How Plastic and Food Waste Affect the Environment

Every creature on earth, from small grindylows to mighty sea serpents, are impacted by our everyday decisions. ​

Natural treasures like the Black Lake and the Forbidden Forest are worth all the gold in Gringotts, yet they’re facing threats from all angles. There are no spells that can reverse the effects of climate change or make pollution disappear. These fantastic natural habitats won’t last forever, especially if we don’t change our behavior on a large scale.

This is why it’s so important to realize that your individual impact is a powerful force that you can harness to help! Your actions matter and can make a world of difference for our planet and its inhabitants. 

To honor these animals and the natural world around us, Phase 2 of Wizards For Environmental Protection was The Black Lake Challenge.

On our social media accounts, we focused on how plastic and food waste affect the environment, particularly bodies of water.

We shared a Hogwarts Library-worth of information about issues like how much plastic humans use, how plastic affects animals, how to reduce food waste, and tips for living a more zero-waste lifestyle. 

Here’s a recap of what we covered during this exciting two-week period and some bonus content we didn’t include in our social posts! 

1. How Much Plastic Humans Use

Every year, humans produce 380 millions tons of plastic. It’s in everything we buy, from our clothes to our cosmetic products, and it’s even in the water we drink. Each week, we consume the equivalent of a credit card worth of it.

How does that happen?

We know that plastic is not biodegradable, but what about recycling? Unfortunately, not all types of plastic are recyclable. Even worse, not all plastic sent to be recycled actually gets turned into new products. According to an article from National Geographic, 91% of plastic meant to be recycled isn’t ultimately recycled.  

Because plastic takes between 20 to 500 years to degrade, most of it still exists in some form. Microplastics are tiny fragments of plastic that are less than 5 millimeters (0.2 inches) long.

The vast majority of plastic is either slowly breaking down in our natural environment or is accumulating in landfills, ultimately finding its way in our rivers and oceans.

Many marine animals accidentally consume or become tangled in plastic waste. They are suffering and dying because of the negligence of humans.

Since 2017, 4Ocean has recovered 14 million pounds of plastic and other trash from the oceans. However, it represents less than two years worth of ocean plastic pollution.

​According to Plastic Oceans, every year, 10 million tons of plastic end up in our oceans.

While some non-profit organizations, like The Ocean Cleanup, are aimed at cleaning our oceans, the nauseating truth is we will never be able to remove every single piece of plastic from our environment. 

Imagine how different the second task of the Triwizard Tournament would have been if the champions had to swim through a lake full of plastic! 

What can we do to prevent plastic pollution?

• Participate in beach, river bank, or land clean-ups
• Refuse or reduce consumption of single-use plastic 
• Reuse or repurpose plastic containers
• Avoid cosmetic products that contain microbeads
• Choose package-free options or buy large packages to avoid single portion items
• Spread the word about ocean plastic pollution

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2. How Plastic Affects Animals 

You’ve probably seen the disturbing images of a sea turtle with a straw in their nostril or heard about the ten-year-old whale who was found dead on a beach with 220 pounds of plastic and other trash in his stomach. 

Sadly, these are not isolated incidents. 

According to The Ocean Cleanup, “studies have shown that about 700 species have encountered marine debris, and 92% of these interactions are with plastic”. 

Sea animals often get tangled and trapped in fishing nets and other plastics, with fishing nets accounting for 46% of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a mass of plastic twice the size of Texas weighing approximately 80,000 tons.

Marine mammals regularly ingest plastic, which can lead to choking and other severe and fatal internal injuries. Sea animals can even starve by thinking they are full from eating plastic.

The Center for Biological Diversity reports that in the North Pacific, fish ingest 12,000 to 24,000 tons of plastic each year. 

So what can we do to protect grindylows, Plimpies, Murtlaps and other magical and non-magical marine creatures?
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• Reduce our use of disposable plastics
• Opt for products made from recycled plastic

• Make sure you dispose of trash properly by checking with your local recycling bank
• Wash your synthetic clothes as little as possible
• Campaign against single-use plastic
• Learn how you can Fight For The Ocean at home with Food Empowerment Project ​

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3. Plastic and the Fishing Industry

Did you know that the biggest contribution to our ocean's plastic pollution is the fishing industry? 

According to World Wildlife Fund, hundreds of thousands of marine mammals die annually as a result of plastic pollution. In addition, hundreds of fish species are affected.

Plastic waste that is considered "macro," like plastic bags, cutlery, and straws, often trap and harm marine life, while "micro" (fine particle) plastics degrade coral reefs, block species' digestive tracts, and filter through to predators such as birds, dolphins, whales, and other marine or land animals. 

Worst of all, fishing gear is designed to hunt and harm marine life. After it's used, it's often abandoned in the water, continuing to kill marine species. 

According to the recent documentary Seaspiracy, one million tons of fishing gear is dumped per year. And with a single abandoned fishing net having the ability to cause decades of destruction (in some cases trapping up to 300 sea turtles), this is a devastating problem for our oceans.

Abandoned gear harms over 100,000 marine species per year. 

​Greenpeace reported that fishing nets make up 86% of the large plastics in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and 85% of the plastic pollution on seamounts, ocean ridges, and the seafloor.

So while it's very important to reduce and eliminate single-use plastics, the most important step we can take is to refuse to support such a destructive industry.

How do we do this?

Choose plant-based fish and seafood alternatives. Say no to seafood and no to the plastic cutlery that comes with it! Be an ocean hero!

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4. Food Waste

Food loss and waste refers to edible food that was thrown away. It’s caused by several factors along the food chain.

Food loss describes spill or spoilage resulting from any malfunction or technical limitation during the production, processing, or distribution of food.

Food waste includes food discarded by retailers because of physical irregularities (odd color, size, or shape), food from the meals we don’t finish at restaurants, and food we don’t consume before it goes bad.

To sum it up, food loss is unintended, whereas food waste is either intentional or due to negligence.

According to The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, a third of the food produced in the world does not end up on our plates. This represents roughly 1.3 billion tons. 

Wasted food means wasted resources at all stages of the food system, be it energy, water, land use, labor, or capital.

According to a 2013 report from World Resources Institute, food loss and waste contributes to approximately 170 trillion liters of water consumption per year, or 24% of all water used for agriculture. 

​Like plastic, food waste also goes to landfills and finds its way into our oceans. 

To ensure longer shelf life, our food is often treated with various additives, such as preservatives, antibiotics, pesticides, insecticides, and hormones. When marine mammals consume our food waste, they also consume these harmful chemicals.

Power Knot warns that the nutrients from food discarded into our oceans can create a biological hazard. The high levels of nutrients (like nitrogen or phosphorus) in water lead to excessive growth of algae. This phenomenon is called eutrophication and it affects our entire ecosystem.

So what can we do to reduce food waste?

• Shop only for what we need
• Plan our meals
• Rescue and use “ugly” fruits and veggies
• Learn low waste kitchen hacks, like cooking with veggie peels and regrowing certain produce, like lettuce
• Understand food labeling: beware of the “best before” date which, in contrary to the “use by” date, refers to optimum quality rather than safety
• Use leftovers to create a new recipe
• Freeze food before it goes bad
• Save or donate unwanted food with apps like Too Good to Go or OLIO
• Learn about freegans and how they save discarded food

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5. Composting 

A  major concern with food waste is the unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to climate change. These emissions are due to food suffocating in plastic trash bags, which have been dumped in landfills. This process results in a gas mixture that is mainly 50% methane and 50% carbon dioxide.

According to a report from the Global Methane Initiative, landfills are globally the third largest human-influenced source of methane. Methane is also a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

The good news is that we can avoid releasing methane if we start composting more.

In our minds, there’s no question that Hagrid was a composting pro, and that he used his fertilizer in his garden patch. How else would he have grown such large pumpkins?!

Bear in mind that composting is all about balancing dry and wet ingredients, and different rules apply depending on your composting system.

Several types of composting systems exist which can suit different lifestyles. Composting can be done indoors or outdoors in private homes or shared areas, such as community gardens.

​If you'd rather not do it yourself, check with your local waste department to see if you can sign up for compost collection. There are also some locations that will allow you to drop off your compost.

Some cafes and restaurants will also welcome your waste!

Have a look at Share Waste, which references where people can receive or donate food scraps all over the world. Other composting community maps can be found online, such as The Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s for the USA.

If none are available near you, how about starting a community compost for your building, workplace, or neighborhood?

The material you get from composting is a valuable and nutrient-rich food that can be used as fertilizer for home plants or gardens. If you have too much of it, don’t hesitate to offer it to your family, friends or neighbors.
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What can be composted at home?
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• Fruit and vegetable scraps
• Bread and grains
• Coffee grounds
• Loose leaf tea (or tea bags if they don't contain plastic)
• Garden waste
• Paper and cardboard
• Wood shavings or natural bedding
• Much more!

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6. Plastic-Free Shopping Tips  

Plastic is harmful for both land and sea creatures.
 
Can you imagine the Forbidden Forest and the Blake Lake filled with plastic bags and bottles? Not quite so magical.

Here are our tips for shopping plastic-free! 

• Before leaving the house, make a list of what you need and what bags and containers you should take. Label them so as not to take more than you need. This will stop the urge to grab any unnecessary plastic containers and bags while you're out. You can even make a bag out of an old t-shirt if you don't have one! 

 

• Avoid buying individually wrapped products and instead try to shop at bulk stores and markets (bonus points for shopping local) which allow you to fill your own containers / bags by weight with ingredients such as oats, nuts, or even loaves of bread. Many of these places also sell chocolate and other snack foods ,too! If you do need to buy things in packets, try to buy larger packets rather than smaller snack packs or individually wrapped items. ​​​

• Buy more fresh produce. Since fruits and veggies don't usually come with plastic wrap, this is an easy addition to your shopping list without making too many swaps. Just bring along a bag and fill it up with fresh plant foods. Your body will thank you for it, too! 

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• Instead of buying empty glass jars, reuse the ones you have already used at home and would have discarded, such as jam, spice, sauce, or condiment jars. To remove their labels, either leave the jar in hot, soapy water or apply some oil on the label and wait a few hours. You can also find jars that are donated at thrift stores or on online marketplaces.           

 

• Bring your own reusable straw, utensils, cups, and to-go containers when eating out.

 

• When you buy cosmetics or personal care products, like exfoliating face scrubs or body washes, look out for “polyethylene” in the ingredients. That ingredient indicates plastic microbeads that are tiny enough to enter our waterways and poison water-dwelling creatures! 

 

• Reconsider classic shampoos, conditioners, and soaps. Many of these products are now sold in bar form without any plastic packaging! 

 

• Replace household products such as plastic wraps with reusable alternatives. Also look for sponges made of biodegradable materials (such as cellulose) and silicone muffin cups instead of single-use options. 

 

• Try DIY beauty. Did you know you can DIY your own toothpaste, deodorant, and skin nourishing masks with items you have in your pantry and kitchen, like baking soda, coconut oil, oats and bananas? There are so many creative DIY recipes for these online!

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• Try DIY cleaning. Instead of using bottles of chemicals, try making your own cleaning products! Many can be made with simple ingredients, such as vinegar and lemon peels. 

There are many eco-friendly shops online who sell or repurpose a great number of the things listed above. For a couple of places to start, check out sites like EarthHero, TheEcoShop, Seed&Sprout, and Flora&Fauna. Make sure to shop locally when you can!  

With less plastic waste, the world will be a much happier place for the animals, our health, and the future of our planet. 

Be inspired by the changes you can make day-to-day! Happy shopping!

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7. Zero Waste Tips

Reducing waste doesn’t only apply to weekly grocery trips.

The next time you go out, try bringing some of these reusable items:

• A reusable water bottle and a travel mug for your next tea or coffee. Several coffee shops offer a discount if you bring your own reusable cup!

 

• A reusable napkin for a meal you’ll have on the go or at a restaurant. “Napkin? No thank you, I have my own.”

 

• A set of cutlery. There's no need to use plastic utensils (which often also come wrapped in plastic)! Purchase a set of wooden, portable utensils or wrap your home cutlery set with a piece of cloth and secure it with a string.

 

• Washable handkerchiefs. You could even create one from an old piece of cloth, like a t-shirt.​​​​

• A folded tote bag, for any impromptu shopping.

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• A homemade snack in a reusable container. What about fresh fruit, some nuts, or a sandwich?

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• A reusable straw. You can find straws made out of metal, glass, or bamboo. Several sizes exist, and ones with a large diameter will be perfect for your smoothies, milkshakes, or bubble teas.

 

• Optional: Your wand, a good book, or a cute Protego Puff from Wand and Hook to keep you company! 

These simple swaps can make a big difference down the line if we all do them together! And remember, we don't need a few people doing zero waste perfectly. We need everyone doing it imperfectly.

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8. Helpful Resources

Here are some of our favorite resources for living more sustainably! 

Books:

• Essay: Turning the Tide on Plastic by Lucy Siegle  
• Guide on low waste living: How to Give Up Plastic by Will McCallum
• Cookbook: More Plants Less Waste by Max La Manna

Documentaries:

• Plastic Paradise
• Mission Blue
• Chasing Coral
• Sharkwater

Nonprofit Organizations:

• Cornwall Seal Group Research Trust
• Aquatic Life Institute 
• Sea Shepherd 
• The Ocean Cleanup

Don’t forget to join our Discord server to chat with other animal lovers and tell us how you are living sustainably! 


Written by Assya Ahouandjinou, Ruby Shofield, and Victoria Tomis

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