3 ms·

i imagine we'll never hear about this again for one reason or another like most of these good news breakthroughs. regardless of new fancy alternative plastics,

i imagine we'll never hear about this again for one reason or another like most of these good news breakthroughs. regardless of new fancy alternative plastics, a government could easily solve this virtually overnight in whichever given country by telling companies "single use plastics are banned as of x date, you will find an alternative and eat the cost or you will stop selling your product". never underestimate the ability of companies to adapt at short notice when money is on the line. it really is that simple, as are most of the issues we face in this sort of category.

graemep 2y ago
> a government could easily solve this virtually overnight in whichever given country by telling companies "single use plastics are banned as of x date, you will find an alternative and eat the cost or you will stop selling your product People will find ways around this. The British government imposed minimum costs on plastic bags (they have to charge customers not give them out free), and sales of single use bags is down, but people are reusing reusable bags less to we are probably using more plastic: https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/no-plastic-bag-sales-arent-down-90 https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/no-plastic-bag-sales...
- yungporko 2y ago
  thats because most of the "reusable bags" are just slightly thicker single use bags and they're so cheap that they're basically free though, there's no denying that it's a very easily solveable problem.
  - gruez 2y ago
    >there's no denying that it's a very easily solveable problem. Why don't you say what the solution is rather than vaguely gesturing at it? Is the solution to require "reusable " bags to be even thicker, so that they require even more resources to produce ?
    - yungporko 2y ago
      any random person off the street could give you a half decent one right off the bat? it isn't a complicated issue at all. some things that would definitely help off the top of my head: 1. only offer robust but recyclable paper bags and don't offer plastic bags at all, and make them cost more 2. make the existing plastic bags much more expensive, like £2.50 instead of £0.05-£0.10 3. make some kind of reward system for using bags multiple times, extra clubcard points or some kind of discount 4. don't offer any bags at all and force the customer to figure it out
itsoktocry 2y ago
>it really is that simple It's really not that simple. You going to shut the country down and make everyone poorer overnight to try to do this? You don't foresee any unintended consequences? And where do people get the idea that "the government" can just do whatever they want, in spite of the electorate?
- yungporko 2y ago
  preventing the sale of cheese slices and microwave burgers isn't going to shut a country down, that is absolutely ridiculous. are you asking where people get the idea that governments... make laws?

graemep 2y ago

> a government could easily solve this virtually overnight in whichever given country by telling companies "single use plastics are banned as of x date, you will find an alternative and eat the cost or you will stop selling your product People will find ways around this. The British government imposed minimum costs on plastic bags (they have to charge customers not give them out free), and sales of single use bags is down, but people are reusing reusable bags less to we are probably using more plastic: https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/no-plastic-bag-sales-arent-down-90 https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/no-plastic-bag-sales...

yungporko 2y ago
thats because most of the "reusable bags" are just slightly thicker single use bags and they're so cheap that they're basically free though, there's no denying that it's a very easily solveable problem.
- gruez 2y ago
  >there's no denying that it's a very easily solveable problem. Why don't you say what the solution is rather than vaguely gesturing at it? Is the solution to require "reusable " bags to be even thicker, so that they require even more resources to produce ?
  - yungporko 2y ago
    any random person off the street could give you a half decent one right off the bat? it isn't a complicated issue at all. some things that would definitely help off the top of my head: 1. only offer robust but recyclable paper bags and don't offer plastic bags at all, and make them cost more 2. make the existing plastic bags much more expensive, like £2.50 instead of £0.05-£0.10 3. make some kind of reward system for using bags multiple times, extra clubcard points or some kind of discount 4. don't offer any bags at all and force the customer to figure it out

itsoktocry 2y ago

>it really is that simple It's really not that simple. You going to shut the country down and make everyone poorer overnight to try to do this? You don't foresee any unintended consequences? And where do people get the idea that "the government" can just do whatever they want, in spite of the electorate?

yungporko 2y ago
preventing the sale of cheese slices and microwave burgers isn't going to shut a country down, that is absolutely ridiculous. are you asking where people get the idea that governments... make laws?