Plastic, should we stop using it?

[El Cid]

Plastic bottle washes up looking 'almost new' after nearly 50 years at sea!

 

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/09/plastic-bottle-washes-up-looking-almost-new-after-nearly-50-years-at-sea

 

Plastic is so widespread, from crisp packets to traffic cones, can we manage without it.

I just found a 'Snickers', not sure how old it is, but its perfect inside its plastic wrapper.

This is much more than banning carrier bags and straws.

[woodview]

Well, it's an indication of how long our mess lasts for, I suppose.

 

It can't be banned, its uses are far too widespread, but we can limit it.

When I go in the supermarket, I don't need my bunch of bananas to be pre-packed in a sealed up bag, that gets removed soon as I get home. Pointless.

 

Bigger issue is probably stopping third world and developing countries disposal of what they use though.

[El Cid]

Bigger issue is probably stopping third world and developing countries disposal of what they use though.

 

And stopping richer countries exporting waste abroad, where it could end up being dumped.

[Janus]

I`m all for reducing plastic use.

 

When out cycling around Sheffield I invariably pick up and dispose of several glass bottles. I`m just pleased that when I see them they are usually not broken.

 

I know of cycle paths in Rotherham with small amounts of broken glass along it`s length. Such small amounts that the council would have to use an industrial sweeper/vac. I`ve had to stop using these cycle paths.

 

The relavance here is that if we were still in a era when coke bottles etc were made of glass the problem would be worse.

 

I have no idea what material could be used for soft drinks containers. The damage from plastic far outweighs the damage from glass.

[woodview]

I`m all for reducing plastic use.

 

When out cycling around Sheffield I invariably pick up and dispose of several glass bottles. I`m just pleased that when I see them they are usually not broken.

 

I know of cycle paths in Rotherham with small amounts of broken glass along it`s length. Such small amounts that the council would have to use an industrial sweeper/vac. I`ve had to stop using these cycle paths.

 

The relavance here is that if we were still in a era when coke bottles etc were made of glass the problem would be worse.

 

I have no idea what material could be used for soft drinks containers. The damage from plastic far outweighs the damage from glass.

When I visit Germany, nearly all their soft drinks are in glass bottles. If you are in a canteen, the empties go in a bottle crate and go back to the supplier, similar to how milk bottles did.

Supermarkets have return machines, so it tots up the empties and pays you back the deposits.Same idea, empties to the supplier for cleaning and re-filling.

[truman]

When I visit Germany, nearly all their soft drinks are in glass bottles. If you are in a canteen, the empties go in a bottle crate and go back to the supplier, similar to how milk bottles did.

Supermarkets have return machines, so it tots up the empties and pays you back the deposits.Same idea, empties to the supplier for cleaning and re-filling.

 

Is that a governemnt mandate or just done voluntarily?

[woodview]

Is that a governemnt mandate or just done voluntarily?

I don't know.

[Robin-H]

I`m all for reducing plastic use.

 

When out cycling around Sheffield I invariably pick up and dispose of several glass bottles. I`m just pleased that when I see them they are usually not broken.

 

I know of cycle paths in Rotherham with small amounts of broken glass along it`s length. Such small amounts that the council would have to use an industrial sweeper/vac. I`ve had to stop using these cycle paths.

 

The relavance here is that if we were still in a era when coke bottles etc were made of glass the problem would be worse.

 

I have no idea what material could be used for soft drinks containers. The damage from plastic far outweighs the damage from glass.

 

Does it? Glass is sigificanlty heavier and bulkier, and so is requires a lot more vans/trips to transport, thus producing more Co2. Glass can also take twice as much energy to produce in the first place.

 

Plastic is worse is many ways, but whether one is better than the other on the whole I think is pretty complicated to work out.

[lil-minx92]

Supermarkets are largely to blame. When full my brown bin is prob 50% full of packaging- not counting bottles (and strictly speaking this shouldnt go in the recycle bin apparently).

Most of the time the supermarket packaging is purely to force us to buy larger quantities of product.

[tinfoilhat]

We should really really cut down its use.