If you look at it holistically, I might get boxed cereal from the grocery store that’s bagged in a cheap, microbe-blocking, shelf-stable and lightweight plastic

If you look at it holistically, I might get boxed cereal from the grocery store that’s bagged in a cheap, microbe-blocking, shelf-stable and lightweight plastic bag in a cardboard box. I could also go to a bulk goods store instead and fill a container. But one of these options is much more convenient… and that’s fundamentally why society is having hell of a time getting rid of plastic. These plastics are bad for the environment but they bring a lot of material properties that other materials like metal, wood or glass don’t provide. Obviously bagged cereal is a drop in the bucket but this materials calculus is applied everywhere and at every stage.