[Oliver_W]

Originally Posted by James

I do often take a cup of tea in a travel mug out with me, instead of getting a drink in a disposable cup.

I looked up some information about plastic in the oceans.



From https://metro.co.uk/2019/06/08/the-r...drink-9856337/



https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/...ust-10-rivers/



https://www.statista.com/chart/12211...eans-the-most/

So next time a seal chokes to death on your plastic waste, you won't mind vecause our country doesn't dump as much as a much more populous country elsewhere!

[Toy Soldier]

Originally Posted by Oliver_W

So next time a seal chokes to death on your plastic waste, you won't mind vecause our country doesn't dump as much as a much more populous country elsewhere!

It's an inconvenient truth to point out that there's shyt-all we can do about things like plastic pollution and emissions. I know people want to feel like they're contributing something but honestly... Tesco getting rid of their plastic bags or Betty down the road switching from her diesel engine to a hybrid is ... nothing.

We rely on manufacturing economies. Manufacturing economies are not going to stop polluting. Expecting any meaningful change on that front is an utterly insane level of optimism... you might as well write a letter to Santa asking him to clean up the ocean. I've said before and I'll say again... there are two options for what is going to happen:

1) We kick up the research and try to develop advanced technological solutions for cleaning up after ourselves, dissolving plastics, cleaning the air, etc. so that it doesn't matter that we're still dirty as **** - we can clean it up.

2) We don't figure out how to clean it up and it's game over.

Option 3 where we "stop creating" planet-busting pollution, does not reasonably exist.

[Oliver_W]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

It's an inconvenient truth to point out that there's shyt-all we can do about things like plastic pollution and emissions. I know people want to feel like they're contributing something but honestly... Tesco getting rid of their plastic bags or Betty down the road switching from her diesel engine to a hybrid is ... nothing.

We rely on manufacturing economies. Manufacturing economies are not going to stop polluting. Expecting any meaningful change on that front is an utterly insane level of optimism... you might as well write a letter to Santa asking him to clean up the ocean. I've said before and I'll say again... there are two options for what is going to happen:

1) We kick up the research and try to develop advanced technological solutions for cleaning up after ourselves, dissolving plastics, cleaning the air, etc. so that it doesn't matter that we're still dirty as **** - we can clean it up.

2) We don't figure out how to clean it up and it's game over.

Option 3 where we "stop creating" planet-busting pollution, does not reasonably exist.

I know, but when it comes to the environment I'm a bit of an idealist

Like someone upthread said, replacing plastic bottles with different sizes of recyclable cans might be an idea. Or even maybe only have the standard size cans! Having less sugar wouldn't hurt!

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by Cherie

or maybe as consumers we should dispose of any plastic we buy in a responsible way, what would happen if they change to glass, would consumers suddenly dispose of them responsibly because they are glass?

Do you know what happens to our plastic waste? We ship it to Malaysia and they ship it straight back ..... after that I have no idea.

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by Oliver_W

So next time a seal chokes to death on your plastic waste, you won't mind vecause our country doesn't dump as much as a much more populous country elsewhere!

Yeah pollution top trumps is every world leaders favourite game, didn't you know?

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

It's energy (and thus carbon) intensive to smelt sand into glass, and the amount of sand needed to fulfil the world glass needs even NOW is causing coastline erosion. If plastic was totally replaced by glass, you'd be tripling-or-more the glass production requirements.

Its also significantly heavier than plastic, which means you need more vehicles (at least double) to ship the same volume of produce, which again adds to emissions.

The argument is that it can be recycled or reused and is therefore better, but there wouldn't be a problem with plastic if people were recycling it. The reason that it's a problem is that people are NOT recycling. Why would anyone think people are suddenly going to start recycling glass?

Its marginally better in the short term because of the immediate threat that plastics pose to the ocean, but glass as a long term solution just isn't sensible or viable.

There may be energy saving smelting methods, for a young bloke you sound very negative about the future and our sustainability, luckily there are innovative people looking for solutions to the world's problems let's have a bit of faith eh?

Greener transport could offset the costs of shipping, lower consumption, use other products like recycled card for packaging .. there are many ways to make small changes that may have a big impact.

Many do recycle, incentives as said like money of more products could well work or cause others to benefit from the scheme. I remember when aluminium recycling was popular it worked out a penny a can or something, there were people walking around picking them off the streets rooting in bins. Where there's muck there's brass!

It may not be THE solution but it is A solution. Rome wasn't built, destroyed and rebuilt in a day.