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Humans are the cause, and unless more governments and policies are in place to prevent excessive plastic and waste consumption, there isn’t a hope for wildlife.

Humans are the cause, and unless more governments and policies are in place to prevent excessive plastic and waste consumption, there isn’t a hope for wildlife. I do freelance work for a reusable takeaway container company where restaurants stock our boxes and customers need only to download an app to get their food in reusable boxes (they can return anywhere). The app is super easy to download but still people are refusing to do it. I tried convincing a pregnant acquaintance to do it, telling her to think of the planet she’s leaving behind for her unborn child, and still she refused. Why? Convenience. So much easier to throw the damn plastic box away and tell yourself “oh it’s made of recycled plastic anyway.” The fact is, whether it’s recycled plastic or not, plastic is plastic. Driving the demand for recycled plastic boxes isn’t going to fix our planet. Until the government steps in to say every food related shop needs to provide a reusable alternative and customers have to pay more for disposable waste (like how it is now with carrier bags in most supermarkets in Europe), I don’t see much change happening in terms of wildlife. It’s sad but it is what it is.

dkdbejwi383 5y ago
If plastic is as recyclable as plastic manufacturers would have us believe, we could impose a ban on the production of new plastic after a short transitional period. Try suggesting that to anyone with an interest in the plastic production or consumption complex and see how they respond. Even if one wanted to recycle all the plastics they use, it's damn near impossible. Firstly, what is and isn't "currently" recycled is not particularly transparent to the end-user. Your local authority (or privatised collection company in the case of businesses) might have a confusing set of rules and guidelines on how to dispose of different types of plastic (which to most regular folk are just "plastic"). Whoever's collected the waste probably doesn't deal with it themselves but sells it on, and then it's a gamble as to whether that 3rd party recycles it, ships it off to a poorer territory, or just burns it.
- imacerealkiller 5y ago
  Exactly. I'm very skeptical about the percentage of plastic that is supposedly recycled. Furthermore, even if the plastic is actually recycled, most plastics e.g. polypropylene can only be recycled once.
niklasd 5y ago
I think its certainly worth to download an app to save waste, however, I wouldn't pin peoples reluctance only on convenience. Nowadays it seems you have to download an app for literally everything, and I think many people don't understand why. I've been in the exact situation as this woman with a place just around the corner: I just didn't get why I had to download an app in order to get the reusable box for my food from them.
- imacerealkiller 5y ago
  In our case we have to make people download the app, as we can then track how long they've had it and this also ensures the return the box. However, we've also realized that not many people are as tech-savvy as we are, especially the older generation, so we need to think about other alternatives soon if we want this to be feasible. Did you end up downloading your app in the end then?
  - niklasd 5y ago
    I didn't, I don't need another app to track me. A deposit is and should be enough to ensure the return of the item. I think for many people the proposition "you need to download this app to do something for which the app is not needed" is a non-starter, also for tech-savvy people. Another thing to consider is that I (and I guess many other people) are only willing to download an app while having wifi, since my data volumne in LTE is limited.
    - imacerealkiller 5y ago
      Yeah, totally feel you about the data and downloading the app, that's actually a really good point that I didn't think about! Unfortunately as the boxes are made from food-grade stainless steel, they are worth more than the 2 euros, maximum 5 euros that we would charge as deposit. The risk of people keeping them and losing the 2 euros is fairly high. On the other hand, making it more than 5 euros would deter people from paying, so it's a dilemma at the moment.
      - 5y ago

dkdbejwi383 5y ago

If plastic is as recyclable as plastic manufacturers would have us believe, we could impose a ban on the production of new plastic after a short transitional period. Try suggesting that to anyone with an interest in the plastic production or consumption complex and see how they respond. Even if one wanted to recycle all the plastics they use, it's damn near impossible. Firstly, what is and isn't "currently" recycled is not particularly transparent to the end-user. Your local authority (or privatised collection company in the case of businesses) might have a confusing set of rules and guidelines on how to dispose of different types of plastic (which to most regular folk are just "plastic"). Whoever's collected the waste probably doesn't deal with it themselves but sells it on, and then it's a gamble as to whether that 3rd party recycles it, ships it off to a poorer territory, or just burns it.

imacerealkiller 5y ago
Exactly. I'm very skeptical about the percentage of plastic that is supposedly recycled. Furthermore, even if the plastic is actually recycled, most plastics e.g. polypropylene can only be recycled once.

niklasd 5y ago

I think its certainly worth to download an app to save waste, however, I wouldn't pin peoples reluctance only on convenience. Nowadays it seems you have to download an app for literally everything, and I think many people don't understand why. I've been in the exact situation as this woman with a place just around the corner: I just didn't get why I had to download an app in order to get the reusable box for my food from them.

imacerealkiller 5y ago
In our case we have to make people download the app, as we can then track how long they've had it and this also ensures the return the box. However, we've also realized that not many people are as tech-savvy as we are, especially the older generation, so we need to think about other alternatives soon if we want this to be feasible. Did you end up downloading your app in the end then?
- niklasd 5y ago
  I didn't, I don't need another app to track me. A deposit is and should be enough to ensure the return of the item. I think for many people the proposition "you need to download this app to do something for which the app is not needed" is a non-starter, also for tech-savvy people. Another thing to consider is that I (and I guess many other people) are only willing to download an app while having wifi, since my data volumne in LTE is limited.
  - imacerealkiller 5y ago
    Yeah, totally feel you about the data and downloading the app, that's actually a really good point that I didn't think about! Unfortunately as the boxes are made from food-grade stainless steel, they are worth more than the 2 euros, maximum 5 euros that we would charge as deposit. The risk of people keeping them and losing the 2 euros is fairly high. On the other hand, making it more than 5 euros would deter people from paying, so it's a dilemma at the moment.
    - 5y ago