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India has banned disposable plastic in Delhi

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Re: India has banned disposable plastic in Delhi

#41

Post by maxander »

toephu2 wrote: post #29

I don't understand how we can build self-driving cars, send people to the moon, and create advanced facial recognition software, but can't build technology that can separate plastic bags?

Recognizing a plastic bag is tech on par with two of the techs you list (and arguably beyond sending a man to the moon.) Making a robot that can recognize plastic bags and manipulate them is harder. And applying that level of expertise to a public works problem in a capitalist society is even harder.

(In response to the obvious counterargument; the configuration space of "a plastic bag mixed in with a bunch of random junk" is actually probably larger than the configuration space for a road with a dozen other cars on it, and so is the action space of a reasonably dextrous claw/arm greater than that of a car. AI is full of easy-sounding things that are really difficult.)

Re: India has banned disposable plastic in Delhi

#42

Post by UweSchmidt »

knowaveragejoe wrote: post #16
popobobo wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No matter what we do it will never wipe away your prejudice, my friend.

I fail to see what the above has to do with prejudice, personally. Poor air quality is a problem in many parts of the world, notably so in developing areas.

The prejudice seems to be "ah India, nice try but you still fail badly in an unrelated area" while in fact in this regard Delhi is more progressive than much of Europe and the US.

Reducing plastic waste is a step in the right direction and should not be dismissed just because there are other problems that may be harder to fix right now.

Re: India has banned disposable plastic in Delhi

#43

Post by xapata »

DrScump wrote: post #36
WalterBright wrote: post #28

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.

In Silicon Valley, there is far more trash along highways than there was 30 years ago, well beyond simple per-capita pace.

Perhaps a new marketing campaign would be useful.

Re: India has banned disposable plastic in Delhi

#44

Post by Raphmedia »

bendermon wrote: post #26

Note: Thank you for down voting for pointing out a glaring 'fake statistics' and poor journalism, on a #1 trending post on HN. The first and the second quote do not mean the same thing, not even close. "A massive 60%t of the plastic waste in the oceans is said to have come from India, according to the Times of India." The TOI reads - "Banning disposable plastic is a huge step for the capital and the country because I…

"India, with 0.60 million tonnes per year of mismanaged plastic waste, is ranked 12th. China ranks no. 1 with 8.82 million tonnes per year of mismanaged plastic waste. There are 11 Asian and Southeast Asian countries in the list, including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Burma."

http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and- environment/india-pumps-600000-tonnes-of-plastic-waste-into-the-ocean-annually-science-journal/article6890568.ece

Re: India has banned disposable plastic in Delhi

#45

Post by aanm1988 »

xapata wrote: post #43
DrScump wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Silicon Valley, there is far more trash along highways than there was 30 years ago, well beyond simple per-capita pace.

Perhaps a new marketing campaign would be useful.

How about something like

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlFD0Zyl_f0

Re: India has banned disposable plastic in Delhi

#46

Post by mvemjsn »

masonic wrote: post #31
bendermon wrote: post #26

Note: Thank you for down voting for pointing out a glaring 'fake statistics' and poor journalism, on a #1 trending post on HN. The first and the second quote do not mean the same thing, not even close. "A massive 60%t of the plastic waste in the oceans is said to have come from India, according to the Times of India." The TOI reads - "Banning disposable plastic is a huge step for the capital and the country because I…

Is their claim factually incorrect?

Hard to say definitively, but the claim seems likely to be wrong. According to this link, India is far from the worst offender.

http://billmoyers.com/2015/02/19/theres-horrifying-amount-pl...

Re: India has banned disposable plastic in Delhi

#49

Post by bendermon »

masonic wrote: post #31
bendermon wrote: post #26

Note: Thank you for down voting for pointing out a glaring 'fake statistics' and poor journalism, on a #1 trending post on HN. The first and the second quote do not mean the same thing, not even close. "A massive 60%t of the plastic waste in the oceans is said to have come from India, according to the Times of India." The TOI reads - "Banning disposable plastic is a huge step for the capital and the country because I…

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 the reputation of TOI, even the milder claim is quite suspect.

Re: India has banned disposable plastic in Delhi

#50

Post by seltzered_ »

seltzered_ wrote: post #19
vanattab wrote: post #2

Can we get the title changed to make it clear that India banned plastic in Delhi not all of India. Also the title says "literally all disposable plastic" then in the article it says applies to cups, bags, cutlery.

I just read three different articles on this subject and it's not clear if disposable plastic bottles (bottles, not cups) are also banned. I'd argue this is one of the bigger problems as displayed by some of the images used in the articles, and personal experiences of travelling india and seeing miles of train tracks littered with plastic bottles. The reason I mention this is that it may be directing action to local…

For those absurdly curious in trying to find an original source on the proposal/ruling, this is the closest I've found so far: http://bspcb.bih.nic.in/NGT%20Judgemt%20dt%2022.12.2016%20in...

- skip to point #23 on page 63 for the thing about banning plastic:

"We further direct that the use of disposable plastic glasses is prohibited in entire NCT, Delhi at hotels, restaurants and public as well as private functions. The NCT, Delhi shall take appropriate steps against storage, sale and use of such plastic material at above places and it shall stand prohibited w.e.f. 01st of January, 2017."

Note that this still mentions more about plastic cups, not bottles.

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