101–110 of 362 posts
Great to see that my city, Mumbai, is setting an example here. Plastic ban is a no brainer. People must move to either biodegradable carry bags and packaging or move to jute/steel/metal bags/utensils etc. Plastic would choke our world one day otherwise. At the same time, I know it would be huge pain for a lot of people. In Mumbai, it rains really heavy. Like really really heavy. It rains more than 2x it rains in Lond…
Great. Let's roll this out everywhere. Actually it would be nice to do something about cigeratte butts too.
Just ban cigarettes? They're ridiculous, I don't understand why we allow them.
Great to see that my city, Mumbai, is setting an example here. Plastic ban is a no brainer. People must move to either biodegradable carry bags and packaging or move to jute/steel/metal bags/utensils etc. Plastic would choke our world one day otherwise. At the same time, I know it would be huge pain for a lot of people. In Mumbai, it rains really heavy. Like really really heavy. It rains more than 2x it rains in Lond…
Doesnt Mumbai do that every couple of years and the the whole thing fizzles out and then some new bureaucrat tries it again. This is from 2009 http://business.rediff.com/report/2009/dec/30/bmc-plans-to-b...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Just ban cigarettes? They're ridiculous, I don't understand why we allow them.
because of tax revenues and the pressures from tobacco lobbyists.
You only cede control over it. No consumer protection anymore, no age restrictions, no quality assurance, …. On the black market nobody asks for your ID.
People like to pretend that the question is: Do we want drug X or not? That‘s distorting reality. We already have this drug in our society. The question is how to deal with it. An outright ban is almost always the wrong choice to go about it.
I agree that "we", the people need to take a pledge to stop using plastic as much as we can. But if there's no restriction put on giant FMCG companies such as Hindustan Unilever, ITC, Patanjali, Netsle, Procter and Gamble, etc. from supplying their products wrapped in plastic, I consider all of these government initiatives merely as a gimmick.
EDIT 1: Another comment I left on this thread - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17400028.
EDIT 2: In India, plastic is a major contributor of blocking sewers and rivers, especially in rainy seasons. Another important problem plastic waste produces is that since government bodies (such as, municipal corporations, gram panchayats, etc.) are unable to dump and/or recycle plastic waste properly, it is accidentally consumed by animals and is the major reason for their deaths. Another issue is that, often "dumping waste" is considered as "burning" it. Burning plastic waste disturbs healthy air and is a major factor among others responsible for the increased air pollution in Indian cities recently.
I was entering my workplace yesterday and as usual, the guard at the first checkpoint rummaged through my backpack. I was shocked when he said the plastic bag I was using to protect my notebooks from rain could not be taken inside. Upon asking for an explanation, he said plastic bags are outlawed and we cannot risk them in company premises.
I had to keep that bag in my vehicle trunk and then was allowed to enter premises.
I am terrified of the amount of plastic my Amazon purchases bring with their packing.
It is a step in the right direction, but the govt. should invest and provide alternatives, perhaps use existing research institutions to come up with new, eco-friendly packing materials, and popularize them.
This is nothing. I was entering my workplace yesterday and as usual, the guard at the first checkpoint rummaged through my backpack. I was shocked when he said the plastic bag I was using to protect my notebooks from rain could not be taken inside. Upon asking for an explanation, he said plastic bags are outlawed and we cannot risk them in company premises. I had to keep that bag in my vehicle trunk and then was allo…
This is nothing. I was entering my workplace yesterday and as usual, the guard at the first checkpoint rummaged through my backpack. I was shocked when he said the plastic bag I was using to protect my notebooks from rain could not be taken inside. Upon asking for an explanation, he said plastic bags are outlawed and we cannot risk them in company premises. I had to keep that bag in my vehicle trunk and then was allo…
This sounds like a bizarre misunderstanding.
When will US cities do the same? Most restaurants offer plastic togo containers, which ends up in the landfill. Some restaurants even use plastic bowls and plates for dine-in customers, arguably so they don’t have to invest in equipment and labor to wash dishes. With The China recycling ban, this becomes more of a pressing issue. I’m surprised cities aren’t outright banning or imposing a tax on the use of plastics at…
It needs to become fashionable to basically carry lots of reusable stuff with you. We “sort of” have this for coffee containers and shopping bags but it would be good if people could also always carry a metal fork, plate, cup, and even a reusable napkin at all times. It’s one of those things that would remain weird if only a few people did it but wouldn’t be weird if most people did. It would also require eating esta…
You could still offer plastic disposable cutlery for those that needed it for some reason - but have a (small) charge. That should be sufficient to massively cut down the plastic waste. The UK introduced a 5p plastic bag charge which was really effective despite it being so cheap.
I realised I’m writing this as I’m eating a take-out lunch with a plastic fork. I have to trash it, but could very easily have used a returnable fork. It came in a paper bag which I can take back to the office and recycle.
Edit: Thinking about it, if having your own cutlery is a habit then it might not be so inconvenient.