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This makes you wonder - did the whole save the trees movement give rise to a far dangerous alternative, the mass usage of plastics?
by eljimmy 5y ago
This makes you wonder - did the whole save the trees movement give rise to a far dangerous alternative, the mass usage of plastics?
- palijer 5y agoI don't think that would explain the transition from reusable milk glass bottles to plastic milk jugs. A decrease in deforestation doesn't explain a systemic rise in using plastics.
- dane-pgp 5y agoMoreover, plastic straws were in use before the 1980s, and only since the 80s has there been pressure to replace them with paper-based straws.
- contingencies 5y agoPlastic is cheaper by weight, lighter, easier to form and far more adjustable in appearance. It has a broader range of temperature responses, chemical responses, physical properties and textures. It is in general harder to break. In short, plastic excels because it is apparently cheap and useful and its dire costs, in particular of single use plastics and in particular to the commons, are - much like other systemic issues burgeoning under capitalism - never adequately accounted for.
- mrpopo 5y agoThe whole save-the-trees movement did nothing for 98% of the world's population, and the mass usage of plastics was propped up by companies switching to a cheaper and more efficient material, with no regard for consequences (because why would they? They need economic incentives for that).