My plastic waste

[Louise]

As an advocate of a healthy lifestyle and organic fruit and veg, I find it alarming how much plastic waste I produce from my everyday household and food packaging.

We have managed to reduce our food wastage to purely peelings, and in many instances we eat those. But our plastic waste is mind boggling, and I really struggle to know the answer. We pay more for our choice of organic food compared to non organic choices, and this is a luxury I am willing to pay for, however, I struggle to then pay a further ££ for eco friendly packaging. Does that make me morally defunct?

I guess it should do, I am happy to pay the extra money to benefit my own health, but struggle to pay the additional money for the welfare of the planet and it’s species. This is a moral argument I have with myself time and again. I just really feel that the Government simply does not do enough to assist the consumer with this quandary.

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I recently read these facts from the National Geographic website https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats/plastic-pollution/

Half of all plastics ever manufactured have been made in the last 15 years :ykies

Production increased exponentially, from 2.3 million tons in 1950 to 448 million tons by 2015. Production is expected to double by 2050.:doh

Every year, about 8 million tons of plastic waste escapes into the oceans from coastal nations. That’s the equivalent of setting five garbage bags full of trash on every foot of coastline around the world.:eek

Plastics often contain additives making them stronger, more flexible, and durable. But many of these additives can extend the life of products if they become litter, with some estimates ranging to at least 400 years to break down.:ne_nau:


These numbers are staggering, and have been known for many years, so why does the Government not do more to reduce the use of plastics in our packaging?

[sophie]

The Governments around the world have long commented on the over use of plastics, and, although they has been a marked decrease in the use of plastic bags in shops, there seems little else, certainly in the packaging of goods.

I often moan about the amount of plastic I seem to produce from packaging. It is heartbreaking to see the images of our planet and it’s species suffocating under the strain of our lifestyle,

[Jake]

Have you noticed in the multiple pictures shown from around the globe that most of the plastic is from bottles, surely this needs to be looked at, eliminating the bottles from water, and fizzy drinks will Make a huge dent in the plastic problem.

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[Amie]

I agree Jake, but while it is easy to point out the problem, it seems the solution is more difficult to find. The obvious answer would be glass bottles, but sadly we live in a world where correct disposal of such items does not happen. Broken glass will be everywhere.

[Daisy]

I have been using wax wraps as a replacement of cling film. The wax wraps are expensive as an initial outlay, but overtime they pay for themselves and are better for your health and help to reduce the plastic impact on the environment.

[Esme]

So much of the plastic waste is not even recyclable, why is that? It should be law that if you use a plastic it can be recycled. Also, there are some companies that have biodegradable plastic bags, that break down in the space of weeks/months, I know this because I’ve had them long enough that they do break down, but why are companies not forced to sell only this type of plastic bag, rather than the very thick ‘bag for life’ which probably means it’ll take a lifetime to breakdown. 9before you reply about the concept of replacing it etc, I do know that). The point is there is probably only a small section of society that remembers to bring there bag for life with them, but the other companies that just do normal bags, these should be biodegradable by law.

[Dylis]

I agree Esme, I often question why paper bags are not more readily available. Lidl offers the customer an option plastic or paper!

[Pansy]

I honestly don’t see the government enforcing a fat lot, if you think about it, by making companies change their packaging the make less from the petrochemical companies, which is where plastic comes from! Where is the incentive for the governments to take action?

[Bumblebee]

Imagine your favorite stretch of coastline—white-sand beaches, rocky tide pools, the White Cliffs of Dover, what have you. Now transport yourself ahead two decades, after plastic production and waste have continued to skyrocket. Humanity is now unloading 29 million metric tons of bottles, bags, and microplastics (little bits smaller than 5 millimeters) into the oceans annually. That means for every meter of your favorite coastline, 50 kilograms—that’s 110 pounds—of plastic is entering the sea every year.
“Now imagine that's happening for every meter of coastline around the world,” says Richard Bailey, who studies environmental systems at Oxford University. “That's the amount that we're looking at—it's a colossal amount.”

[Joolz]

I think they should bring back the scheme that gives you money for returning your bottles like they did years ago. I used to take my Corona pop and bottles back to the shop as a child and collect the 10p I then bought sweets or saved it up. It means that you are more likely to return the bottle and teaches children about money etc

[Elvera]

I think they should bring back the scheme that gives you money for returning your bottles like they did years ago. I used to take my Corona pop and bottles back to the shop as a child and collect the 10p I then bought sweets or saved it up. It means that you are more likely to return the bottle and teaches children about money etc

There was talk last year about revisiting this scheme as it worked so well, what happened? There should be some way of cutting the amount of bottled drinks we consume, it’s outrageous. There should be a push to get people to fill up a bottle from home and drink from that.

[Mary03]

I notice that the U.K. have made a move to stop using plastic straws but massive countries like America are still continuing to use them. Unless everyone is on board our efforts to reduce plastic waste won’t make any difference