At most places Melissa Valliant goes when dining out, she carries in her backpack a set of reusable flatware — prepared to refuse the disposable utensils she says are part of the plastic pollution crisis that’s inextricably linked with the climate crisis. Plastic is made from chemicals derived from fossil fuels, the burning of which drive the climate crisis by producing planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide and methane. Disposable flatware, in particular, is typically produced from a rigid plastic called polystyrene, which is made from a byproduct of petroleum.
