See, you've just shown how you have fallen for the very trap that is being discussed: you think garbage collection is the solution. Plastic recycling was never a valid solution to the problem of plastic trash in the environment.
Recycling was a non-solution the oil and plastics industries used to deflect criticism of their products. They knew would never be feasible because the polymer is no longer in a state that is suitable for re-use once it's been heated and formed, and that degradation gets even worse as it ages, is exposed to UV, etc. Anything made with it will be inferior. Weaker, not as dense, and so on.
They also knew that it would be impossible for any significant amount of plastic to be recycled, even if it was feasible to re-use it.
It also shifted the onus from the producers of a wildly harmful material to the consumers. "It's those litterbugs!"
The auto industry managed to shift public perception from "cars are insanely dangerous products" to "idiot leeches of society are throwing themselves in front of car drivers who are upstanding people who contribute to society!" Seriously - look at the cartoons from the early auto industry era. The "jaywalker" is portrayed as slovenly, poor, and stupid. The car owner is portrayed as well dressed, intelligent...
The plastics industry has turned things from "our products never, ever go away. They break down into tinier and tinier pieces, and the particles are so prolific that there literally isn't a single place on earth not contaminated by them, not a single creature that hasn't ingested them, and it's now in our brains"...
...to "silly irresponsible people are not responsibly disposing of their plastics so they can be recycled by us responsible plastic producers! Look, we sponsor beach trash cleanup groups! Look at this picture of our smiling employees spending a day in safety vests helping collect plastic from a couple hundred square feet of beach!"
Think about that. Plastic is in your brain. That's how thoroughly contaminated the entire planet and ecosystem is. And it's because the plastic and oil industry deflected "plastics are bad" with non-solutions and claims about recycling and pictures of neonatal babies inside plastic incubators with plastic tubes and plastic IV bags. Do YOU want to have that preemie die because the evil hippies want to take away your plastic, mnau?
For a lot of applications plastic is also simply a really good material. It is cheap, easy to form, strong, can be made either rigid or flexible, and has a low CO2 footprint. When it comes to inherently single-use applications it is incredibly difficult to beat plastic, and even for multi-use applications it often doesn't look great for materials like metal or glass.
And yes, littering is the main downside. I agree that recycling is mainly bullshit, but you can also burn it together with the rest of the trash, and get some free electricity from it!
Microplastics are indeed a serious problem, but it is almost entirely unrelated to day-to-day plastic items. The primary source of microplastics is car tires, with synthetic clothing being a large contributor as well. And there's of course the absolutely insane use of plastic particles in personal hygiene products. If you want to reduce our microplastics exposure, those are probably better places to start.
Quite. And quite the opposite - I hear a lot of messaging encouraging us to consume more. To the point that most Westerners (and no doubt others) have a strong sense of entitlement when it comes to consumption. If you ever bring this sort of thing up with people the entitlement becomes obvious. We feel entitled to be transported thousands of miles in a matter of hours for 'a break'. We feel entitled to some of the most inconsiderate vehicles ever produced because "how else am I going to tow my boat/horse float?" As if a lifestyle that involves moving massive things around is a god-given right. And all of this within a matter of two or three generations. We truly live in the most entitled times.
Our personal morality has been corrupted by convenience and commerce. Too many people think that if something is legal, possible, and affordable, then why not? No room for consideration of others. Quite simply (and please excuse the strong language) we have become a bunch of selfish fucks. But because it's now the norm to be a selfish fuck then that makes it okay, right?
I've always admired the approach of my grandparents. Practical, economical, and able to enjoy doing the simple things that are actually necessary for living a good life. Sadly, that generation is passing. What are our grandchildren going to think of us?
Quite. And quite the opposite - I hear a lot of messaging encouraging us to consume more. To the point that most Westerners (and no doubt others) have a strong sense of entitlement when it comes to consumption. If you ever bring this sort of thing up with people the entitlement becomes obvious. We feel entitled to be transported thousands of miles in a matter of hours for 'a break'. We feel entitled to some of the most inconsiderate vehicles ever produced because "how else am I going to tow my boat/horse float?" As if a lifestyle that involves moving massive things around is a god-given right. And all of this within a matter of two or three generations. We truly live in the most entitled times.
Where do the people who understand this congregate?
(and no doubt others)
While the top 30 on this entitlement ranking will contain a lot of Western countries, I can unfortunately confirm that they're far from alone, and in fact none of them will even take the top spot.
The poster said proper garbage collection, not recycling. Recycling may or may not be part of the disposal picture, but properly containing the plastic in a properly managed landfill is also a perfectly acceptable solution.
Do YOU want to have that preemie die because the evil hippies want to take away your plastic, mnau?
Honestly, you sound like you have problems. Personal attack, tangent from original theme "don't have plastic in the ocean" to multi paragraph rant about RRR. Have a nice day.
Comments
See, you've just shown how you have fallen for the very trap that is being discussed: you think garbage collection is the solution. Plastic recycling was never a valid solution to the problem of plastic trash in the environment.
Recycling was a non-solution the oil and plastics industries used to deflect criticism of their products. They knew would never be feasible because the polymer is no longer in a state that is suitable for re-use once it's been heated and formed, and that degradation gets even worse as it ages, is exposed to UV, etc. Anything made with it will be inferior. Weaker, not as dense, and so on.
They also knew that it would be impossible for any significant amount of plastic to be recycled, even if it was feasible to re-use it.
It also shifted the onus from the producers of a wildly harmful material to the consumers. "It's those litterbugs!"
The auto industry managed to shift public perception from "cars are insanely dangerous products" to "idiot leeches of society are throwing themselves in front of car drivers who are upstanding people who contribute to society!" Seriously - look at the cartoons from the early auto industry era. The "jaywalker" is portrayed as slovenly, poor, and stupid. The car owner is portrayed as well dressed, intelligent...
The plastics industry has turned things from "our products never, ever go away. They break down into tinier and tinier pieces, and the particles are so prolific that there literally isn't a single place on earth not contaminated by them, not a single creature that hasn't ingested them, and it's now in our brains"...
...to "silly irresponsible people are not responsibly disposing of their plastics so they can be recycled by us responsible plastic producers! Look, we sponsor beach trash cleanup groups! Look at this picture of our smiling employees spending a day in safety vests helping collect plastic from a couple hundred square feet of beach!"
Think about that. Plastic is in your brain. That's how thoroughly contaminated the entire planet and ecosystem is. And it's because the plastic and oil industry deflected "plastics are bad" with non-solutions and claims about recycling and pictures of neonatal babies inside plastic incubators with plastic tubes and plastic IV bags. Do YOU want to have that preemie die because the evil hippies want to take away your plastic, mnau?
For a lot of applications plastic is also simply a really good material. It is cheap, easy to form, strong, can be made either rigid or flexible, and has a low CO2 footprint. When it comes to inherently single-use applications it is incredibly difficult to beat plastic, and even for multi-use applications it often doesn't look great for materials like metal or glass.
And yes, littering is the main downside. I agree that recycling is mainly bullshit, but you can also burn it together with the rest of the trash, and get some free electricity from it!
Microplastics are indeed a serious problem, but it is almost entirely unrelated to day-to-day plastic items. The primary source of microplastics is car tires, with synthetic clothing being a large contributor as well. And there's of course the absolutely insane use of plastic particles in personal hygiene products. If you want to reduce our microplastics exposure, those are probably better places to start.
If you think about it, it's only a good material because we ignore the downsides. If we could put a price on that, the economics wouldn't add up.
It mostly is those litterbugs in Asia.
When I was in school we were taught the 3 R's: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
I haven't heard about Reduce and Reuse since.
Quite. And quite the opposite - I hear a lot of messaging encouraging us to consume more. To the point that most Westerners (and no doubt others) have a strong sense of entitlement when it comes to consumption. If you ever bring this sort of thing up with people the entitlement becomes obvious. We feel entitled to be transported thousands of miles in a matter of hours for 'a break'. We feel entitled to some of the most inconsiderate vehicles ever produced because "how else am I going to tow my boat/horse float?" As if a lifestyle that involves moving massive things around is a god-given right. And all of this within a matter of two or three generations. We truly live in the most entitled times.
Our personal morality has been corrupted by convenience and commerce. Too many people think that if something is legal, possible, and affordable, then why not? No room for consideration of others. Quite simply (and please excuse the strong language) we have become a bunch of selfish fucks. But because it's now the norm to be a selfish fuck then that makes it okay, right?
I've always admired the approach of my grandparents. Practical, economical, and able to enjoy doing the simple things that are actually necessary for living a good life. Sadly, that generation is passing. What are our grandchildren going to think of us?
Where do the people who understand this congregate?
While the top 30 on this entitlement ranking will contain a lot of Western countries, I can unfortunately confirm that they're far from alone, and in fact none of them will even take the top spot.
The poster said proper garbage collection, not recycling. Recycling may or may not be part of the disposal picture, but properly containing the plastic in a properly managed landfill is also a perfectly acceptable solution.
Honestly, you sound like you have problems. Personal attack, tangent from original theme "don't have plastic in the ocean" to multi paragraph rant about RRR. Have a nice day.