Michael Shellenberger makes a similar case [1] for many uses of plastic, too— for example, items like hair combs and eyeglass frames used to be made out of tort

Michael Shellenberger makes a similar case [1] for many uses of plastic, too— for example, items like hair combs and eyeglass frames used to be made out of tortoise shell, and like whales, the tortoises were under major threat until plastic replaced all of that and they went back to being all but ignored by humanity. So yes, there is a ton of unacceptable plastic waste out there, but the net effect (he argues, anyway) is still overwhelmingly positive for the environment, particularly if we can focus eco efforts on ensuring that plastic ends up safely land-filled rather than being overly consumed with reducing the upfront production of it. And one of the nice things about this approach is that it's not an uphill battle the way guilting people about their lifestyle choices is— you can work with NGOs to lift people around the world out of poverty, and a natural part of them becoming richer will be having the mental bandwidth to look around and demand things like a safe, well-organized waste processing pipeline. [1]: https://www.amazon.ca/Apocalypse-Never-Environmental-Alarmism-Hurts/dp/0063001691 https://www.amazon.ca/Apocalypse-Never-Environmental-Alarmis...