Live data from Hacker News

India has banned disposable plastic in Delhi

globalcitizen.org

181–190 of 269 posts

Re: India has banned disposable plastic in Delhi

#181
post #75
post #35

I do not see any coverage in Indian media. Could it be one of those official notifications which public at large hardly follows but it breeds corruption by enforcement officials. Though looking at Indian papers I came across this rather frightening news: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/pollutio...

That is how India rolls. I am not sure how the poor street food vendors survive if they cant use plastic plates and spoons. If they are forced to use steel plates and spoons that is a health and safety nightmare in India.

>>If they are forced to use steel plates and spoons that is a health and safety nightmare in India.

This is one more of those things which we as current generation kids have grown into.

When I was a kid traditional muslim marriages used glass tumblers in marriage lunches. Which used be rinsed in a common drum by guy who would have barely bathed in a month. I remember we barely used to fall ill in those days. We used to play in mud, eat mangoes plucked from trees, spun out glass sharpened thread for kites, play marbles, eat tamarind from trees and drink from the municipal tap in the playground.

We mixed with dirt and infection is a way our immune systems were trained well.

Today apparently people can't walk across the street without catching cold.

As a anecdote, only recently I visited a house warming ceremony they were only rinsing plates(not washing) after each batch finished eating. To make it worse, people were washing their hands post lunch at the same place they were rinsing. The cafeteria lunch eating sterile programmer in me refused to even eat there. But every other person who was there, including my own family had no problems at all.

Its just a frame of mind.

Re: India has banned disposable plastic in Delhi

#183
post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My father told me that American highways used to be lined with trash until it was made illegal to throw trash out the window.

There was this scene in Mad Men where Don Draper, Betty Draper and the kids go out for a picnic in the new family car. They eat lunch in a grassy field, then when they're done, they pack up their basket and blanket, leaving the beer cans, food wrappers, empty bottles, plastic cutlery, and chicken bones scattered on the grass. That scene shocked and horrified me more than all the sexism, racism, and homophobia combine…

They didn't just "leave it"; Betty literally shook everything off of the picnic blanket and onto the ground before they left. The mess was quite glaring in an otherwise clean area.

Re: India has banned disposable plastic in Delhi

#184
post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My father told me that American highways used to be lined with trash until it was made illegal to throw trash out the window.

There was this scene in Mad Men where Don Draper, Betty Draper and the kids go out for a picnic in the new family car. They eat lunch in a grassy field, then when they're done, they pack up their basket and blanket, leaving the beer cans, food wrappers, empty bottles, plastic cutlery, and chicken bones scattered on the grass. That scene shocked and horrified me more than all the sexism, racism, and homophobia combine…

At work we have two bins next to each other. One is clearly for garbage (banana peels, unrecyclable items, etc.). The other is clearly for recycling. They are _right next to each other_

I see aluminum cans in the garbage bin daily. I can't fathom the logic.

Re: India has banned disposable plastic in Delhi

#185
post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

2 weeks ago on my way to work, I watched a guy pull off to the side of the road. He opened his car door, and just dumped trash out - a few small bags of trash. He had just driven past a gas station and convenience store - both with publicly accessible trash cans to throw stuff away - you don't even have to get out of your car. It's a bizarre mindset some people have - let me drive past the driver-accessible trash can…

It is utterly bizarre. This stuff angers and confuses me in equal measure. It's like a complete refusal to participate in society, just the expectation that someone else will come and tidy up after you. How do these people behave elsewhere in their lives? One example I keep seeing is people who buy a pack of cigarettes, rip off the plastic film covering and just drop it on the floor. It sends me into a silent rage ev…

If you've spent your whole life feeling victimized by society then you do whatever little things you can to give a big middle finger back. If you're a Black single mom that has to work two jobs to get by, maybe it's easy for you to justify throwing your McDonald's wrappers on the parking lot ground.

Re: India has banned disposable plastic in Delhi

#186
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is their claim factually incorrect?

The article claims - India contributes 60% of the plastic in the ocean. From the Times of India (TOI) article that it refers to - "India is among the four largest contributor who in total contribute 60%". Which considering a journalist's honesty definitely means India is the fourth largest contributor, which would mean India at most contributes 15% of the waste. That is a long way from the 60% claimed. Considering th…

Actually the wording on the sentence is bad, but they said the top 4 contribute to 60%, and claim India is among the top 4.

Re: India has banned disposable plastic in Delhi

#187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That still happens in America. See pictures of Washington DC the day after 4th of July. Or Golden Gate Park in SF after a big festival. So many people leave their trash looks it like a dump. Compare to say Cherry Blossom watching in Japan where a large park will be entirely covered in people but when it's over they will have all cleaned it up. It's a cultural issue. I have no idea how to influence western cultures to…

2 weeks ago on my way to work, I watched a guy pull off to the side of the road. He opened his car door, and just dumped trash out - a few small bags of trash. He had just driven past a gas station and convenience store - both with publicly accessible trash cans to throw stuff away - you don't even have to get out of your car. It's a bizarre mindset some people have - let me drive past the driver-accessible trash can…

There's absolutely no visible consequence of leaving your trash in the park in a big city. The city workers will be by later that day to clean it up, or more likely in San Francisco where I live, scavengers will pick it up for recycling within minutes. Out of sight, out of mind. And why not? We certainly pay enough taxes to support those services.

Re: India has banned disposable plastic in Delhi

#188
post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been told this too. There was a massive anti-littering campaign in the 1950s called "Keep America Beautiful" and it was ironically initiated by the packaging industry[0]. [0] http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2006/05/origins-anti-litter-...

I don't think its ironic at all. Some American industries actually do attempt to pro-actively fix issues to insure long term profitability. Consider groups like UL or ESRB, no government intervention there. I like the example of pesticides. The are some really nasty pesticides that aren't banned by law, but there are industry groups that work to reduce and effectively ban the ones that cause birth defects and obvious…

>I think they do this seemingly altruistic thing largely because trust makes for better customers.

I think this more than anything, plus no company wants to be associated with negativity (I mean, birth defects, obviously ... but also less serious stuff like street litter)

Re: India has banned disposable plastic in Delhi

#189
post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is utterly bizarre. This stuff angers and confuses me in equal measure. It's like a complete refusal to participate in society, just the expectation that someone else will come and tidy up after you. How do these people behave elsewhere in their lives? One example I keep seeing is people who buy a pack of cigarettes, rip off the plastic film covering and just drop it on the floor. It sends me into a silent rage ev…

If you've spent your whole life feeling victimized by society then you do whatever little things you can to give a big middle finger back. If you're a Black single mom that has to work two jobs to get by, maybe it's easy for you to justify throwing your McDonald's wrappers on the parking lot ground.

The race of the person was not mentioned, it was interesting that you assumed that they were black -- although I do not disagree with your point.

Re: India has banned disposable plastic in Delhi

#190
post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you've spent your whole life feeling victimized by society then you do whatever little things you can to give a big middle finger back. If you're a Black single mom that has to work two jobs to get by, maybe it's easy for you to justify throwing your McDonald's wrappers on the parking lot ground.

The race of the person was not mentioned, it was interesting that you assumed that they were black -- although I do not disagree with your point.

It was an example of a kind of person being victimized by society.
Post reply on HN