How Coronavirus has Changed the Way We View Disposable Products

The coronavirus pandemic has globally impacted every industry and the way we view things. Recently, I read an article about how many grocery stores are banning the use of reusable bags which means there's a higher demand for plastic goods. Because plastic is so cheap and convenient, there's a resurgence of the amount of plastic being used in the food industry.

Restaurants have had to transition to carry out options rather than the traditional seating of a restaurant. The carry out food industry has been booming which means more plastic and single use products to transport the food. As society was transitioning into using reusable products, the coronavirus has changed the way we think.






















While there is no evidence, the coronavirus is being transmitted through food or plastic is safer, the use of reusable products are off limits. Throwing something away that came outside the house feels safer to consumers. The governor of New Hampshire and the state of California have banned the use of reusable bags.

A recent PEW Research Center Survey found one out of five adults have used a food delivery service rather than making food at home due to COVID-19. As this pandemic worsens, people are more attracted to use plastic and single use products because they feel safe. How will this affect the environment?

While grocery stores and restaurants continue to consumer plastic, as individuals we can make other efforts to cut back on plastic. Try ordering out less and still continue to make food at home during the pandemic. Stop using single use plastic bags at home and try reusable products in your own home. Reuse the plastic bags rather than just throwing them out, can be used to carry lunches, trash bags, and other ways.

Food waste rising through coronavirus pandemic

I read an article published by the National Geographic written by Elizabeth Royte discussing how people are still wasting any enormous amount of food every day and these facts are from that article which will have the link below. 

Anyways, the response of the coronavirus has been people hoarding groceries and restaurants closing, which means more people are cooking at home. The biggest source of food waste in the United States is households, where leftovers go bad and are thrown away, milk spoils, and produce wilts. Nervous grocery hoarders are starting to understand they can't eat all the food they have bought, so food is going to waste when grocery stores are empty, and some can't even buy chicken. Even though waste at restaurants are slowing down due to the closures, it's likely to rise for restaurants who are shifting to only take-out. 

“This is a period of colossal readjustment,” says Andrew Shakman, founder of LeanPath, which develops technology to reduce waste in the food-service industry. “Food waste per meal tends to increase for our customers when their sales volumes are lower, so we expect operations that are running at partial speed to become more wasteful per meal served.” This quote is from the National Geographic article. 

So, what can be done? People who are cooking at home need to learn how to utilize all their groceries by keeping things organized or learning new ways to cook leftovers. Also, people need to understand food date labels, there's no reason to throw out food after its "best-before" date. 

Learning these new skills to maintain low food waste in a household is something that should be carried out throughout a lifetime, not just during the coronavirus pandemic. Hopefully, the things we learn during these times can be continued after this is all over. People are beginning to see the effects of food waste and food insecurity which will hopefully shift people into living a more sustainable lifestyle.

How coronavirus impacts the environment

Over the past three weeks, the only thing people have heard about is the coronavirus pandemic that is sweeping the world causing countries and businesses to shut down in order to contain the virus. The coronavirus has stopped air and ground travel in regions around the world, which is actually reducing carbon emissions in the atmosphere. Without factories and travel, the pollution levels around the world have been decreasing.

Even though the reduction in emissions is helping reduce pollution, it's not enough to shift climate change. In other points of history, economic slowdowns such as WW2 and the Great Depression, these events have made slight changes in emissions but haven't changed the overall trend.

As economic activity has slowed, the air quality in Europe and China has been temporarily improved, finally China can see blue skies. The way millions of people have changed their daily lives shows how it's possible to do help climate change. Some officials believe the pollution reduction in China has saved more lives than the coronavirus has taken. According to a Stanford scientist, the reduction in air pollution have helped saved over 77,000 lives in China either under the age of five or over 70.

The coronavirus is scary due to the unknown and how it spreads, people are going to grocery stores to stock up on food and toilet paper which has brought up another environmental issue of wasting food or resources. Due to the pandemic, the population is more aware that it's important to not waste food or resources because supplies are low more people are becoming self-aware of how much they waste.

The virus is forcing us to change the way we live our lives, we can't just go to the grocery store and expect everything to be stocked, it's forcing everyone to look at how they live their lives and forces them to make changes in order to help the environment by reducing waste and pollution.

This is an opportunity to act and drastically change the way we live our lives in order to help the environment. There are lessons to be learned socially we can easily change and it can have great health benefits. Improving air quality and reducing pollution will enhance everyone's life.