International Plastic Bag-Free Day: Tips to minimize waste
The public is increasingly aware of the harm that commercial single-use plastic products do to wildlife and the environment. I mean, if getting your grande iced, sugar-free, vanilla latte with soy milk at Starbucks with a paper straw doesn’t scream save the turtles to you, I don’t know what else can. As we become aware of our “plastic” footprint in our personal lives, a light is shining more on plastic waste in clinic and dental settings. I get uncomfortable seeing the amount of single-use plastic waste produced for each patient every day in clinic. Daily items we use contribute to the problem such as plastic cups, plastic barriers, plastic tips for suctions and even plastic bitewing covers seem small when you go through just one patient. The thought frightens me, though, when I think about how much waste I will personally generate throughout my professional career as a dentist. It’s a no-brainer that single-use plastics are convenient, affordable and help with cross-infection control, but we need to start practicing sustainability in the clinical setting. As green dentistry practices become more common in the professional community, let’s talk about ways we can reduce waste in the dental setting, in light of International Plastic Bag-Free Day, which took place July 3.
Encouraging these green dentistry practices gives customer satisfaction, office satisfaction and promotes long-term cost saving. Using your voice and day-to-day choices to acknowledge the problem of single-use plastic waste in clinic settings can be a small action to make a bigger difference in the world. ~Jasmin Tarakmi, Nova Southeastern ‘24 Via Dental http://www.rssmix.com/via Blogger http://erickanobble.blogspot.com/2021/07/international-plastic-bag-free-day-tips.html July 07, 2021 at 11:12PM
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