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Most plastic is not consumer but business use. As much as you think your veggies wrapped in plastic is bad, everything in the supply chain leading to your veggi

Most plastic is not consumer but business use. As much as you think your veggies wrapped in plastic is bad, everything in the supply chain leading to your veggies was wrapped in plastic: the pallet they came on, every part that went into making the truck that shipped it (multiple times, as the truck in various states of manufacture made its way around several different geographically dispersed factories), the soil and fertilizer and pesticides that grew it, the hose that watered it, etc

HyperSane 4y ago
Farmers use enormous amounts of plastic to wrap animal feed or cover bunker silos.
an_aparallel 4y ago
this is one of the biggest frustrations i have about "making the right choices" and any other instances where organisations/governments try to make it out like individual choice makes a dent in the actual problem space. i could throw a piece of plastic rubbish every day on the street for the rest of my life - and it would still not put anywhere near a dent in the problem. All the while - technology companies continue to create un-repairable products, released at shorter time scales, whilst convincing people what they already have needs upgrading. Fix the system first... :/
- earthling8118 4y ago
  What gets me is people will paint it as if it was you that made the mess since the company exists to serve consumer demand. Well I'm certainly not about to stop existing so it's too late to give up on that one. There's just no choice for a better option at our level.
bamboozled 4y ago
Sure but on the other hand, let's say you buy a plastic bottle everyday (for water). There's ~ 6 billion people on earth, if everyone does that for 10 years...you know, it's a big number: 2.136e+13 bottles, that's a lot. The thing is, bottled water is convenient as shit, I religiously use a insulated water bottle to avoid this type of waste, and I suspect a lot of people do. So I don't think reducing personal consumption is insignificant, although I agree with you.
- pksebben 4y ago
  what rankles about these pieces, is that we've seen campaigns like them before, funded by industries that output levels of waste that do make personal consumption relatively insignificant [1] https://theoceancleanup.com/press/press-releases/over-75-of-plastic-in-great-pacific-garbage-patch-originates-from-fishing/ https://theoceancleanup.com/press/press-releases/over-75-of-...
- earthling8118 4y ago
  I definitely don't understand the love for bottled water. Maybe if the water is unsafe in an area. The insulated water bottle is better in nearly every way. It's bigger which is important because I can finish a regular bottle in moments. It stays cold for longer. I can refill it much more easily so I always have water. I also see it more of a problem in commercial settings. Different venues will stop you from bringing the bottle in (or won't provide a way to fill it up) so you can buy the $4+ Dasani. I hate Dasani. I just want to fill my bottle.

HyperSane 4y ago

Farmers use enormous amounts of plastic to wrap animal feed or cover bunker silos.

an_aparallel 4y ago

this is one of the biggest frustrations i have about "making the right choices" and any other instances where organisations/governments try to make it out like individual choice makes a dent in the actual problem space. i could throw a piece of plastic rubbish every day on the street for the rest of my life - and it would still not put anywhere near a dent in the problem. All the while - technology companies continue to create un-repairable products, released at shorter time scales, whilst convincing people what they already have needs upgrading. Fix the system first... :/

earthling8118 4y ago
What gets me is people will paint it as if it was you that made the mess since the company exists to serve consumer demand. Well I'm certainly not about to stop existing so it's too late to give up on that one. There's just no choice for a better option at our level.

bamboozled 4y ago

Sure but on the other hand, let's say you buy a plastic bottle everyday (for water). There's ~ 6 billion people on earth, if everyone does that for 10 years...you know, it's a big number: 2.136e+13 bottles, that's a lot. The thing is, bottled water is convenient as shit, I religiously use a insulated water bottle to avoid this type of waste, and I suspect a lot of people do. So I don't think reducing personal consumption is insignificant, although I agree with you.

pksebben 4y ago
what rankles about these pieces, is that we've seen campaigns like them before, funded by industries that output levels of waste that do make personal consumption relatively insignificant [1] https://theoceancleanup.com/press/press-releases/over-75-of-plastic-in-great-pacific-garbage-patch-originates-from-fishing/ https://theoceancleanup.com/press/press-releases/over-75-of-...
earthling8118 4y ago
I definitely don't understand the love for bottled water. Maybe if the water is unsafe in an area. The insulated water bottle is better in nearly every way. It's bigger which is important because I can finish a regular bottle in moments. It stays cold for longer. I can refill it much more easily so I always have water. I also see it more of a problem in commercial settings. Different venues will stop you from bringing the bottle in (or won't provide a way to fill it up) so you can buy the $4+ Dasani. I hate Dasani. I just want to fill my bottle.