I find the headline frustrating. It is a study that seems to have only looked at branded plastic.
It also seems to think that the finding showing a correlation to production numbers is proof that the producers are not taking effective efforts.
I can't and don't say the results are worthless. I do question any study that doesn't mention the fashion industry on plastics. My gut is I pollute more plastic from my drier vent than makes any sense. And yet most people I talk to are unaware that drier lint is plastic.
Thinking that recycling would address the problem of plastic pollution is wishful thinking. Plastic recycles very poorly. Companies like plastic because it means thicker margins for them, environment be damned; the proper solution is not to buy into the “consumers should be recycling” narrative but to thin out their margins so that using more sustainable and recyclable materials is financially attractive again.
> Thinking that recycling would address the problem of plastic pollution is wishful thinking People putting their rubbish in the bin rather than throwing it in the nearest gutter / river / garden would get us 90% of the way there.
This isn't as big of an issue in developed countries, especially not if / when in addition to proper waste infrastructure there's people doing actual cleanup. There's systems to capture anything that does end up in the water stream anyway.
Most trash isn't "thrown" anywhere with a direct path to the ocean anyway.
> Plastic recycles very poorly. While I'm sure this is true in general, my impression is that the PET used in drink-bottles recycle well. For drink bottles I don't think we have a good option either? Glass is too heavy, aluminum is more energy intensive (I assume) even when it's recycled. Reusable bottles is unlikely to be realistic.
> Reusable bottles is unlikely to be realistic. It used to be the norm in the UK for milk.
Agreed. Glass bottles were the absolute norm in Europe up to the late 1980s. A widespread re-use network for glas bottles existed (and still exists, esp. for beer bottles). Add on top a glass recycling system dor single-use and spent glass bottles and recovery rates were very good, albeit expensive in terms of transportation and energy use.
Independent of glass, according to Wikipedia over 75 % of all PET-bottles in the DACH region are also re-used before they are recycled (which can mean burning them). So, yes, it is absolutely realistic to have a system where the majority of bottles are reused.
Collection rates in countries having an reverse-vending system is also high to very-high. 80-95% IIRC
Inconvenience is also very high, compared to "throw it in a recycling bin".
Several countries add a deposit to each bottle, so you would actually throw money away. It's not a big inconvenience to throw the bottles in a small bag and bring it with you to the machine at the grocery store, when you are going there anyway. 9 of 10 bottles are returned in Norway, so the system works.
I've always thought the bottled water industry was insane. Why pay a dollar for a bottle of water, when you can get it out of the tap for a fraction of a cent? If you don't like the tap water taste, get a filter (they're cheap) and you're still way way ahead on cost.
And if you buy water in plastic bottles, doesn't the plastic leach into the water? Why drink that?
I grew up in Arizona, where you drink a couple of gallons of water a day. Nobody drank water from bottles. There were water fountains everywhere, every store had one. When hiking, you just bought a canteen and filled it from the tap.
so I could imagine going, grabbing, one of the actual people responsible for the mess on the beach at my place, drag them there, and make them clean up there mess
It sure feels personal from here, is what I am saying, and lo, it is
I have 1400' of ocean front,where there is always plastic garbage washing up. And have seen spots where the plastic snarls would fill a train car.
Bolt cutterrs,hand saws, buckets, and shovles, work them in shifts round the clock.
Funny thing is that there is so much plastic,or every kind, that the ocean is
doing its thing, and there are surprises,
toys and other personal items, broken, but then worn smooth and fine, with a hermit crab living in it.And I stick the larger weierder stuff into crooks in the trees at the high tide line, and keep the still useable things, 5 gallon buckets, hats a real lot of nice hats,gas jugs(with gas),
If I go for a day walk somewhere ,and my hands and pockets fill up with more organic treasures, it us now inevitable that I find some sturdy plastic receptical or kit bag,something,on the beach to put it all in.
This was not the case 20 years ago.
There are 5000 miles of coast in nova scotia, and at the high tide line, where the berm of debrits, sea weed, drift wood
and sand is, you dont have to look close to see the bits and pieces of plastic ,mixed in,from little coulorfull grains
up to big stuff, that would take several people to move.
The way to deal with plastic waste is by incentives, not punishment. Charge a quarter extra to buy a bottle, get a quarter when you hand it to the recycler.
But the company can't do that. The tax people can. It would be useful thing the government can do instead of regulation and punishment.
Good, but an unavoidably biased method. They could identify about half the waste plastic items, and 11% of those were identified as coming from Coca Cola, which has some of the most distinctive bottle shapes, so is probably more easily identified.
Also I don't think most of other types of disposable products other than medium duty bags are branded... So tracking them down those that have branding or large labels seem obvious.
If I made branded disposable products which ended up thrown around all over town, the police would become interested in me very quickly. Enrages me how huge corporations churning out consumer slop aren't held to any standards. Would love to see ringfenced taxes on domestic revenue for such companies, which go into cleaning up the streets of their shite, research into more sustainable materials, recycling and bottle c…
>If I made branded disposable products which ended up thrown around all over town, the police would become interested in me very quickly