Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

85% of People Want Global Ban on Single-Use Plastics

worldwildlife.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 263 posts

Re: 85% of People Want Global Ban on Single-Use Plastics

#41

Post by lowkey_ »

I was skeptical of whether it was representative of 85% of the global population, or just the first-world.

I've often thought (and heard that) environmental concerns are secondary to economic, and that people in less prosperous countries don't care as much about environmental concerns as people in first-world countries who are secure in most areas of their lives. Surprisingly, this data says the opposite!

Sample size was: North America: 2000, Central & South America: 3500, Europe: 8000, Africa: 3000, APAC: 7700,

On banning unnecessary single-use plastics being 'important': Australia: 87%, South Korea: 86%, Mexico: 94%, Uganda: 93%,

This may be obvious to some, but I really had the opposite notion until seeing this data.

Re: 85% of People Want Global Ban on Single-Use Plastics

#42

Post by blackle »

AlexandrB wrote: post #14

I'll admit I was a little skeptical of plastic bag bans here in Canada, but it's had a noticeable effect on how much random garbage ends up stuck in hedges and fences where I live. Adapting to it wasn't too bad and good reusable bags are a lot more ergonomic and don't tear as easily when carrying heavy loads.

I fully agree, however if you're the kind of person who orders groceries, then what ends up happening is that you start collecting reusable bags that you have no way of reusing. I hope that someone starts some kind of "reusable bag recycling" system so I can give the scores of bags I have to a good home

Re: 85% of People Want Global Ban on Single-Use Plastics

#43

Post by conductr »

ravenstine wrote: post #6

Just because people say that doesn't mean they'll actually want it in practice. As well, asking people how important they think something is may not equate to their support for sweeping legislation.

My city banned bags once and had to immediately figure out how to unban bags because it caused outrage. They talked about it for 2 years and people supported it. Until the day it took effect that is.

Re: 85% of People Want Global Ban on Single-Use Plastics

#44

Post by JumpCrisscross »

com2kid wrote: post #20

Doing this will involve a dramatic reshaping of how society works. All of the food packaging that is plastic needs to go away. This would entail large shifts in supply chains, how we buy groceries, and economics of scale for certain goods. We know it is possible (glass bottles were the norm even just 30 years ago), but doing that transition now will be huge. Then there are all the plastic bags that food comes in. Fro…

> All of the food packaging that is plastic needs to go away

Most of it can be swapped to bioplastics with minimal loss of utility.

Re: 85% of People Want Global Ban on Single-Use Plastics

#45

Post by Carrok »

AlexandrB wrote: post #14

I'll admit I was a little skeptical of plastic bag bans here in Canada, but it's had a noticeable effect on how much random garbage ends up stuck in hedges and fences where I live. Adapting to it wasn't too bad and good reusable bags are a lot more ergonomic and don't tear as easily when carrying heavy loads.

Seconded. Plastic bag bans here in Colorado have been fantastic from my view. Far less trash everywhere, and we use better bags that can carry more without failing catastrophically in the parking lot.

Re: 85% of People Want Global Ban on Single-Use Plastics

#47

Post by Aunche »

It's not sexy, but the number one way to reduce plastic pollution is to build landfills and proper waste management systems in developing countries. Plastic bans are largely performative and often counterproductive. Instead of bringing their own bags, a lot of shoppers just treat the "reuseable" bags the they buy a the supermarket as disposable.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickgleason/2024/01/22/new-j...

https://www.latimes.com/environment/plastic-bag-ban-waste-40....

Re: 85% of People Want Global Ban on Single-Use Plastics

#48

Post by TylerE »

stronglikedan wrote: post #23
cynicalsecurity wrote: post #2

I guess only with the exception of medical use.

Why can't they use reusable containers that can be sterilized just like their contents? Just asking. I don't support such a seeping ban, because I know the ramifications.

How do you prove the sterile field hasn’t been broken? Also glass is a big hazard in a hospital… it will get dropped and shattered.

Re: 85% of People Want Global Ban on Single-Use Plastics

#49

Post by wannacboatmovie »

stronglikedan wrote: post #23
cynicalsecurity wrote: post #2

I guess only with the exception of medical use.

Why can't they use reusable containers that can be sterilized just like their contents? Just asking. I don't support such a seeping ban, because I know the ramifications.

We're not going back to the days of glass bottles for IV bags. The end.
Post reply on HN