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Reusable materials: Metal/wood utensils. Glass cups. Washable containers. Paper. The list is extensive. The only downside is slightly higher cost.

nickff 5y ago
'Slightly higher cost' is usually symptomatic of higher resource or energy usage in the manufacturing process.
- kixiQu 5y ago
  Citation?
- blacksmith_tb 5y ago
  Possibly - or symptomatic of more subsidies going to the fossil fuels industry than to bamboo forestry.
- ainiriand 5y ago
  OR maybe it is just that the requried industrial layout is not in place yet to make those containers in such a scale. But I think that we need a replacement, and the less plastic we use, more alternatives will appear.
  - Stupulous 5y ago
    These materials predate plastic and existed when the decision to build out the plastic industry was made. Capitalism isn't flawless, but it does handle money very efficiently. If, for example, landfill space was in low supply, the cost of waste disposal would go up and consumers would prefer products that produce less waste. Likewise if oil was running out. Capitalism fails where externalities don't have an immediate cost. The pollutants generated in the production, shipping, and disposal of plastics don't come with financial consequences. Plastic is evidently cheaper than alternatives, so companies who avoid them will be outcompeted by companies that do. Consumers might solve this by boycotting plastics, but I think wealth inequality won't make it easy. Companies might solve this by agreeing not to use plastics, though I'm not sure about the legality and they still could be undercut by new competitors. Or a government could use taxes to add costs to the generation of pollutants, but that depends on pertinent industries' influence and the government's incentives towards national economic performance.
    - Brainmulch 5y ago
      Exactly, people love to hate on Capitalism, but it is a very powerful tool. But externalised cost is the downfall that governments need to step in and control.
      - dragonwriter 5y ago
        > Exactly, people love to hate on Capitalism, but it is a very powerful tool Lots of social systems or practices that have earned hated are also powerful tools. Feudalism is a powerful tool. Slavery is a powerful tool.
- organsnyder 5y ago
  That's only true if all externalities are priced in.

nickff 5y ago

'Slightly higher cost' is usually symptomatic of higher resource or energy usage in the manufacturing process.

kixiQu 5y ago
Citation?
blacksmith_tb 5y ago
Possibly - or symptomatic of more subsidies going to the fossil fuels industry than to bamboo forestry.
ainiriand 5y ago
OR maybe it is just that the requried industrial layout is not in place yet to make those containers in such a scale. But I think that we need a replacement, and the less plastic we use, more alternatives will appear.
- Stupulous 5y ago
  These materials predate plastic and existed when the decision to build out the plastic industry was made. Capitalism isn't flawless, but it does handle money very efficiently. If, for example, landfill space was in low supply, the cost of waste disposal would go up and consumers would prefer products that produce less waste. Likewise if oil was running out. Capitalism fails where externalities don't have an immediate cost. The pollutants generated in the production, shipping, and disposal of plastics don't come with financial consequences. Plastic is evidently cheaper than alternatives, so companies who avoid them will be outcompeted by companies that do. Consumers might solve this by boycotting plastics, but I think wealth inequality won't make it easy. Companies might solve this by agreeing not to use plastics, though I'm not sure about the legality and they still could be undercut by new competitors. Or a government could use taxes to add costs to the generation of pollutants, but that depends on pertinent industries' influence and the government's incentives towards national economic performance.
  - Brainmulch 5y ago
    Exactly, people love to hate on Capitalism, but it is a very powerful tool. But externalised cost is the downfall that governments need to step in and control.
    - dragonwriter 5y ago
      > Exactly, people love to hate on Capitalism, but it is a very powerful tool Lots of social systems or practices that have earned hated are also powerful tools. Feudalism is a powerful tool. Slavery is a powerful tool.
organsnyder 5y ago
That's only true if all externalities are priced in.