Ocean plastic waste probably comes from ships, report says • Hacker News Board

Re: Ocean plastic waste probably comes from ships, report says

#11

Post by notacoward » Wed, Oct 02, 2019, 12:17 PM UTC

is_true wrote: post #7

Anyone that lives in a city next to a river/lake/sea knows that all the small pieces of trash on land end up in the water.

Yes, but "in the water" includes both shallow water near shore and deep water far out in the ocean. The OP is about one. You're talking about the other, which might not even be relevant, so the "anyone knows" condescension is misplaced.

Re: Ocean plastic waste probably comes from ships, report says

#12

Post by mc32 » Wed, Oct 02, 2019, 12:17 PM UTC

mumblemumble wrote: post #9

mc32 wrote: post #3

Wonder if this will have an impact on plastic straw bans on land. It was always a feel-good hi-viz, low-impact measure given little evidence behind the measures.

Or even the context. A coffee shop in my neighborhood started keeping straws behind the counter, so that you have to ask for them. And yet, I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out that there's less plastic in a straw than in a disposable coffee cup, let alone the doubled cups that they serve the coffee in in lieu of using those paper sleeves. Certainly after they've stuck one of those plastic sippy lids on top of…

Many will have paper straws as substitutes, but I’m very skeptical they did a study regarding cradle-to-grave impact of the substitution. Maybe they are net positive (results wise), but I doubt they looked at numbers and said, yes, clearly paper straws are less impactful.

Re: Ocean plastic waste probably comes from ships, report says

#13

Post by smackay » Wed, Oct 02, 2019, 12:22 PM UTC

mc32 wrote: post #3

Wonder if this will have an impact on plastic straw bans on land. It was always a feel-good hi-viz, low-impact measure given little evidence behind the measures.

One interesting side-effect is the rise of the edible straw. There are other edibles as well, spoons, forks, knives and bowls - though the latter is rather an old idea.

So while the ban straws was a token gesture it does seem to have generated some creativity and movement on other fronts which at least gets peoples attention on the problem of single-use plastics.

Re: Ocean plastic waste probably comes from ships, report says

#14

Post by latchkey » Wed, Oct 02, 2019, 12:26 PM UTC

I've traveled the entire coastline of Vietnam and much of Cambodia. It is entirely covered in plastic trash. There is even plastic in all the rivers way up in the mountains. I can't imagine this just being Chinese ships.

Re: Ocean plastic waste probably comes from ships, report says

#15

Post by mister_hn » Wed, Oct 02, 2019, 12:28 PM UTC

"probably"

Re: Ocean plastic waste probably comes from ships, report says

#16

Post by tonylemesmer » Wed, Oct 02, 2019, 12:29 PM UTC

mc32 wrote: post #3

Wonder if this will have an impact on plastic straw bans on land. It was always a feel-good hi-viz, low-impact measure given little evidence behind the measures.

One problem with plastic straws is they get stuck inside creatures noses and gullets and cause them a great deal of pain. So the tonnage may be small but the damage potential is significant if you are a marine creature.

Re: Ocean plastic waste probably comes from ships, report says

#17

Post by flywithdolp » Wed, Oct 02, 2019, 12:31 PM UTC

The word probably always make me think whenever the person who write/say it is saying the truth

Probably the best beer the world.... We know it it's not

Re: Ocean plastic waste probably comes from ships, report says

#18

Post by sp332 » Wed, Oct 02, 2019, 12:35 PM UTC

mc32 wrote: post #3

Wonder if this will have an impact on plastic straw bans on land. It was always a feel-good hi-viz, low-impact measure given little evidence behind the measures.

We already had this data before the straw bans. They're not based on evidence, they're based on one photo of a turtle with a straw in its nose. Straws are a pretty common type of litter on beaches, and I could understand bans were that kind of litter is a problem. But if you put a straw in a landfill it's not going to end up in a turtle's nose.

Re: Ocean plastic waste probably comes from ships, report says

#19

Post by TorbjornLunde » Wed, Oct 02, 2019, 12:35 PM UTC

mc32 wrote: post #3

Wonder if this will have an impact on plastic straw bans on land. It was always a feel-good hi-viz, low-impact measure given little evidence behind the measures.

One problem with banning plastic straws as well is that many disabled people are dependent on them to be able to drink. AFAIK the alternatives (other kinds of straws) don't work well.

Re: Ocean plastic waste probably comes from ships, report says

#20

Post by worldsayshi » Wed, Oct 02, 2019, 12:36 PM UTC

smackay wrote: post #13

mc32 wrote: post #3

Wonder if this will have an impact on plastic straw bans on land. It was always a feel-good hi-viz, low-impact measure given little evidence behind the measures.

One interesting side-effect is the rise of the edible straw. There are other edibles as well, spoons, forks, knives and bowls - though the latter is rather an old idea. So while the ban straws was a token gesture it does seem to have generated some creativity and movement on other fronts which at least gets peoples attention on the problem of single-use plastics.

Yeah, we have to start somewhere and we have to have the mindset that we should keep going.