In a few special cases plastic is almost certainly the best choice - single use medical supplies come to mind: while "single use" itself is bad, avoiding infect

In a few special cases plastic is almost certainly the best choice - single use medical supplies come to mind: while "single use" itself is bad, avoiding infection risk is likely worth it in hospital settings for items that a reusable version would be hard to sterilize. Of course the vast majority of plastic usage doesn't fall into this bucket but is more a matter of plastic having convenient properties while also being very cheap.