Plastics and the Environment
Sep. 18th, 2019 03:12 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
unspeakablehorrorI was browsing this article to try to understand a bit more about the plastic waste issue:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/06/plastic-planet-waste-pollution-trash-crisis/
I thought this part was especially helpful for my understanding of the issue:
The largest market for plastics today is for packaging materials. That trash now accounts for nearly half of all plastic waste generated globally; most of it never gets recycled or incinerated.
One problem: people get focused on legislation for miniscule portions of that problem--like plastic straws, which account for much less than 1% of all plastic waste [citation needed, though, lol] and are literally lifesaving devices for certain disabled people [again citation needed, but I've seen compelling arguments for this as well]. That doesn't mean that people who don't need them shouldn't avoid their use, but it does mean that we need to put their potential benefits and harms into perspective before determining how to address the behavior of other people on this matter.
We will need much more major changes to make a dent in single use plastics (which I suspect are largely synonymous with this packaging category). And legislation, while it may be necessary in some cases, can't help us adjust to the lifestyle changes that will be necessary if we truly address this issue. For a lot of reasons I won't be elaborating on right now to avoid more citations-needed, I don't believe recycle and forget it is the answer here. I do think there is a role for plastic recycling, but I also believe it has to be greatly secondary to the roles of reduction and reuse in order to make a real difference here.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/06/plastic-planet-waste-pollution-trash-crisis/
I thought this part was especially helpful for my understanding of the issue:
The largest market for plastics today is for packaging materials. That trash now accounts for nearly half of all plastic waste generated globally; most of it never gets recycled or incinerated.
One problem: people get focused on legislation for miniscule portions of that problem--like plastic straws, which account for much less than 1% of all plastic waste [citation needed, though, lol] and are literally lifesaving devices for certain disabled people [again citation needed, but I've seen compelling arguments for this as well]. That doesn't mean that people who don't need them shouldn't avoid their use, but it does mean that we need to put their potential benefits and harms into perspective before determining how to address the behavior of other people on this matter.
We will need much more major changes to make a dent in single use plastics (which I suspect are largely synonymous with this packaging category). And legislation, while it may be necessary in some cases, can't help us adjust to the lifestyle changes that will be necessary if we truly address this issue. For a lot of reasons I won't be elaborating on right now to avoid more citations-needed, I don't believe recycle and forget it is the answer here. I do think there is a role for plastic recycling, but I also believe it has to be greatly secondary to the roles of reduction and reuse in order to make a real difference here.