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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)

#131

Post by JoBrad »

alienth wrote: post #121
carstenhag wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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)?

I'm in the US and tried donating our child's potty chair. The donation spots I tried refused it because they weren't allowed to take anything which a child has to sit in or on for safety reasons. I even tried Value Village, which is a private second-hand store, and got the same response. Into the garbage it went, sadly.

We bought ours second hand at a consignment sale.

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

#132

Post by [deleted] »

Leary wrote: post #96
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?

[deleted]

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

#134

Post by alkonaut »

Causality1 wrote: post #41
jedberg wrote: post #27

This problem won't get fixed without legislation. Single use plastic is cheaper, so of course companies will use that if they can. Most people don't have the income to support "voting with their wallet", and even those who do don't always have the option. IF the best solution out there happens to use single use plastic, you're not going to opt for a worse solution just because it doesn't. And even if one company care…

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.

I'm surprised every time I hear the concept of "land fill" in conjunction with trash. As if the natural thing to do with waste is... put it in a hole in the ground? It feels like some 50's conception of environment policy to me. Shouldn't things be either recycled as much as possible, and the rest incinerated for energy?

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

#135

Post by alkonaut »

ardit33 wrote: post #22

Pre pandemic, I'd go often to trader joe, and they would give samples. It was maybe a small bite of a food (ice cream, salat, or whatever else), and use a plastic fork for it. Just one bite, and you had to throw it out. It was more plastic than food. Whole Foods was the same. I think it is a crime against environment and I started feeling bad about it, and stopped taking samples when there were plastic utensils. It t…

You mean even in 2018-2019 they hadn't switched plastic forks/spoons for wood? Come on

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

#136

Post by 29athrowaway »

jedberg wrote: post #27

This problem won't get fixed without legislation. Single use plastic is cheaper, so of course companies will use that if they can. Most people don't have the income to support "voting with their wallet", and even those who do don't always have the option. IF the best solution out there happens to use single use plastic, you're not going to opt for a worse solution just because it doesn't. And even if one company care…

What is needed is single use items, not necessarily made out of plastic.

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

#137

Post by felixfbecker »

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…

I’m sorry but which German grocery store (I’m already assuming it’s not the farmer’s market) do you go to that has vegetables wrapped in plastics?

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

#138

Post by api »

jedberg wrote: post #27

This problem won't get fixed without legislation. Single use plastic is cheaper, so of course companies will use that if they can. Most people don't have the income to support "voting with their wallet", and even those who do don't always have the option. IF the best solution out there happens to use single use plastic, you're not going to opt for a worse solution just because it doesn't. And even if one company care…

What if single use uses less energy in many cases? Washing uses a lot of power and glass is heavy, using more fuel in transit. Paper is renewable and can often replace plastic, but not always.

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

#139

Post by f1refly »

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…

Except it doesnt? Neary all stores in the country (Edeka group + Aldi Nord and Süd) have the option to just grab fresh produce from some kind of box, weight it and pay for the specific amount at checkout. If you're only buying packaged stuff thats because you find it more convenient, not because unpackaged isnt availabe.

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

#140

Post by pharmakom »

mike_d wrote: post #119
eastendguy wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

The Reason Foundation (which is slightly right leaning of center, but makes its case using actual studies and facts) has a great explainer on how plastic bag bans for example hurt the environment more than help and cost consumers (including low income individuals) an extra $1b/yr: https://reason.org/wp-content/uploads/files/california_plast...

Does anywhere have an actual plastic bag ban? Usually it’s just a minimum price to discourage people from grabbing a new bag on every visit
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