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Is there some sort of Pareto principle that could be applied to reducing plastic intake? Can someone suggest a few easy steps that would cause >50% reduction in
by geye1234 2y ago
Is there some sort of Pareto principle that could be applied to reducing plastic intake? Can someone suggest a few easy steps that would cause >50% reduction in plastic intake, for those who don't have time to dig through the research, and can't make drastic life changes?
I'll offer "don't microwave in plastic containers" as a starter for ten.
Second might be "get a metal water bottle".
- sa-code 2y agoThis is a really good question, and I'd love to know the answers here too
- brutalhonesty 2y agowood cutting board
- _huayra_ 2y agoAnother bonus: at least for bamboo, it has antimicrobial properties compared to plastic, which tends to have all sorts of difficult-to-clean grooves for bacteria to hide in.
- Luc 2y agoThe bamboo will be glued together with something like polyurethane though. That makes up a smaller percentage of the board of course.
- Ekaros 2y agoSo I just need to find larger round block cut from single tree... Or then just give up and live with my plastic cutting boards...
- ce4 2y agoThat's not how bamboo works though. It is hollow and needs to be processed into larger blocks
- lostlogin 2y agoPresumably you don’t mean a large bamboo tree? There are so many neat cutting boards available, with suitably eye watering prices. I made I nice Rimu one (though admittedly it was glued) out of old house framing that was otherwise going to be binned. Chopping down these ancient hardwood trees for house framing is depressing to think about. https://gatherandyou.co.nz/products/handmade-rimu-chopping-board https://gatherandyou.co.nz/products/handmade-rimu-chopping-b...
- lostlogin 2y agoThere are types of wood that have antibacterial properties which make them more rot resistant. New Zealand has Totara trees which are truly beautiful. Over 100 year old Totara fence posts are still on various farms and some research group was buying them and extracting something out of it as a trial acne treatment. Plenty of other woods have rot resistant properties too. Puriri comes to mind, it used to be a common house pile, but wow is it horrible to cut. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podocarpus_totara https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podocarpus_totara https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitex_lucens https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitex_lucens
- pinusc 2y agoImportant to note that bamboo boards will dull your knives significantly faster than other woods. Other kinds of wood are still better than plastics at being bacteria-resistant (but still need disinfecting after cutting meat etc.—and so does bamboo)
- sunnybeetroot 2y agoTitanium is also great
- trescenzi 2y agoEating mostly plants, get everyone doesn’t want to go full veg, would probably help. Given that it bio accumulates trying to get closer to the bottom of the food chain should reduce intake.
- the__alchemist 2y agoPartial, but an easy one: Don't combine all three of these: Heat, food/drink, plastic.
- danielbln 2y agoSad Aeropress noises... I really hope someone builds a metal or glass Aeropress, because I love everything about it but the fact I'm boiling plastic every morning...
- FigurativeVoid 2y agoIsn’t the aeropress premium aluminum?
- HPsquared 2y agoAluminium and glass. But wow is it expensive.
- xboxnolifes 2y agoThey have made a glass aeropress.
- danielbln 2y agoIndeed they have. Last timeI checked it was still only an announcement. Time to order this bad boy, shame it's almost 10x the price but I think it's worth it not having that much plastic involved anymore.
- lostlogin 2y agoPresumably demand could drive down that price. I bought a silly machine, a Faema Jubilee, and the only other I seriously considered was a Linear Mini. Since then I talked with a repair tech and have seen inside both. The Linear is an amazing machine but the combo of having lots of plastic parts and lots of computerisation makes me wonder about longevity. High heat and plastic is rarely a great combo. The tech hated working on the Linea, and I can’t get past its fake brew paddle. No regrets on the Faema, it’s a beautiful machine and all the faults in its coffee are due to me, not the machine.
- _huayra_ 2y agoAnother easy thing to do is to prefer clothes with natural fiber types (cotton, wool, etc). A lot of the particulates in one's home are generated from just the abrasion of your clothing as you move around. When those are natural particulates instead of synthetic, you'll end up inhaling a lot less. Related is improving airflow and vacuuming regularly so that these particles don't accumulate as much.
- ablob 2y agoFunny enough, banning cotton is being considered in europe at the moment.
- kedarkhand 2y agowait why?
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- Luc 2y agoTrue in the most trivial sense, but no, not really. Eating cotton for breakfast is being considered on HN at the moment.
- ce4 2y agoSrc please
- layer8 2y agoThis is incorrect: https://www.nzz.ch/international/baumwoll-verbot-eu-dementiert-artikel-zu-kreislaufwirtschaft-und-nachhaltigkeit-ld.1865241 https://www.nzz.ch/international/baumwoll-verbot-eu-dementie...
- tdb7893 2y agoThere are lots of indoor air filters that would likely also help. They also help with things like indoor pollution generally.
- bmitc 2y agoThere's an article that says that 78% of microplastics in the ocean are from tire dust alone. https://e360.yale.edu/features/tire-pollution-toxic-chemicals https://e360.yale.edu/features/tire-pollution-toxic-chemical...
- Ekaros 2y agoSo what is the alternative for tires that does not use plastics? Or only use some natural compounds that do not act like microplastics.
- bmitc 2y agoLess cars? More regulation on tire composition?
- Ekaros 2y agoWhat alternate composition? I mean what is the no plastic alternative option? Is there even a way to get same characteristic with say fully natural rubber. And would such rubber also be free of any risks?
- jwagenet 2y agoLess cars. Obviously they will continue to exist, but reducing car miles by: prioritizing mass transit, walking, and biking. Encouraging large companies and businesses to locate with density near stations and urban centers rather in suburbia. Increasing housing stock and density close to stations and urban centers to improve transit effectiveness and reduce commuting miles.
- maigret 2y agoYes, also lighter cars.
- phege 2y agoNatural rubber? Definitely used to be a thing and (I think) some higher-grade tires for lorries still have a natural rubber component because it can have better wear properties.
- Empact 2y agoMy suggestions: * switch from microfiber to e.g bamboo sheets * donate blood periodically to reduce your body’s load https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2790905 * add a filter to your washing machine to divert microplastics from the wastewater e.g. https://planetcare.org/
- justahuman74 2y agoThis could really motivate people to donate blood
- HPsquared 2y agoBloodletting making a comeback?
- throwuxiytayq 2y agoI don’t qualify for blood donation, so at this point it really is my only option…
- anon84873628 2y agoThere is a real FDA approved therapy called "Total Plasma Exchange" that removes and replaces nearly all of a patient's plasma. It is used to treat autoimmune disorders, certain cancers, and other conditions. Off label, it is gaining popularity in "executive health" and longevity circles as it seems to improve age-related biomarkers and may help slow cognitive decline. The explanation is that you're throwing away all the hormones, inflammatory factors, toxins, etc floating in the blood and giving you body a chance to "reset" with what it actually wants/needs.
- OutOfHere 2y agoWhat is it replaced with?
- anon84873628 2y agoMostly saline with a bit of donor albumin.
- jwagenet 2y agoBe aware, aluminum bottles (and cans, although they have recycle-ability benefits over plastic) usually have plastic liners. Glass (with its weight and durability problems), stainless, and titanium are good.
- lostlogin 2y agoTitanium can with a premium beverage inside. There is a hint of Juicero to the concept.
- Zealotux 2y agoThe truth is we're probably still unaware of the worst offenders but here how I go to reduce my exposure, in no particular order: Food: - avoid all that came into contact with plastics, use glass containers - sea salt has microplastics in it, rock salt can be a better alternative - don't use plastic utensils or equipment, like plastic grinders - overall, avoir processed and packaged food, buying locally helps - eat smaller animals: bioaccumulation is worse in larger animals - I almost completely eliminated all seafood from my diet, if you want to eat fish, prefer the smaller ones Water: - use glass water bottles or reverse osmosis system that can filter smaller particles for drinking water - if you enjoy soda, you should know most of them are contaminated, that is because carbonation increases internal pressure and mechanical stress on the bottle walls, which can accelerate the degradation of the plastic and release of particles. And it gets worse: every time you open the bottle, the pressure release causes even more degradation - therefore for soda: use glass bottles too, cans are coated with plastic but not as bad as the bottles (they use epoxy resin which is more stable and the stress on cans is less than plastic bottles), but here glass is still king. - I use a service in my city that delivers boxes of glass water and soda, it probably exists in your city too and is more affordable than you might imagine Air: - there is not much you can do to avoid microplastics outside, car tires supposedly account for 28% of all microplastics entering the environement, avoid living close to busy street? Truth is we don't have enough studies and data to truly know about that - use an air purifying system for your home, the commercial ones are mostly bs, make yourself one with at high MERV rating (MERV 13 or above), there is a whole community of DIY builders, look it up - use a vacuum cleaner that uses bags and possibly has an HEPA filtering, this will prevent you from blowing all the microplastics that may have shed on your floor into the air, make sure to keep in properly maintained The typical advice also makes sense: avoid plastics in your clothes and in cosmetics, but I found these not always easy to apply and not as significant as the rest (water, food, air). So here's my bigger point: don't stress over removing all plastics from your life, it'll only make you miserable, pick your battles and make the changes where you can tolerate them, you'll probably be better off than most people.
- slowmovintarget 2y agoSwitch to loose tea (if you drink tea), with porcelain tea kettles to brew, and metal strainers into porcelain mugs. The tea bags are made with plastics. While you're switching back to porcelain, glass, and metal, avoid things made in China if you can. Their porcelain and glass is high in lead (often poisonously so). Eliminate any black or charcoal colored plastics that you can. When you get to-go containers for food, transfer it to a dish (porcelain) or bowl (porcelain or glass) immediately when you get home before putting it in the refrigerator. Never microwave with plastic wrap (a.k.a. cling film). We use paper towels if it must be covered, or another plate if it's liquid. No plastic utensils, no "paper" plates (paper plates are mixed with plastic to make them hold up better) and have their own forever chemicals in them. Get a pour-over kit (ceramic or porcelain, glass, and metal). We still use paper filters, but make sure they're actually paper. No polyester clothing, or at least more than 65% or 70% cotton.
- perrygeo 2y agoThose are my top two. I'm also avoiding the grocery store bagged chicken sitting under a heat lamp, hot coffee in god-knows-what lined "paper" cups, and fatty or acidic items in plastic containers. No plastic cutting boards. No polypropelyne shirts or sheets. I'm just guessing at where the plastic comes from but it makes me feel better. But ultimately, look around the grocery store or just life - everything's got plastic in it. If there are drastic negative health consequences to plastics (and it's looking really likely that there are), what the hell do we do about it? We've almost certainly committed too far to plastics to fix it on any meaningful scale.