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

nationalgeographic.com

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

#91

Post by throwaway894345 »

edoceo wrote: post #46
Causality1 wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You also have to think in terms of actual harm. Considering the US has an absurd amount of junk land it can use for landfills, a single use plastic object that has 1/1000 the carbon emissions of the reusable alternative may be the best environmental choice.

Where is the "junk land"? Almost everywhere has animals that likely don't enjoy plastic.

“Do animals prefer plastic or no plastic” is a false choice. The real choice is “do animals prefer plastic or rapid global warming”.

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

#92

Post by frosted-flakes »

eastendguy wrote: post #74
Causality1 wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You also have to think in terms of actual harm. Considering the US has an absurd amount of junk land it can use for landfills, a single use plastic object that has 1/1000 the carbon emissions of the reusable alternative may be the best environmental choice.

> a single use plastic object that has 1/1000 the carbon emissions of the reusable alternative may be the best environmental choice. Is there any data that single use stuff (of any kind) creates less carbon emissions? I would expect it to be the other way around, except for some edge cases.

There's plenty of data. For example, producing single-use plastic grocery bags uses such a trivial amount of energy and resources that it almost doesn't matter—thousands and thousands of times less than an equivalent cotton bag. The bigger problem is disposal. If single-use plastics can be safely sequestered in landfills, that's a mostly solved problem, but that isn't always the case.

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

#93

Post by dfxm12 »

TaylorAlexander wrote: post #28
vipermark7 wrote: post #2

When given an option between blaming the individual and blaming multinational corporations, I tend to blame the latter

Idk, I don’t think it matters who we blame. The problem isn’t the multinational corporations that do this, it’s the system that lets them. We need a better system.

Which is the system at fault here? Capitalism?

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

#94

Post by titzer »

stormbrew wrote: post #19
cgb223 wrote: post #9

Does anyone know what it would look like for the US to stop using single use plastics? Always thought it would be a cool thing for us to try, but can’t quite figure out how practical that really is

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 w…

> Sterilized medical equipment, storage and distribution of prepared food products for people with disabilities, and probably a myriad of other minor uses

You're right, there's not single-use material that compares. However, there are plenty of reusable sterilizable materials, like steel, aluminum, rubber, and glass.

We just need to stop being so ready to throw things in the trash and actually think about the backend logistics of bringing containers back and reusing them.

This isn't a materials problem. It's a efficiency/cost problem.

Just look at the Pfand system for glass bottles in Germany. 2 basic beer bottles, different labels. Reused dozens of times. Deposit system.

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

#95

Post by mike_d »

carstenhag wrote: post #86
im_down_w_otp wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Single use stuff seems easy enough to fix. What seems less obvious to me is what I experienced when shopping for a potty chair for our youngest there were dozens of options at just a single store for a big hunk of plastic that's only useful for a period of months. We ended up not buying one at all. I had a similar experience the last time I was at CES and was deep into the "South Hall" where there's kiosk after displ…

The way most people in Germany would solve this (we need a potty for some months) is buying it 2nd/3rd/4th hand. Is that not common where you live (I guess USA)?

There is a vibrant 2nd hand resale market in the US, mostly fueled by Facebook marketplace and a handful of specialized apps.

However, Americans in general just don't take good care of stuff. Combined with products being designed from the cheapest possible materials, the quality of second hand goods isn't great. People avoid it if they can afford to buy new.

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

#96

Post by Leary »

hereforphone wrote: post #37

This might be the case, I don't necessarily dispute it. But with this sort of thing always keep in mind that the US (and other Western countries) tend to be more compliant with reporting actual facts than say.... China (who somehow is ranked 107 in the world for covid-19 cases, despite their huge population).

Nice copium. Who should I trust, my family and friends in China who never heard of anyone getting COVID? or the western press who can't cope with their own failure?

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

#97

Post by [deleted] »

immortaljoe wrote: post #85
andrewmcwatters wrote: post #62

I think we'll have to give up particular niceties about how we package things in the western world if we're to generate less trash, but it would come at the cost of removing illusions from the way we market products. Have you been to less developed countries? They just simply do not package some products. It removes a lot of the allure of buying particular things, but also generates less trash. Here's a simple exampl…

Totally agree, i moved from a developing country (India) to a developed country (Germany) and the amount of waste me and my partner generate in the latter is around 10x. In India, we would buy produce without any packaging, you would pay by weight. Whereas in Germany, fruits, vegetables and even fresh leaves come pre packed in plastic. I know Germany has better recycling but the amount of plastic is crazy. Quite the…

[deleted]

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

#98

Post by TedDoesntTalk »

carstenhag wrote: post #86
im_down_w_otp wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Single use stuff seems easy enough to fix. What seems less obvious to me is what I experienced when shopping for a potty chair for our youngest there were dozens of options at just a single store for a big hunk of plastic that's only useful for a period of months. We ended up not buying one at all. I had a similar experience the last time I was at CES and was deep into the "South Hall" where there's kiosk after displ…

The way most people in Germany would solve this (we need a potty for some months) is buying it 2nd/3rd/4th hand. Is that not common where you live (I guess USA)?

For something like that, definitely not common.

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

#99

Post by lmilcin »

The biggest issue for me is I can't really buy anything without buying a ton of plastic with it. Want to buy anything on the Internet? It is most likely going to be wrapped in a ton of foil, bubble wrap and that additional to its own packaging.

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

#100

Post by acjohnson55 »

carstenhag wrote: post #86
im_down_w_otp wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Single use stuff seems easy enough to fix. What seems less obvious to me is what I experienced when shopping for a potty chair for our youngest there were dozens of options at just a single store for a big hunk of plastic that's only useful for a period of months. We ended up not buying one at all. I had a similar experience the last time I was at CES and was deep into the "South Hall" where there's kiosk after displ…

The way most people in Germany would solve this (we need a potty for some months) is buying it 2nd/3rd/4th hand. Is that not common where you live (I guess USA)?

In the middle class and upward, it's not common, outside of folks who are particularly frugal. The post-WWII American culture is extremely consumerist / materialistic.
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