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Stomach of Dead Whale Contained 'Nothing but Nonstop Plastic'

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Re: Stomach of Dead Whale Contained 'Nothing but Nonstop Plastic'

#91

Post by riffraff »

Consultant32452 wrote: post #61
EGreg wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stores should provide non plastic bags and give you a large discount for returning/reusing them.

The trouble with paper bags is that they don't biodegrade without oxygen, which is what happens when you bury paper under tons of other material in a land fill. So the paper and the plastic are both there 100 years later, but the paper takes up more space in the long run because it doesn't compress as small. Unfortunately there's no good answer here yet that I've seen.

what about biodegradable plastic bags?

In italy those have been the norm for many years. They actually seem to decay quite fast (i.e. you can't reuse them for too many times).

Re: Stomach of Dead Whale Contained 'Nothing but Nonstop Plastic'

#92

Post by adrianN »

ehnto wrote: post #56
cageface wrote: post #35

These stories rarely mention this for some reason but the bulk of the plastic junk in the ocean is discarded fishing nets, not consumer waste. Reducing the plastic waste you personally generate is still a good idea, of course, but if you really want to have an impact then stop eating fish. https://www.onegreenplanet.org/news/ocean-plastic-made-disca... https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/03/great-pacific-ga...

I am not sure that is good advice. Fixing the fishing industry is important, overfishing is rampant as is plastic waste from it. But fish is probably one of the best alternatives we have to other environmentally unfriendly meats we currently raise. As populations grow it is proving to be key to keeping everyone fed. Farmed fish most importantly will soon be the majority of fish consumed. Getting ocean based fishing t…

Poultry is not that terrible for the environment. I haven't seen any comparisons, but I wouldn't be surprised if chicken and fish have similar impact.

Re: Stomach of Dead Whale Contained 'Nothing but Nonstop Plastic'

#94

Post by titzer »

lozenge wrote: post #75
viraptor wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> global investment and adherence to never dumping plastics that are not biodegradable. Or not producing the unnecessary packaging in the first place. We really don't need every single cucumber wrapped in its own plastic film. (Like it's common in the shops recently...) Lots of other packaging is completely useless as well.

Those wrapped cucumbers last longer on the shelf and at home.

They don't spend much time on the shelf at the grocery store. They last longer in the supply chain, which means they can be shipped from farther, where it is even cheaper to produce. Make no mistake, the plastic wrap is there for one reason and one reason alone: to allow producers to make more fucking money.

Re: Stomach of Dead Whale Contained 'Nothing but Nonstop Plastic'

#95

Post by adrianN »

RileyJames wrote: post #40
EGreg wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stores should provide non plastic bags and give you a large discount for returning/reusing them.

Agreed. But their latest option is going to be “reusable plastic bags”, which means stronger plastic bags, containing more plastic, which many customers will still treat as disposable. I’m confused as to how that’s a step forward. How fucking hard is it to use the trolley to move your goods to your car, and then into your cupboard? You managed to collect all the goods and get them to the register without any bags...

Seems easy to make the bags expensive enough that consumers realize that they're supposed to be used multiple times.

Re: Stomach of Dead Whale Contained 'Nothing but Nonstop Plastic'

#96

Post by nukeop »

b3n wrote: post #22
titanix2 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you read the article? It says that "more than half of that waste comes from just five countries in East and Southeast Asia — China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam". All the companies you listed are irrelevant there.

These countries import waste from many other countries, including the US.

They should start thinking about producing enough waste for themselves if they're unable to get by without imports, this creates a huge dependency on the US and most developed countries are completely self-sufficient when it comes to waste production.

Re: Stomach of Dead Whale Contained 'Nothing but Nonstop Plastic'

#97

Post by mhw »

RileyJames wrote: post #40
EGreg wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stores should provide non plastic bags and give you a large discount for returning/reusing them.

Agreed. But their latest option is going to be “reusable plastic bags”, which means stronger plastic bags, containing more plastic, which many customers will still treat as disposable. I’m confused as to how that’s a step forward. How fucking hard is it to use the trolley to move your goods to your car, and then into your cupboard? You managed to collect all the goods and get them to the register without any bags...

> How fucking hard is it to use the trolley to move your goods to your car, and then into your cupboard?

Addressing the sibling comments on this:

I don't know if it's common elsewhere, but some supermarkets in the UK have hand-held self-scanners that you can use while you walk around the shop. You pick things up, scan them with the scanner and put them in your (reusable) bags that you brought. Once you've got everything you go to a separate till where everything you've scanned comes up and you pay and go. Your groceries are already bagged and that makes it lots easier to unload into the house at the other end.

I've noticed as a result that some shoppers turn up with much more substantial reusable bags than the normal 'bag for life' variety. Ones made from fabric that are constructed to stay open.

Waitrose also have a version as an app so you can use your phone to do the scanning: https://www.waitrose.com/home/about_waitrose/quick_check/qui...

Re: Stomach of Dead Whale Contained 'Nothing but Nonstop Plastic'

#98

Post by inapis »

BadassFractal wrote: post #11
hbarka wrote: post #7

Why hasn’t Amazon, Costco, or Walmart used their clout to effect a positive change? Have you seen all the plastic and unnecessary packaging in the goods they sell. The size of the packaging relative to the actual product is so ridiculous sometimes.

It would be great if businesses decided to differentiate themselves from their competition by using biodegradable, environmentally friendly packaging. I wouldn't mind shopping with them instead, even at a slightly higher cost, just so that I as a consumer don't feel like I'm killing our marine life for no good reason.

I found that it barely helps. You end up being In a minority of a minority. Low prices will trump environment friendliness or even convenience sometimes.

Re: Stomach of Dead Whale Contained 'Nothing but Nonstop Plastic'

#99

Post by verasio »

China. Indonesia. Philippines. Vietnam. Sri Lanka. This chart says it all: https://www.statista.com/chart/12211/the-countries-polluting... They are everyone's oceans and these countries are disproportionately choking them with plastic. Blame must be focused on them for meaningful change to happen.

I'm a foreigner living in one of these countries and it is shocking how absolutely careless and ignorant the majority of the population is with their plastic waste. Tons and tons of it. I see it every day. First hand. They view waterways as trash cans. Formal waste management is rare. Ask a local where to throw a plastic bottle and they are more than likely going to point to the ground.

Re: Stomach of Dead Whale Contained 'Nothing but Nonstop Plastic'

#100

Post by j16sdiz »

cageface wrote: post #88
ecmascript wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We don't need to eat meat or fish at all to be healthy I think you will have to back that statement up if you want to be taken seriously. I for one am certainly not going to stop eating fish and meat, I have been a vegetarian for over a year and I did not fancy it.

It's the official position of the largest association of professional nutritionists in the US. It's hardly controversial. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19562864

The position statement was REMOVED on the request of Academy Positions Committee (APC) of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics for "inaccuracies and omissions". https://jandonline.org/article/S2212-2672(15)00261-0/abstrac...
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