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We can use less of it, make it easier to separate and then recycle :) Here in Germany we start seeing containers for e.g. yoghurt, margarine, ... that are made

We can use less of it, make it easier to separate and then recycle :) Here in Germany we start seeing containers for e.g. yoghurt, margarine, ... that are made out of thin, un-colored plastic and then reinforced by a paper wrap with the print for the product info and design. This paper wrap is only glued on at a few points. It also has a perforated section and a label saying to please pull there to separate paper from plastic. You can then proceed to put paper and plastic into different recycling bins (waste separation is very widespread here. You're basically being a dick if you don't do it). Here is a picture: https://www.online-lebensmittel-lieferservice.de/wp-content/uploads/plastik-verpackung-joghurt-4404.jpg https://www.online-lebensmittel-lieferservice.de/wp-content/...

DoingIsLearning 6y ago
Plastic is a material that can sit in a landfill for 500 years, it should only be used where you need a _long_ term application that also requires a weight/shape/durability that is not easily manufacturered with other materials. A yogurt container will have a typical 15 to 30 days shelf life, this is not a good use of plastic, it also interacts with an acidic medium (Which absolutely breaks down a fraction of the plastic structure). It really should always be made of glass, the only reason it isn't so is purely cost driven. Coca-Cola, Nestle, Pepsico, Procter&Gamble, Danone, Mars have all pretty much externalized the huge environmental cost of plastic and reduced their operational costs at ours and our environments expense. We are damaging ourselves and our waterways for the sake of an illusionary convenience and the profit margins of a few giants. Glass recycling is also energy intensive but it doesn't even have be recycled, people need to stop being disgusted and go the same way as beer bottles. Glass can be high power washed or autoclaved and reused by the manufacturer. Glass transportation costs also become marginal once we transition to EV logistics delivery in the next 15/20 years.

DoingIsLearning 6y ago

Plastic is a material that can sit in a landfill for 500 years, it should only be used where you need a _long_ term application that also requires a weight/shape/durability that is not easily manufacturered with other materials. A yogurt container will have a typical 15 to 30 days shelf life, this is not a good use of plastic, it also interacts with an acidic medium (Which absolutely breaks down a fraction of the plastic structure). It really should always be made of glass, the only reason it isn't so is purely cost driven. Coca-Cola, Nestle, Pepsico, Procter&Gamble, Danone, Mars have all pretty much externalized the huge environmental cost of plastic and reduced their operational costs at ours and our environments expense. We are damaging ourselves and our waterways for the sake of an illusionary convenience and the profit margins of a few giants. Glass recycling is also energy intensive but it doesn't even have be recycled, people need to stop being disgusted and go the same way as beer bottles. Glass can be high power washed or autoclaved and reused by the manufacturer. Glass transportation costs also become marginal once we transition to EV logistics delivery in the next 15/20 years.