Medical use of plastic is convenient for infection control. Alternatives [1] were sought-after even back when plastic was introduced into the medical field. It

Medical use of plastic is convenient for infection control. Alternatives [1] were sought-after even back when plastic was introduced into the medical field. It was thought back then we would "figure it out before it becomes a problem". I think our mental model around the deployment of plastic is flawed. The logistical tail of plastics use falls upon an externalized public commons, while much of that logistical tail cost is embedded into alternatives like glass. No one accounts for the cost of disposal management of plastic syringes to the point that microplastics don't end up in our biosphere, while autoclaving glass syringes and recycling chipped glass syringes is tallied up against glass. An apples-to-apples cost comparison can be more closely approached if mostly-closed loop systems were built for all uses, and some kind of target virgin feedstock utilization percentage was set, and microplastics as an acceptable outcome was denied the plastics industry. [1] https://www.standard.co.uk/futurelondon/theplasticfreeproject/singleuse-plastic-in-medicine-and-how-we-can-cut-it-down-a4020416.html https://www.standard.co.uk/futurelondon/theplasticfreeprojec...