#21

Paper bags take more carbon to produce than plastic and produce a greenhouse gas if they end up in landfill.

1 Like
#22

1/3rd of the worlds population with Extreme water shortages by 2025

#23

Was this after folks started mailing them their empty packets? Or something?

#24

But they donā€™t end up as microplastics and in the food chain though, right?

#25

Oh Iā€™ve just bought some Hanx condoms because they biodegrade :+1: (not sure why they donā€™t make that their pitch rather than then being ā€˜feminineā€™ and instagrammable?!)

#CWBAFT

2 Likes
#26

I think single use plastic is a bit of a red herring. Everyone is going on about it at the moment because they saw some sea creatures harmed by it on blue planet but if we keep pumping CO2 into the atmosphere at the current rate there wonā€™t be any creatures in the sea soon because itā€™ll be too hot for them. Many of the single use plastic alternatives have a higher carbon footprint and are damaging to the planet compared with just making sure your plastic waste either gets recycled or goes in landfill.

Iā€™m not sure how a lot of plastic ends up in the sea but Iā€™m reasonably confident that when i put something in a bin bag, tie the bag up and leave it for the bin lorry to collect it and take it to landfill, itā€™s not going in the sea.

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#27

The plastic ones are recyclable and even if you put them in the general waste, not likely to end up in the sea.

#28

I think we need to be less reliant on convenience and start making more things from scratch. Yeah, itā€™s not what weā€™re used to but it can be. Of course this isnā€™t always possible but this generation is lazy when it comes to the household and what we buy to make things easier (cleaning products loaded with chemicals so we donā€™t have to scrub something a little harder etc)

Recycling should be the last option. Refusing packaging is the first.

2 Likes
#29

I raid the paper recycling bin all the time to fish out brown paper to save for wrapping presents or for Jnr to draw on. Whilst my neighbours might think iā€™m odd they do now make sure if they buy
M a birthday present they either dont wrap it or wrap it in old paper with no cellotape :blush: Iā€™m glad itā€™s spreading amongst them (however I know they only do this for me and not for other kids)

1 Like
#30

Agree, not everything needs packaging - though it can reduce food waste a lot.

Also i think people need to accept less choice sometimes if they want less packaging. One of the reasons thereā€™s so much packaging in the fruit and veg aisle is that there are a million different varieties and you need the packaging to tell them apart!

1 Like
#31

They are? Everything Iā€™ve been told is that they are absolutely not. Iā€™m not arguing with you - genuinely want to know! How do you recycle them?

#32

They can go in the carrier bag recycling bin that most supermarkets have! Although Waitrose where I usually shop has just switched to biodegradable/compostable bags and they arenā€™t recyclable apparently

#33

Maybe. The UK (and much of Europe) has effectively outsourced a lot of its treatment of waste, as well as outsourcing the consumption that produces waste.

100% agree with this. Itā€™s no coincidence that the likes of the Mail and LibDems and Tories have centred so much of their environmental policy around single-use plastics - itā€™s an easy PR win and addressing it means that they donā€™t have to consider to wider societal and structural changes that must be made to slow down, let alone stop, climate change.

3 Likes
#34

TRY NOT DRIVING OR FLYING ANYWHERE and also not eating meat or dairy

(not aimed at you, but thatā€™s what they need to be focusing on imho)

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#35

Oh and if you drink milk get a milkman (cream line do it all online and I used when M still had milk)

#36

Trying to reduce the amount of plastic in the bathroom. Have stopped buying shower gel and gone back to good old bars of soap - also cheaper because they last way longer. Have started using a shampoo bar. Struggling to find a decent facewash not in a plastic tube.

Have got a chilli bottle and have bought everyone else in the family a plastic water bottle so nobody is buying water/drinks on a day out.

Keep a cloth bag in my workbag for food/random purchases on the way home.

We still have way too much single use plastic in the kitchen. Supermarkets use a ridiculous amount of unnecessary packaging.

2 Likes
#37

Probably just a sign of my immaturity, but the way the website said ā€œyou can chuck ā€˜em in your compost with your banana skinsā€ really tickled me.

#38

Iā€™m on a bit of a plastic-reduction tip at the moment but recently went on holiday to America, where I was dragged back to reality: even buying a sandwich theyā€™ll put it into a plastic box, with a plastic fork and knife, and then into a plastic bag. Fucking nuts.

#39

regardless of the future state that the environment ends up in, weā€™ll definitely look back at now and be horrified by how much plastic we used, literally everywhere all the time

#40

I miss plastic straws