The rhetoric on this gets dialed up to 11 immediately, and I don't think it benefits anyone but a very small group of people to do so. This report suggests that views on plastic recycling should be reconsidered, it does not suggest that humanity is going to come to an end unless we _immediately_ solve this problem.
> because it's the path that consumes the less amount of paper bills with made up numbers on them
I don't think people who work for an hourly wage are likely to agree that the numbers are made up. They may have a certain arbitrary quality to them when you consider them at scale, but they aren't made up for the majority of people alive.. and the difference between them means a lot to many people on this planet.
This is what this rhetoric ignores. Single use plastics are an issue. We should reduce them; however, acting as if they are only in use for profit motivations is insane. The next time you go to a hospital, or a dentist, or open up a pack of dental floss consider what else you might use to protect that equipment, those instruments, or your own hygiene products and foods.
We could go back to using waxed paper, but it's inferior for shelf stability, it's not compostable or recyclable, and it's made from paraffin wax which is a petroleum product.
I never go to the hospital, but I sure see my supermarkets tomatoes wrapped in three distinct layers of plastic every day... the other day I even saw pre-sliced apples in plastic bowls with a plastic lid, wrapped in a plastic packaging with a smiley feel good vegan mascot printed on it
We of course need plastic to some extent but we're so far from any kind of reasonable usage
My grandparents didn't have nearly as much plastic and their food was just fine, if anything they ate much less plastic wrapped processed junk, most of what we use it for really isn't necessary or even desirable
> My grandparents didn't have nearly as much plastic and their food was just fine
Did they grow up in the western world? Have you asked them about food borne illnesses and safety and how that's evolved over time? More importantly, have you asked them their opinion on this particular matter?
> the other day I even saw pre-sliced apples in plastic bowls with a plastic lid, wrapped in a plastic packaging with a smiley feel good vegan mascot printed on it
I can't account for where you shop but you should be willing to consider the use of plastic outside of this narrow environment. I assume these foods were brought to your store? How do you suppose they were conveyed there? How far did they come to get there?
Another thing to ask your grandparents.. how do they feel about their grocery options today?
> how do they feel about their grocery options today?
They can barely afford them with their pension
> How do you suppose they were conveyed there? How far did they come to get there?
Yeah it's shipped from overseas, but that's no argument for using plastic, if anything it's an argument for both stopping shipping basic food from 5000km away AND stop plastic all at once. The status quo being fucked up can't be used as an argument to let it rot further
The rhetoric on this gets dialed up to 11 immediately, and I don't think it benefits anyone but a very small group of people to do so. This report suggests that views on plastic recycling should be reconsidered, it does not suggest that humanity is going to come to an end unless we _immediately_ solve this problem.
> because it's the path that consumes the less amount of paper bills with made up numbers on them
I don't think people who work for an hourly wage are likely to agree that the numbers are made up. They may have a certain arbitrary quality to them when you consider them at scale, but they aren't made up for the majority of people alive.. and the difference between them means a lot to many people on this planet.
This is what this rhetoric ignores. Single use plastics are an issue. We should reduce them; however, acting as if they are only in use for profit motivations is insane. The next time you go to a hospital, or a dentist, or open up a pack of dental floss consider what else you might use to protect that equipment, those instruments, or your own hygiene products and foods.
We could go back to using waxed paper, but it's inferior for shelf stability, it's not compostable or recyclable, and it's made from paraffin wax which is a petroleum product.