Our economy encourages us to make, use, and toss at the greatest possible speed for the cheapest possible cost. Often, we don’t think twice about getting our coffee to-go in a foam or plastic cup with a plastic straw, or food in a foam or plastic takeout container. When we’re done with these single-use plastics, usually after just a few minutes of use, we throw them away.

Photos by: Jace Tunnell, hockadilly, Logra Studio, Saman Abesiriwardana, Katie Abare, Staff The second-annual International Plastic Pellet Count kicked off on Saturday, with over 500 volunteers from Oregon to Texas to Maine and beyond combing waterways for plastic pellets. By collecting and counting the pellets, organizers hope to raise awareness of this pervasive form of pollution and spur action to tackle the problem.

We’ve all had the frustrating experience of shopping for fruits and vegetables only to find them packaged in plastic. Lemons in plastic film bags, onions in plastic mesh bags, fresh herbs in plastic clamshells, individually shrink-wrapped sweet potatoes or cucumbers, mushrooms in a foam tray with plastic film– the list goes on and on. All of this plastic is a threat to public health and the health of our planet.