U.S. generates more plastic trash than any other nation, report finds (2020)

Yes but we don't just throw it in a river like many asian countries.

You're not given the option, though.

I believe it.

But that doesn't mean we're innocent in the rest of the western world.

One really cool improvement here in Sweden recently, besides "banning" plastic bags at supermarkets, was one store called ICA started selling their burger pattys in cardboard packaging. So the only plastic is a top foil that you peel off to open the package, the rest is cardboard. Pretty cool! That's one area where we're all guilty, namely fresh meat and dairy packaging.

Speaking of dairy and meat I tend to buy from the butcher's section instead of the pre-packaged stuff, just because they wrap it in paper instead of plastic. It's the little things you can do.

And to store it in your fridge, don't wrap it in cellofane, use glass tubs with plastic lids instead. Yeah the lids are plastic but they're amazing at keeping stuff fresh and re-usable.

My wife and I were just talking about this this morning. There is just so much "disposable" plastic. I'm willing to pay more for non-disposable containers, but a great many people prefer the lower point of sale price, and so market forces move towards "cheaper" plastics. Education coupled with legislation is the only way that I can imagine this getting any better

In practice we don't really have replacements for a lot of things "single use plastic" is used for. Sterilized medical equipment, storage and distribution of prepared food products for people with disabilities, and probably a myriad of other minor uses that don't get a lot of attention just don't have practical alternatives without making life untenable for a lot of people.

So I don't think there's a world in which we just stop using them cold turkey. At least not a compassionate one. A lot of research and effort needs to go into finding alternatives for these things, but the structure of our society doesn't really incentivize that.