Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumOur plastic pollution crisis is too big for recycling to fix
the guardian.com
Recycling alone will never stem the flow of plastics into our ocean. We must address the problem at the source.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jun/09/recycling-plastic-crisis-oceans-pollution-corporate-responsibility
UnFettered
(79 posts)I just watched a similar video that popped up recently. It discussed banning all single use plastics globally. It really made me think about the problem and potential impact on everyday life.
I would also like to say I dont think enough is done as far as recycling is concerned. Where I live we dont have curbside recycling. I have to collect all my plastic bottles and drive 20 miles to the nearest recycling center. I would bet the majority of people in my area dont recycle. I would love to see the percentage of Americans that actuallly do.
riversedge
(70,220 posts)Our plastic pollution crisis is too big for recycling to fix
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jun/09/recycling-plastic-crisis-oceans-pollution-corporate-responsibility
Annie Leonard
Recycling alone will never stem the flow of plastics into our ocean. We must address the problem at the source
Sat 9 Jun 2018 06.00 EDT
Last modified on Sat 9 Jun 2018 06.06 EDT
The truth is that we cannot recycle our way out of this mess. Photograph: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty Images
Every minute, every single day, the equivalent of a truckload of plastic enters our oceans. In the name of profit and convenience, corporations are literally choking our planet with a substance that does not just go away when we toss it into a bin. Since the 1950s, some 8.3bn tons of plastic have been produced worldwide, and to date, only 9% of that has been recycled. Our oceans bear the brunt of our plastics epidemic up to 12.7m tons of plastic end up in them every year.
Just over a decade ago, I launched the Story of Stuff to help shine a light on the ways we produce, use and dispose of the stuff in our lives. The Story of Stuff is inextricably linked to the story of plastics the packaging that goes along with those endless purchases. We buy a soda, sip it for a few minutes, and toss its permanent packaging away. We eat potato chips, finish them, then throw their permanent packaging away. We buy produce, take it out of the unnecessary plastic wrap, then throw its permanent packaging away.
I kept all my plastic for a year the 4,490 items forced me to rethink
Read more
The cycle is endless, and it happens countless times every single day. But heres the catch there is no away. As far as we try to toss a piece of plastic whether its into a recycling bin or not it does not disappear. Chances are, it ends up polluting our communities, oceans or waterways in some form.
For years, weve been conned into thinking the problem of plastic packaging can be solved through better individual action. Were told that if we simply recycle were doing our part. Were told that if we bring reusable bags to the grocery store, were saving the world. We think that if we drink from a reusable bottle, were making enough of a difference. But the truth is that we cannot recycle our way out of this mess.
Recycling alone will never stem the flow of plastics into our oceans; we have to get to the source of the problem and slow down the production of all this plastic waste. Think about it: if your home was flooding because you had left the faucet on, your first step wouldnt be to start mopping. Youd first cut the flooding off at its source the faucet. In many ways, our plastics problem is no different.
We need corporations to step up and show real accountability.
We need corporations to step up and show real accountability. Photograph: Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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We need corporations those like Coca-Cola, Unilever, Starbucks and Nestlé that continue to churn out throwaway plastic bottles, cups, and straws to step up and show real accountability for the mess theyve created. Drink companies produce over 500bn single-use plastic bottles annually; there is no way that we can recycle our way out of a problem of that scale.
Municipal bag, cup and straw bans like those in Morocco, Iceland, Vancouver and some US cities are a great start, but also not enough. And while clean-up efforts are helpful in addressing litter problems, they cant begin to touch the problems created by microplastics the tiny participles of plastic that now permeate our waterways and broader environment.
The Guardian view on recycling: throwaway economy is not cost-free
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Not long ago, we existed in a world without throwaway plastic, and we can thrive that way again. The worlds largest corporations with all their profits and innovation labs are well positioned to help move us beyond single-use plastics. All over the world people are already innovating toward solutions that focus on reusing and reducing plastics. Its time to accelerate this process and move beyond half measures and baby steps. Corporations are safe when they can tell us to simply recycle away their pollution.
But we arent buying that any more. This is their crisis to tackle. We will continue to do our part, but its time for the worlds largest corporations to do theirs. Some 322m tons of plastic were produced in 2015, and that number is expected to double by 2025. The good news is that we are at a turning point. All over the world, people and businesses are waking up to the dangers created by single-use plastic. Now, we must demand a new era that prioritizes people and planet over profit and convenience.
CrispyQ
(36,464 posts)The whining, when the idea of charging for plastic bags is brought up, is unbelievable. "It's a tax on poor people." "I use them as trash liners." There are always excuses why our convenience is more important.
On another note, I read an article a few months ago that said that people who bring their own shopping bags are viewed as more feminine. Caring for the planet is viewed as feminine & in our patriarchal societies, feminine equals inferior. We need a reset in how we view the world & our place in it & it looks like Mother Nature is going to oblige. The superior rich (mostly) white male is about to find out just how superior he really is, as the everything-for-profit model takes down our ecosystem.
I have a love/hate relationship with this forum. It is, IMO, the most important forum on DU & also the most depressing.
itsrobert
(14,157 posts)Some forget, but it's a learning curve.