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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)

#121

Post by alienth »

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)?

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.

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

#122

Post by kortilla »

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?

Why would you hear of people getting covid if the government is suppressing it? They would have just heard of people getting the flu or having allergies.

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

#123

Post by Swizec »

handrous wrote: post #105
Swizec wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah if your argument was about what they say not what’s real, then yes I agree. My girlfriend says the same thing and refuses to believe me when I present engineering evidence. Luckily we don’t need a car so it’s merely a theoretical debate.

Yeah, "will 'win' if a crash occurs" is very different from "likelihood of death or serious injury while driving this vehicle", though the former is (AFAIK) a lot easier to get stats on. I definitely feel safer, as in less likely to get into a wreck, in a smaller, more nimble car, personally. Desire to be the crusher rather than the crushee is definitely a reason I've been repeatedly given by people—men and women ali…

This is known as active and passive safety in car engineering.

Active safety talks about how (un)likely the car is to get into a crash. Visibility, brakes, grip, driver assists play a major role.

Passive safety talks about thr survivability of a crash once it happens. Passenger cell, crumple zones, seat belts, airbags, etc.

Most crashes (iirc) are single-vehicle incidents. Amount of energy involved is the biggest factor here.

You’re more likely to survive crashing a small car into a tree than a big car … with some fudginess around a bigger car having more ability to absorb the energy. I think it usually about cancels out.

Most deadly crashes between cars are t-bones in an intersection because of people chasing yellow lights. You are more likely to die in a big car because of rollovers.

Sideways crumple zones are very small in all car sizes.

I haven’t kept up with the science the past 10 to 15 years but this stuff was a big interest of mine for about a decade. Can nerd out for days :)

tldr: please don’t chase yellow lights. It’s among the deadliest common behaviors.

Bonus funfact: Large vehicles are safer for pedestrians because they spread the load across more of the human body when you hit them. That’s why all modern cars have tall flat noses.

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

#124

Post by pharmakom »

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)?

The problem with 2nd hand is convenience. Maybe I can save a few bucks browsing eBay etc. but it’s not worth the time spent compared to ordering new. I hate doing it though.

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

#126

Post by 3gg »

I imagine this has gotten worse with covid, people ordering food for take-away or shopping online. For what it's worth, I tried the idea of ordering from the restaurant online but then bringing my own (re-usable, washable) tupperware to pick up the food, and it certainly worked out. If you ask, you often get what you want. If the place is not willing to help you reduce your plastic footprint, then maybe it's one place to skip.

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

#127

Post by pessimizer »

andrewmcwatters wrote: post #76
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…

Just have the sample. Your refusal to not consume it isn't going to change them buying the plastic, because given the choice, people aren't going to stop sampling in the aggregate. And at that point you're just signaling to other people in a really silly way. If you really care, talk to your local representatives or write to Trader Joes and Whole Foods. Anything else is posturing. Not taking a sample which costs them…

There's no ethical consumption under capitalism, which is why I'm going to keep my slaves but vote really hard against slavery.

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

#128

Post by vinay427 »

edoceo wrote: post #63
cpuguy83 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Never mind how everything in Trader Joe's is packaged in plastic.

Plastic wrapped fruit. I can't believe it. Fruit comes with its own already biodegradable container! F Trader Joe's fruit and veg.

While it's more excessive in the US, or at least Trader Joe's in my experience, various fruits and vegetables are regularly found in plastic in the European country I live in and others I've visited. Grapes, packs of apples or peaches, various peppers, etc. I find it unnecessary in some of these cases as well, unfortunately. It seemed better in local stalls that are especially plentiful in certain larger cities.

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

#129

Post by zabatuvajdka »

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.

Couldn’t you chop it up and put in recycling bin?

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

#130

Post by tremoloqui »

How about re-framing the problem?

Considering:

Reclamation and recycling technology will improve over time. Similarly the economics of processing recycled material are likely to make it more valuable.

and:

Supposing we can protect the surroundings, water table etc.

further:

Supposing, as other comments have pointed out, the availability of land is not really an issue.

Then:

Is it crazy to think that there is value to be found in safely storing this material until it is more feasible / valuable to process?

At least it seems like a better plan than incinerating it.

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