For many people, it’s practically impossible to go a day without using plastic. We use plastic bags to package our groceries, plastic containers to store our leftovers, plastic straws to drink out of our cups, and we even wear clothes that are made with plastic fibers. On average, we use this material for no more than 12 minutes, and yet it ends up in our landfills forever.

As is becoming more widely known to the public, plastic does not biodegrade. Instead, it is broken down into smaller and smaller pieces called microplastics by ultraviolet rays from the sun. And they accumulate over time rather than breaking down chemically. These microplastics are ingested by marine animals and seabirds that mistake them for plankton or fish eggs, resulting in illness and possibly death. Through a process called biomagnification, this plastic also ends up in our bodies through the fish and seafood in our diets.

Moreover, these microplastics often make their way into our water supply. An investigation conducted by Orb Media analyzed tap water samples from more than a dozen nations. Overall, 83% of the samples were found to be contaminated with plastic fibres. Another study by scientists discovered that microplastics are found in everyday foods such as beer, honey, sugar, and 90% of table salt brands.

However, while many of us are aware of the impacts of plastic itself, we tend to fixate on our contribution to this problem as a consumer. As a result, we often overlook the producing end, and the fact that over 99% of plastic is made from chemicals sourced from fossil fuels. Not only does burning fossil fuels emit a colossal amount of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere—posing many environmental and public health risks—but the industry also disproportionately affects marginalised communities and communities of colour—making it a prominent social justice issue.

Oftentimes, plastic producing plants are placed near communities of colour, exposing them to harmful toxins. For example, in Louisiana, there is an 85-mile stretch called Cancer alley, where industry leaders like ExxonMobil, Koch, and Shell operate about 150 fossil fuel and petrochemical facilities. Locals are surrounded by up to 30 chemical plants within a 10 mile radius of their homes, and these elevated toxic air emissions are linked to a host of ailments—including cancer, cardiovascular, and respiratory disease and reproductive and developmental disorders. The people living here are 50 times more likely to get cancer than an average American, and these toxic facilities are typically concentrated in areas with high percentages of Black and poor residents, making it a frontline case of environmental racism.

In the United States, Black people are exposed to 1.5x more particulate matter than their white counterparts. The same goes for those in poverty, who are 1.3x more exposed to particulate matter than those above the poverty line. As stated by Isaias Hernandez, “Beach clean-ups won’t fix the issue in the long term [unless we] make the interconnections between corporations and environmental racism.”

Furthermore, the growing demand for plastic has signalled the approval for more fracking and pipeline projects across countries. Not only do these often lead to the systematic destruction of Indigenous lands, but with more projects comes more man camps: living sites set up for [men] to work temporarily in these locations. These man camps are notorious for introducing violence and localized crime in places where it would not otherwise be, and this potential harm is worse when they are located on or near Indigenous Peoples’ lands. Rape, sexual assault, and sex trafficking are only a few of the threats posed to Native women in the surrounding area as a result of the hyper-masculine culture shaped by man camps.

Many people do not have the privilege to go ‘zero-waste’. But for those of us who are able to choose whether or not we want to purchase something that’s wrapped in plastic, it’s time to take a stand. By supporting the plastic industry, we inadvertently stand by those who are threatening the safety of individuals while destroying our environment.

So, for this year’s plastic-free July, continue to boycott unnecessary single-use plastics. However, do so not just with the environment in mind, but also for the sake of human rights.