By: Asher LeVos
Southern Adventist University boasts of its beautiful outdoor spaces. Pink blossoms cover trees in the spring as students walk to class. Students lie in the green grass near the Hulsey Wellness Center, while others walk along the Greenway.
Among the beautiful scenery, a single-use plastic bag liesay in stark contrast to the rocks and leaves surrounding it. I was walking along the Wilkerson Branch Creek that eventually flows into the Tennessee River, near the Goliath Wall, when a bag caught my eye. It was almost camouflaged below the bank, while a plastic Village Market container floated nearby. As I picked up the polluting trash, I felt frustrated at the prevalence of single-use plastics on our campus.
“Southern is continually working to become a greener campus by improving the efficiency of our infrastructure and prioritizing sustainability in building upgrades,” stated Vinnie Schober, associate vice president for Financial Administration.
When asked about waste management and sustainability, Schober said that the university Southern is currently prioritizing energy efficiency while also proactively relining sewer and water lines and installing LED lights.
Although Southern has a recycling program on campus, single-use plastics are incompatible with on-campus recycling, according to the WestRock Recycle Residential Single Stream Guidelines flyer that Landscape Services uses and provided to the Accent. Employees who work in Landscape Services say that since plastic bags can damage sorting machines, they are non-recyclable.
Discarded plastic and styrofoam that enter our stream at Southern speak to broader trends and issues surrounding microplastics in Tennessee.
In 2018, Andreas Fath, an athlete and professor at Furtwangen University in Germany, swam all 652 miles of the Tennessee River and collected water samples throughout the 34-day journey, according to a Herbert W. Hoover Foundation report. After conducting a lab analysis on the samples, Fath found an incredibly high amount of microplastics in the water.
The Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute reported that microplastic concentrations found in the Tennessee River were 8,000% higher than those of the Rhine River in Europe and over 80% higher than the Yangtze River in China. According to the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute, at the current rate, there will be more plastic in our waters than fish by 2050.
Martin Knoll, a professor of hydrology at the University of the South, stated in a Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute report that among measured rivers on Earth, the Tennessee River has some of the highest rates of microplastics suspended in the water. According to Knoll, the majority of the Tennessee River’s microplastics are polyethylene, which is the substance single-use plastic bags are made from.
This growing concern led me to contact Brook Fleeman at Waterways, a non-profit based in Chattanooga that focuses on protecting watersheds. Fleeman serves as the director of operations and coordinator of Tennessee River Rescue, a community-led cleanup of the Tennessee River and some of its tributaries that recently celebrated its 37th year.
“Every year our number goes up for how much [plastic] we collect out of the Tennessee River watershed,” said Fleeman. “This last year, nearly 60,000 pounds of trash was collected. That’s not including bulk trash like tires or furniture that were collected and recycled.”
According to Fleeman, the emphasis should be directed toward reducing plastic use and dependency while inspiring lasting behavior changes.
Single-use plastics and the microplastics they create are not only environmental health hazards, but human health hazards. Recent research by experts at Stanford University supports growing evidence of plastic health issues. Dr. Juyong Brian Kim conducted studies suggesting microplastics enter humans’ bloodstreams and contribute to vascular disease progression. Another researcher, Dr. Desiree LaBeaud, says data is still limited but obesity, cardiovascular disease and cancer-related epidemics may be linked to plastics.
Young people are especially at risk. A pediatric head and neck surgeon at Stanford, Dr. Kara Meister, connected microplastics to increased cases of thyroid cancer and autoimmune disease.
At the beginning of 2024, Meister and her research team started examining the removed tonsils of young patients and found high amounts of microplastics deep within the tissue. Meister acknowledges the need for increased research and better quantifying techniques.
Recently, I called for the Student Association Senate to send a letter to Southern’s administration recommending a low fee of 5 to 10 cents for Village Market plastic bags. If implemented, this letter of recommendation would serve as a starting point to address plastic dependency on campus.
It is important to note that the proposal is a letter of recommendation and that the decision is not ultimately made by Senate. If Senate was to vote in favor of my letter proposal, it would be sent to Southern’s administration for a response.
The sustainability proposal is moderate and backed by credible research. Southern students who oppose a bag fee may be unaware that 12 states have enacted single-use plastic bag bans. Many studies and resources point to the effectiveness of single-use plastic bag bans and fees. After Washington, D.C., issued its first disposable bag fee, the Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) commissioned a study. Survey results in the initial study found that 75% of residents reduced their reliance on single-use plastic bags. According to the report, businesses reported at least a 50% reduction in disposable bag distribution.
On Apr 12, following my presentation in the Senate meeting, I was notified of a change.org petition to “stop the proposed plastic bag fee at Village Market.” I contacted the creator of the petition, who was not immediately available for comment. The emails and descriptions I read from students who strongly opposed single-use bag fees argued that a fee would create added financial strain.
However, the point of a fee is to reduce single-use plastics instead of relying on single-use plastic bags from the Village Market, student shoppers can either bring a reusable bag or leave without any bags.
It is important to consider Biblical ideals in our actions. God created humanity and tasked us with caring for His creation. The Bible says in Genesis 2:15 that God created people to work in the garden and take care of it. When we believe God tasked us with cultivating His creation, why should we neglect reducing the harmful effects of single-use plastic? When the spaces around us thrive, we thrive. When our outdoor areas heal from pollution, it creates healthier spaces for humans to inhabit.
