Plastic pollution

[Valjean]

Interesting article in the Guardian the other day. Another human-caused environmental hazard:
Plastic fibres found in tap water around the world, study reveals

Fibers in our tap water may be just the tip of the iceberg, though. Most people have heard of the large plastic detritus in the oceans, or have seen it washed up on beaches, but this breaks down into an oceanic, microplastic smog that enters the food chain and works its way up through the protozoa, algae, plankton, filter-feeders, fish, marine mammals and birds. The microplastic particles also break down into nanoplastic particles small enough to enter directly into cells.
All this could threaten not just the marine food web, but the whole ecosphere.
The direct health effects on ourselves remains to be seen.

Comments?

 

[England my lionheart]

Its probably too late to do anything about it,san Francisco have banned plastic bottles but theres so much plastic used in everything else.

 

[Quintessence]

Been saying for quite a while now that plastic is evil, and not in jest. One, it's tacky. Two, it doesn't degrade. Three, it's (in most cases) a petro product.

A while back I made a decision to be a recycling only household. Been living that way for three years now. I debated about becoming a plastic free household. That, unfortunately, is a herculean task unless you live out on a farm and can grow your own food. It shouldn't be.

 

[Shiranui117]

Been saying for quite a while now that plastic is evil, and not in jest. One, it's tacky. Two, it doesn't degrade. Three, it's (in most cases) a petro product.

A while back I made a decision to be a recycling only household. Been living that way for three years now. I debated about becoming a plastic free household. That, unfortunately, is a herculean task unless you live out on a farm and can grow your own food. It shouldn't be.

Any bulk stores a reasonable drive away? You could probably use burlap sacks for that or something. Just a thought (which you've probably already considered anyway)...

 

[Nakosis]

Been saying for quite a while now that plastic is evil, and not in jest. One, it's tacky. Two, it doesn't degrade. Three, it's (in most cases) a petro product.

A while back I made a decision to be a recycling only household. Been living that way for three years now. I debated about becoming a plastic free household. That, unfortunately, is a herculean task unless you live out on a farm and can grow your own food. It shouldn't be.

Hadn't thought about it before but all the foodstuff I buy comes wrapped in plastic. Even the bulk items have a convenient nearby plastic bag dispenser to carry them in.

And then there's the medical industry.

Most advances of human society over the past century have been facilitated by the use of plastics. Plastics are composed of a network of molecular monomers bound together to form macromolecules of infinite use in human society. Today, there are more than 20 different major types of plastics in use worldwide [1]. Whereas plastics have been in the public eye recently for potentially dangerous human exposure to toxic components such as bisphenol A (BPA) and di-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) [2], their beneficial impact on society is undeniable and illustrated best by their medical uses and applications in public health. Plastics are cost-effective, require little energy to produce, and are lightweight and biocompatible. This makes them an ideal material for single-use disposable devices, which currently comprise 85% [3] of medical equipment.
Plastics and Environmental Health: The Road Ahead

 

[Quintessence]

Any bulk stores a reasonable drive away? You could probably use burlap sacks for that or something. Just a thought (which you've probably already considered anyway)...

That works to an extent. But when you really start thinking about what it would take to go plastic free, you realize how ubiquitous it is. Some goods you cannot get period without plastic. Like cheese. There seems to be virtually no such thing as cheese that is not wrapped in plastic. Milk? Plastic jugs. Yogurt? Cottage cheese? Plastic. Any sort of frozen food? All wrapped in plastic. Chips? Plastic wrapped. Even boxes of crackers? Well, that box may be cardboard, but inside that is a plastic bag. The stuff is impossible to get away from for a basic necessity like food. Or rather, the amount of effort needed to avoid it - and the dietary changes you'd have to make like essentially never having any dairy product ever again - are ridiculous. It's why I threw out the idea of going plastic free almost immediately. We're prisoners to the industry.

What this basically means is that for this issue to be addressed, there need to be state or federal laws regulating packaging of goods. And with the current anti-regulatory political environment, the odds of that are slight. In the mean time, the best we can do is minimize how much plastic crap we use as much you can without it driving you completely nuts (because it will).

 

[Valjean]

It's not that plastic's "evil" -- for some things there are few practical substitutes, but I think we'd do well to cut down on packaging, disposable drinking water bottles, &c. We could recycle more.

Why, when I was a lad...

 

[Quintessence]

To my mind, if there isn't a practical substitute for plastic, then don't make it. In most respects, plastic is symptomatic of an underlying problem: excessive materialism and consumerism. Plastic is like a symbolic epitome of modern wastefulness and buy-buy-buy mania, in all of its tacky, tasteless glory.