6 ms·

A lot of discussion on this thread revolves around whose responsibility it is to ensure clean-up of plastic waste (producers or consumers) while ignoring the fa

A lot of discussion on this thread revolves around whose responsibility it is to ensure clean-up of plastic waste (producers or consumers) while ignoring the fact that companies are using a material that lasts 10,000 years for items that are single-use. That should be outright illegal unless there are literally no alternatives.

chewz 7y ago
Overconsumption should be illegal. What if every person had been issued a certain limited credit amount for a lifetime? And then they can decide what to do: - drink from plastic bottles - have children - have a personal car - wear cotton t-shirts - go some retail therapy - have a large lawn - fly to exotic vacations - ... The list continues....
- zygimantasdev 7y ago
  this would fit perfectly in socialist country. Want toiler paper? get papers and wait in line
- scotty79 7y ago
  What if this credit could be not equal for everybody but adjusted by how useful persons contributions are for other people? It could be dynamic! Wait, we already have that. It's called money and doesn't help all that much for polution from single use, forever trash items. Maybe they are just priced wrong? I think if government just cleaned up the oceans and sent bill to Coca-Cola for each bottle, market would solve things fairly quickly.
RobertRoberts 7y ago
Is it really debatable about "who" left the garbage on the ground? Even if something only lasts a couple years, do we still want biodegrading trash littering everything? (we have raw food products right now, I wouldn't want those on the beach either...)
- NeedMoreTea 7y ago
  Oh come on. It's abundantly clear that placing blame and expectation entirely on the shoulders of consumers is bollocks. Humans drop litter - just look at any festival, concert, or sports match. When it was your granddad it was mostly paper bags, maybe wrapped in newspaper, maybe a few crown corks. The glass got carefully taken home as there was a hefty deposit on those beer bottles! Now it's knee-deep single use everywhere. That hasn't changed as you look at poorer countries, or back into the past. What has changed is extensive industry lobbying pretending it's not fucking obvious and working to abolish deposit and return schemes, and use of far more benign materials - like glass. It's as bad as tobacco or asbestos all over again. The same plastic industry that fucking lobbied the government against suggestions that plastic packaging should contain a third recycled plastic. Not only should it be outright illegal, countless industry's execs are deserving of lengthy spells in prison or a law that says you can chuck used plastic in their mansion's garden. :)
  - RobertRoberts 7y ago
    There are plenty of places in the world where littering is not socially acceptable and happens less than other places. What is the difference between these places? I think it's the people, not the material their garbage is made of.
    - NeedMoreTea 7y ago
      Well, there's Singapore and...? That's about it. Of course as well as extreme and draconian legislation, like banning gum, they're a tiny city-state. Yet Singapore employs vast numbers of cleaners and street sweepers clearing up - which surely shouldn't be necessary? Far more per-capita than any Western city. So even they seem to recognise it will happen anyway.
      - jaredklewis 7y ago
        Add Japan to the list. Littering is extremely rare. When traveling, I've been impressed by the cleanliness of Zurich, Copenhagen, Helsinki, and several cities in Germany. If as a society we can't do something as simple as not throw garbage on the ground, I think we have a very bleak future.
deleted 7y ago
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chewz 7y ago

Overconsumption should be illegal. What if every person had been issued a certain limited credit amount for a lifetime? And then they can decide what to do: - drink from plastic bottles - have children - have a personal car - wear cotton t-shirts - go some retail therapy - have a large lawn - fly to exotic vacations - ... The list continues....

zygimantasdev 7y ago
this would fit perfectly in socialist country. Want toiler paper? get papers and wait in line
scotty79 7y ago
What if this credit could be not equal for everybody but adjusted by how useful persons contributions are for other people? It could be dynamic! Wait, we already have that. It's called money and doesn't help all that much for polution from single use, forever trash items. Maybe they are just priced wrong? I think if government just cleaned up the oceans and sent bill to Coca-Cola for each bottle, market would solve things fairly quickly.

RobertRoberts 7y ago

Is it really debatable about "who" left the garbage on the ground? Even if something only lasts a couple years, do we still want biodegrading trash littering everything? (we have raw food products right now, I wouldn't want those on the beach either...)

NeedMoreTea 7y ago
Oh come on. It's abundantly clear that placing blame and expectation entirely on the shoulders of consumers is bollocks. Humans drop litter - just look at any festival, concert, or sports match. When it was your granddad it was mostly paper bags, maybe wrapped in newspaper, maybe a few crown corks. The glass got carefully taken home as there was a hefty deposit on those beer bottles! Now it's knee-deep single use everywhere. That hasn't changed as you look at poorer countries, or back into the past. What has changed is extensive industry lobbying pretending it's not fucking obvious and working to abolish deposit and return schemes, and use of far more benign materials - like glass. It's as bad as tobacco or asbestos all over again. The same plastic industry that fucking lobbied the government against suggestions that plastic packaging should contain a third recycled plastic. Not only should it be outright illegal, countless industry's execs are deserving of lengthy spells in prison or a law that says you can chuck used plastic in their mansion's garden. :)
- RobertRoberts 7y ago
  There are plenty of places in the world where littering is not socially acceptable and happens less than other places. What is the difference between these places? I think it's the people, not the material their garbage is made of.
  - NeedMoreTea 7y ago
    Well, there's Singapore and...? That's about it. Of course as well as extreme and draconian legislation, like banning gum, they're a tiny city-state. Yet Singapore employs vast numbers of cleaners and street sweepers clearing up - which surely shouldn't be necessary? Far more per-capita than any Western city. So even they seem to recognise it will happen anyway.
    - jaredklewis 7y ago
      Add Japan to the list. Littering is extremely rare. When traveling, I've been impressed by the cleanliness of Zurich, Copenhagen, Helsinki, and several cities in Germany. If as a society we can't do something as simple as not throw garbage on the ground, I think we have a very bleak future.

deleted 7y ago

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