3 ms·

What do Americans think about plastic waste in 2024?

9 points by sharpshadow 2y ago

palata 2y ago
I'm always a bit skeptical of those questions. When asked: "Would you do more if you were not busy doing less?", who would NOT say "hmm hypothetically, I guess"? Great. What does it mean then? That if people cared, then they would stop not caring?
zamalek 2y ago
A bigger issue is education about which plastics to put in recycling (1 and 2 if you're unaware, 5 can be but generally isn't). All of our "recycling" heads to landfill for this reason.
- whoiscroberts 2y ago
  What if they also stopped using plastics that can’t be recycled.
- davidhyde 2y ago
  An even bigger issue is educating people that plastics (that can be recycled) can only ever be recycled once and not over and over again like glass and tin. https://www.plasticexpert.co.uk/how-many-times-can-plastic-be-recycled/ https://www.plasticexpert.co.uk/how-many-times-can-plastic-b... Once they know that they can decide for themselves if it’s ok for their take away food container to end up as a park bench at best.
- gruez 2y ago
  >All of our "recycling" heads to landfill for this reason. 1. recycling doesn't consist solely of plastic recycling 2. even factoring in contamination, claiming that "all" of it is heading to landfills is a stretch.
doubloon 2y ago
i like how local municipalities, who literally have legal responsibility to clean up public spaces, are viewed as less responsible than every single other party, none of whom have any legal responsibility to clean up public spaces.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
throwaway22032 2y ago
If I put a plastic bag in my waste bin or in my recycling bin, it doesn't end up in a tree or river in either case unless someone has comprehensively fucked up. I literally pay my local council a tax directly intended to collect and handle waste in a sensible manner. The people that are causing the vast majority of these issues are fly tipping or littering. I can't remember the last time a plastic item of mine ended up "in the wild". Now, things like micro bits of plastic going down the drain after washing the dishes or running a load of laundry, that feels like a valid target.
486sx33 2y ago
ALL plastic recycling should go straight off the truck and back to china where it came from. anything less is a fraud on the American people to use chinese petrochemicals to pollute the amazing U S and A
b3ing 2y ago
Worrying about plastic bags when billionaires fly private jets to get coffe in another country, or has someone fly their favorite sports car to another country for the weekend for them to use or to sail in their super yacht, is such a drop in the bucket, but yeah it helps
- amanaplanacanal 2y ago
  Climate change, and plastic in the environment, are two different things, but probably both worth worrying about.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
8bitsrule 2y ago
In the large grocery store where I shop, unpackaged deli meats and fresh fruits and vegetables involve much less plastic. Of course, plastic bags to put them in is always available nearby. But for most of the shelves displaying thousands of different products, in a 150 yard lineup of 50-yard-long shelves, nearly every item is wrapped in plastic. Or is a box of plastic-wrapped servings. Or, in many cases, a big plastic container holding dozens of individually plastic-wrapped items. Hmmm. Order-of-magnitude guess: that store holds thousands of tons of mostly flat and shiny plastic, all of which will soon be dis-assembled and thrown in the garbage. Except for the accidentally eaten pieces. But when you get to the checkout, the irony peaks. Here you CAN choose between your re-useable bags or paper bags to put your pounds of plastic in. Why not plastic bags? THEY are bad for the environment.
brnt 2y ago
Some producers are replacing plastic with PFAS coated paper. It boggles my mind that this is seen as a preferable alternative.
theonlyjesus 2y ago
As an American, plastic waste is the last thing on my mind in 2024

9 points by sharpshadow 2y ago

I'm always a bit skeptical of those questions. When asked: "Would you do more if you were not busy doing less?", who would NOT say "hmm hypothetically, I guess"? Great. What does it mean then? That if people cared, then they would stop not caring?

zamalek 2y ago

A bigger issue is education about which plastics to put in recycling (1 and 2 if you're unaware, 5 can be but generally isn't). All of our "recycling" heads to landfill for this reason.

whoiscroberts 2y ago
What if they also stopped using plastics that can’t be recycled.
davidhyde 2y ago
An even bigger issue is educating people that plastics (that can be recycled) can only ever be recycled once and not over and over again like glass and tin. https://www.plasticexpert.co.uk/how-many-times-can-plastic-be-recycled/ https://www.plasticexpert.co.uk/how-many-times-can-plastic-b... Once they know that they can decide for themselves if it’s ok for their take away food container to end up as a park bench at best.
gruez 2y ago
>All of our "recycling" heads to landfill for this reason. 1. recycling doesn't consist solely of plastic recycling 2. even factoring in contamination, claiming that "all" of it is heading to landfills is a stretch.

doubloon 2y ago

i like how local municipalities, who literally have legal responsibility to clean up public spaces, are viewed as less responsible than every single other party, none of whom have any legal responsibility to clean up public spaces.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

throwaway22032 2y ago

If I put a plastic bag in my waste bin or in my recycling bin, it doesn't end up in a tree or river in either case unless someone has comprehensively fucked up. I literally pay my local council a tax directly intended to collect and handle waste in a sensible manner. The people that are causing the vast majority of these issues are fly tipping or littering. I can't remember the last time a plastic item of mine ended up "in the wild". Now, things like micro bits of plastic going down the drain after washing the dishes or running a load of laundry, that feels like a valid target.

486sx33 2y ago

ALL plastic recycling should go straight off the truck and back to china where it came from. anything less is a fraud on the American people to use chinese petrochemicals to pollute the amazing U S and A

b3ing 2y ago

Worrying about plastic bags when billionaires fly private jets to get coffe in another country, or has someone fly their favorite sports car to another country for the weekend for them to use or to sail in their super yacht, is such a drop in the bucket, but yeah it helps

amanaplanacanal 2y ago
Climate change, and plastic in the environment, are two different things, but probably both worth worrying about.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

8bitsrule 2y ago

In the large grocery store where I shop, unpackaged deli meats and fresh fruits and vegetables involve much less plastic. Of course, plastic bags to put them in is always available nearby. But for most of the shelves displaying thousands of different products, in a 150 yard lineup of 50-yard-long shelves, nearly every item is wrapped in plastic. Or is a box of plastic-wrapped servings. Or, in many cases, a big plastic container holding dozens of individually plastic-wrapped items. Hmmm. Order-of-magnitude guess: that store holds thousands of tons of mostly flat and shiny plastic, all of which will soon be dis-assembled and thrown in the garbage. Except for the accidentally eaten pieces. But when you get to the checkout, the irony peaks. Here you CAN choose between your re-useable bags or paper bags to put your pounds of plastic in. Why not plastic bags? THEY are bad for the environment.

brnt 2y ago

Some producers are replacing plastic with PFAS coated paper. It boggles my mind that this is seen as a preferable alternative.

theonlyjesus 2y ago

As an American, plastic waste is the last thing on my mind in 2024