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EU to ban plastic plates, cups, and cutlery by 2021

fastcompany.com

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Re: EU to ban plastic plates, cups, and cutlery by 2021

#51

Post by EpicEng »

tinus_hn wrote: post #38
vimy wrote: post #5

The western world is responsible for 1,25 % of all ocean plastic pollution. Europe is only 0,28 %![0] There is no need to ban single-use plastics in the West. It's just virtue signaling and the so-called 'solutions' lower our comfort, will cause a rise in food poisoning deaths and are worse for the environment.[1] When you mention this, people reply we should set an example and other countries will follow. The idea t…

It doesn’t help much! Better do nothing!

Would you spend time and resources making your web page load 1.5% faster?

Re: EU to ban plastic plates, cups, and cutlery by 2021

#52

Post by dang »

funkythings wrote: post #9

Does the EU ever do anything except banning things?

Maybe not, but we've banned this account for posting unsubstantive comments to Hacker News.

If you don't want to be banned, you're welcome to email hn@ycombinator.com and give us reason to believe that you'll follow the rules in the future.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Re: EU to ban plastic plates, cups, and cutlery by 2021

#54

Post by drak0n1c »

api wrote: post #39

Like the bag ban in California this will probably just increase trash by causing people to use bulkier disposables. Restaurants and such will replace these with super-cheap glass or metal disposables that also consume more fuel when shipped because they weigh more. Cheap paper alternatives are often from pulp that is not sustainably sourced and in many cases they fall apart and so are rejected by customers. These mea…

This is what I've seen happen here in Seattle. Every place just gives out bulkier multiple use containers when anyone gets takeout salad or MealPal, and people just throw them away as per usual. There's a Korean Deli all you can fit in a box type restaurant that gives a $1 discount if you bring back your own box, but that's the only place and they were doing it before the regulations anyways.

Regulations can have unintended consequences.

No joke -- McDonalds is the most environmentally friendly takeout in Seattle. The whole thing has been compostable recycled paper for a long time.

Re: EU to ban plastic plates, cups, and cutlery by 2021

#55

Post by yihsiu »

normalperson wrote: post #53

90% of the plastic in the ocean comes from Africa and Asia. First world countries put their garbage, generally speaking, into garbage dumps. This EU rule will do nothing.

Do (almost) nothing directly. But it may facilitate similar things in other countries/regions. It may stimulate, and the experience can also help executing policies. New technologies or methods can also be developed first. So I could be more meaningful than it looks like.

Re: EU to ban plastic plates, cups, and cutlery by 2021

#56

Post by root_axis »

vimy wrote: post #5

The western world is responsible for 1,25 % of all ocean plastic pollution. Europe is only 0,28 %![0] There is no need to ban single-use plastics in the West. It's just virtue signaling and the so-called 'solutions' lower our comfort, will cause a rise in food poisoning deaths and are worse for the environment.[1] When you mention this, people reply we should set an example and other countries will follow. The idea t…

I don't need a study to understand the benefit of what I can observe with my own eyes. I have lived in places in the U.S. where trash accumulates on and around the streets. The plastic trash just sits there. It doesn't degrade under heavy rainfall or years of neglect, it just continues to accumulate. Not every place in the West (or even the U.S.) has ideal sanitation services.

Re: EU to ban plastic plates, cups, and cutlery by 2021

#57

Post by mc32 »

DoreenMichele wrote: post #48
mc32 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe you bring your own (multi use) take away container? Kind of like when you bring your own coffee mug to a coffee shop?

We already have an uptick in "medieval diseases"* from unsanitary conditions among the homeless. Getting takeout is one of the ways homeless individuals who have a modicum of cash income (as opposed to just food stamps and the like) can take care of themselves to some reasonable degree. They generally aren't going to be in a position to properly wash and cleanly store their own take away containers. Soup kitchens typ…

I wouldn’t be against carve outs for a relatively small proportion of the pop like the homeless. Also instead of takeout they can do cafeteria style feeding (I believe this was his if was done in the past, aka soup kitchens from the depression era).

Re: EU to ban plastic plates, cups, and cutlery by 2021

#58

Post by dashundchen »

amyjess wrote: post #32
incog-neato wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why not: Fast food: metal cutlery at the restaurant that gets washed and reused. Take away: your own cutlery at home.

And what if you have motor control issues that makes it impossible to wash cutlery to any standard of cleanliness? I've said it before, and I've said it again: these anti-plastic laws are actively hostile to people with disabilities.

Which is easier to do?

A) Figuring out how to deal with the external effects of single-use plastic for 500+ million people

or

B) Asking a very small fraction of those 500+ million people with motor control issues who also use single use plastic to use alternatives, of which there are many - including paper, bamboo, and regular cutlery

Re: EU to ban plastic plates, cups, and cutlery by 2021

#59

Post by sipos »

vimy wrote: post #5

The western world is responsible for 1,25 % of all ocean plastic pollution. Europe is only 0,28 %![0] There is no need to ban single-use plastics in the West. It's just virtue signaling and the so-called 'solutions' lower our comfort, will cause a rise in food poisoning deaths and are worse for the environment.[1] When you mention this, people reply we should set an example and other countries will follow. The idea t…

Agreed, mostly.

Money and effort spent on reducing the use of single use plastics, would be better spent recycling plastics in the western world, improving traceability for plastic containing waste exported to the third world, and improving waste management in the third world.

We don't really need to stop using plastic. There are much more urgent problems, including not dumping plastic in rivers and the ocean. Trying to avoid using plastic hardly helps the environment. There are much more useful and urgent things we could be doing instead.

Re: EU to ban plastic plates, cups, and cutlery by 2021

#60

Post by simion314 »

cf498 wrote: post #40
simion314 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If my local river is full of garbage does it help that some other country has even more garbage? I see this laws helping also with the local plastic problem.

Does your local river actually have a plastic problem? I am not sure thats a problem in western countries with functioning waste management systems. I thought the water problems we had were generally from industrial or agriculture runoffs. Am I wrong?

Yes it has, I live in Romania, in a village, the things got better since the garbage collection was made mandatory(though the locals complain about having to pay), So I am fine with EU forcing "civilization" on us because our politicians are not interested in this things.

Anyway my point still remains, if we can reduce the plastics in our countries by using bamboo,paper,glass,metal or better alternatives why should not do it because some other country is polluting more. Similar if China air pollution is huge then I still care that my local air is clean.

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