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It's always good to have less waste and single-use items. At the same time, maybe it's better to use the oil in it's processed form (plastic) before burning it[

It's always good to have less waste and single-use items. At the same time, maybe it's better to use the oil in it's processed form (plastic) before burning it[1] instead of burning it right away[2]? On the go, now you're forced to pick up a 500g single-use glass bottle instead of a 20g plastic bottle. Only 1-10k tons of German trash ends up in the ocean from 50M tons and I don't think plastic spoons are a material % of that. It's not that I love plastic, it's just the optimal choice for food packaging now. Saying "I don't use plastic spoons" while following current consumption standards makes no dent whatsoever. [1] https://www.tz.de/muenchen/stadt/muenchen-grosse-muell-luege-warum-verbrennen-wir-so-viel-abfall-9828158.html https://www.tz.de/muenchen/stadt/muenchen-grosse-muell-luege... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_in_Germany#Energy_consumption https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_in_Germany#Energy_consu...

badestrand 6y ago
> It's not that I love plastic, it's just the optimal choice for food packaging now. Saying "I don't use plastic spoons" while following current consumption standards makes no dent whatsoever. IMO the value is not only in the concrete measures taken (e.g. using wooden spoons) but in the overall trend. We have the movement away from plastic right now and while some single actions or policies may only have a negligible effect there is a huge value in the big picture: Research for alternative materials, lots of companies and consumers trying to figure our ways to reduce waste and plastic usage. And boom, after a few years or decades we might have a plastic free future where everyone consumes less and close to 100% of materials are recycled. Could we search for alternatives without banning single-use plastic bags? Probably yes but the workings of society are messy and not always rational so better take the path that actually works.

badestrand 6y ago

> It's not that I love plastic, it's just the optimal choice for food packaging now. Saying "I don't use plastic spoons" while following current consumption standards makes no dent whatsoever. IMO the value is not only in the concrete measures taken (e.g. using wooden spoons) but in the overall trend. We have the movement away from plastic right now and while some single actions or policies may only have a negligible effect there is a huge value in the big picture: Research for alternative materials, lots of companies and consumers trying to figure our ways to reduce waste and plastic usage. And boom, after a few years or decades we might have a plastic free future where everyone consumes less and close to 100% of materials are recycled. Could we search for alternatives without banning single-use plastic bags? Probably yes but the workings of society are messy and not always rational so better take the path that actually works.