Thousands of plastic utility knives are thrown away each year. The negative impact of disposable plastic utility knives on the environment is well-documented. Each year, Americans throw away more than 2 million tons of plastic utility knives. This waste ends up in landfills and oceans, where it is harmful to wildlife and marine life. By choosing to stop using disposable plastic knives, you can help reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills and waterways across the country.
Like other plastic items—such as bags and bottles—plastic utility knives can take centuries to break down, giving the plastic waste ample time to work its way into the environment and our water. The Ocean Conservancy lists plastic cutting tools as among the items most deadly to sea turtles, birds, and mammals.
What You Can Do
Most companies are already looking at ways to reduce their carbon footprint and improve their environmental impact. Changing from disposable plastic utility knives and box cutters to reusable ones is a simple way to do this without sacrificing quality or comfort for your employees.
Help by saying “no” to throw-away, plastic utility knives and box cutters when ordering safety knives moving forward. Studies show that concerted communication efforts to encourage people to stop or minimize using disposable plastic utensils work.
By doing so, you will be reducing your personal contribution to the problem by eliminating one more item that ends up in landfills or oceans (or on the side of the road). Just the simple act of reducing your use of plastic utility knives and box cutters can result in less landfill waste and fewer toxic chemicals being released into the environment and ending up in the watershed.
