4 ms·

Single-use cutlery and plates to be banned in England

21 points by edward 4y ago

JoeAltmaier 4y ago
Odd. Paper plates can be as efficient as washing reusable ones? And what on earth will that takeaway vindaloo be packaged in now?
- europeanguy 4y ago
  If we're talking about the "reusable" cutlery that we see on the picture in the article linked, no one in England washes those, I can assure you. In fact it's not uncommon to see them literally thrown on the ground in London.
  - JoeAltmaier 4y ago
    I agree. I meant "ceramic, porcelain or the like". You know, real stuff.
- barbazoo 4y ago
  Maybe takeaway food packed in styrofoam, wrapped in plastic, that you then eat on the street using single use utensils isn't a sustainable business model then and maybe isn't something we should accept as a society.
tastysandwich 4y ago
My understanding is that 81% of ocean waste comes from rivers in poorer Asian countries. And the rest is from marine sources (fishing nets, lines, ropes, and abandoned vessels) [1]. Not much seems to come from wealthier nations, let alone plastic straws/plates/etc. I'm no expert, and I do think ocean waste is a problem that needs to be taken seriously. But it seems to me that all I hear is politicians talk about banning straws (to very little effect on ocean plastic) in, say, Australia, rather than helping a country like the Philippines (responsible for one-third of global ocean plastic) improve waste management. As I said I'm no expert, but is helping poorer countries improve waste management such a monumentally difficult task? [1] https://ourworldindata.org/ocean-plastics https://ourworldindata.org/ocean-plastics
- europeanguy 4y ago
  My understanding is that waste doesn't seem to come from wealthier nations because they pay poor nations to "properly dispose" of it, who in turns just dump them in their rivers.
  - throwawaylinux 4y ago
    That's terrible for those countries to take the money to dispose of it and then just dump it in the ocean.
    - mlyle 4y ago
      It's also terrible to pay the absolute lowest bidder to "properly dispose of it" when you know they are unlikely to do any such thing for the amount you paid.
      - throwawaylinux 4y ago
        Not if they also ban plastic straws (that mostly get responsibly disposed of) for their own citizens! But no, the whole "rich countries are causing the problem by exporting plastics to the poors" thing is misinformation https://ourworldindata.org/plastic-waste-trade https://ourworldindata.org/plastic-waste-trade.
- okwubodu 4y ago
  Most wealthy nations export a large chunk of their plastic and other waste to poorer countries. The conclusion that article came to is very strange.
  - tastysandwich 4y ago
    That's interesting. This article takes a further look at the issue. https://ourworldindata.org/plastic-waste-trade https://ourworldindata.org/plastic-waste-trade I estimate that a few percent – possibly up to 5% – of the world’s ocean plastics could come from rich countries exporting their waste overseas. That could bring the total up to 10%: 5% directly from rivers in these regions, plus a further 5% from trade. And The world generates around 350 million tonnes of plastic waste per year. That means that around 2% of waste is traded. The remaining 98% is handled domestically. It’s sent to a landfill, recycled, or incinerated in the country where the waste was generated. The idea that most of the world’s plastic waste is shipped overseas is incorrect. One reason why this figure is so low is that it’s mostly recycled waste that’s traded, and only 20% of the world’s plastic is recycled. Over the last decade, we’ve seen a large decline in the amount of plastic waste traded. Rates have fallen by two-thirds since 2010. So I suppose you can say some of that waste is ours, but the majority doesn't seem to be.
mytailorisrich 4y ago
The article is not very well written as it seems that the ban will actually apply to plastic items, not single-use cutlery and plates in general. I.e. everything will most likely become paper-based. I had a McDonald's salad today and the cutlery was made from paper and was actually not bad, certainly much better than the paper straws they give and that are awful.
- matthewdgreen 4y ago
  What worries me is that these “paper” items are increasingly being coated with PFAS and related compounds. I’d like to know that my paper doesn’t contain those long-lived chemicals.
- bsder 4y ago
  The problem is that paper generally needs to be coated with something in order to do the same job as the plastic version. The coating currently is almost always a variant of PFAS--which is likely worse than the plastic version being incinerated at an industial facility.
everfrustrated 4y ago
>Single-use cutlery and plates to be banned in England Headline is unnecessarily sensationalist. In fact the ban is about plastic.
- nuc1e0n 4y ago
  If it just concerns single use plastic cutlery I won't miss it.

21 points by edward 4y ago

Odd. Paper plates can be as efficient as washing reusable ones? And what on earth will that takeaway vindaloo be packaged in now?

europeanguy 4y ago
If we're talking about the "reusable" cutlery that we see on the picture in the article linked, no one in England washes those, I can assure you. In fact it's not uncommon to see them literally thrown on the ground in London.
- JoeAltmaier 4y ago
  I agree. I meant "ceramic, porcelain or the like". You know, real stuff.
barbazoo 4y ago
Maybe takeaway food packed in styrofoam, wrapped in plastic, that you then eat on the street using single use utensils isn't a sustainable business model then and maybe isn't something we should accept as a society.

tastysandwich 4y ago

My understanding is that 81% of ocean waste comes from rivers in poorer Asian countries. And the rest is from marine sources (fishing nets, lines, ropes, and abandoned vessels) [1]. Not much seems to come from wealthier nations, let alone plastic straws/plates/etc. I'm no expert, and I do think ocean waste is a problem that needs to be taken seriously. But it seems to me that all I hear is politicians talk about banning straws (to very little effect on ocean plastic) in, say, Australia, rather than helping a country like the Philippines (responsible for one-third of global ocean plastic) improve waste management. As I said I'm no expert, but is helping poorer countries improve waste management such a monumentally difficult task? [1] https://ourworldindata.org/ocean-plastics https://ourworldindata.org/ocean-plastics

europeanguy 4y ago
My understanding is that waste doesn't seem to come from wealthier nations because they pay poor nations to "properly dispose" of it, who in turns just dump them in their rivers.
- throwawaylinux 4y ago
  That's terrible for those countries to take the money to dispose of it and then just dump it in the ocean.
  - mlyle 4y ago
    It's also terrible to pay the absolute lowest bidder to "properly dispose of it" when you know they are unlikely to do any such thing for the amount you paid.
    - throwawaylinux 4y ago
      Not if they also ban plastic straws (that mostly get responsibly disposed of) for their own citizens! But no, the whole "rich countries are causing the problem by exporting plastics to the poors" thing is misinformation https://ourworldindata.org/plastic-waste-trade https://ourworldindata.org/plastic-waste-trade.
okwubodu 4y ago
Most wealthy nations export a large chunk of their plastic and other waste to poorer countries. The conclusion that article came to is very strange.
- tastysandwich 4y ago
  That's interesting. This article takes a further look at the issue. https://ourworldindata.org/plastic-waste-trade https://ourworldindata.org/plastic-waste-trade I estimate that a few percent – possibly up to 5% – of the world’s ocean plastics could come from rich countries exporting their waste overseas. That could bring the total up to 10%: 5% directly from rivers in these regions, plus a further 5% from trade. And The world generates around 350 million tonnes of plastic waste per year. That means that around 2% of waste is traded. The remaining 98% is handled domestically. It’s sent to a landfill, recycled, or incinerated in the country where the waste was generated. The idea that most of the world’s plastic waste is shipped overseas is incorrect. One reason why this figure is so low is that it’s mostly recycled waste that’s traded, and only 20% of the world’s plastic is recycled. Over the last decade, we’ve seen a large decline in the amount of plastic waste traded. Rates have fallen by two-thirds since 2010. So I suppose you can say some of that waste is ours, but the majority doesn't seem to be.

mytailorisrich 4y ago

The article is not very well written as it seems that the ban will actually apply to plastic items, not single-use cutlery and plates in general. I.e. everything will most likely become paper-based. I had a McDonald's salad today and the cutlery was made from paper and was actually not bad, certainly much better than the paper straws they give and that are awful.

matthewdgreen 4y ago
What worries me is that these “paper” items are increasingly being coated with PFAS and related compounds. I’d like to know that my paper doesn’t contain those long-lived chemicals.
bsder 4y ago
The problem is that paper generally needs to be coated with something in order to do the same job as the plastic version. The coating currently is almost always a variant of PFAS--which is likely worse than the plastic version being incinerated at an industial facility.

everfrustrated 4y ago

>Single-use cutlery and plates to be banned in England Headline is unnecessarily sensationalist. In fact the ban is about plastic.

nuc1e0n 4y ago
If it just concerns single use plastic cutlery I won't miss it.