Any ideas how to reduce plastic usage?

[ZMaxchen]

It is known to every one that plastics does harm to nature, both land,water and air. Still no government wants to ban the use of plastics. The plastic drinking bottles are a real harm to the land. It pollutes the air while burning. So i would really insist the government to really ban the plastics and start using the alternatives. The citizens of the mother earth we are also responsible for saving the planet earth. So folks , what do you think the real alternative of plastics? Do you agree in the necessity for banning unwanted plastic products?

[brendaward]

yes we should go back to deposited glass bottles. Just going back to glass is not enough as glass banks involve a car journey to deposit the waste bottles thus outweighing any saving. If however there was a deposit charged on glass bottles and jars as well, if people couldn't take them back enterprising charities could collect them for the refundable deposit, thus cutting down on the use of fossil fuels in the recycling.

The plastics used in perishable food packing, that's a hard one. Paper? re-usable plastic containers? Realistically paper and re-use of plastic containers pose a potential health hazard. I am sure that someone will solve the latter problem coming up with something like a cabbage leaf to wrap meat in and corn husks to make bags and containers. Something that will easily compost and maybe is at present consigned to the rubbish tip.

'Sometimes we have to go back to go forward.' '

[chittling boy]

Them were the days.Wisdom from you again Brenda

[brendaward]

Welcome back CB.
ZM, Your question has made me think a lot about the difficult question of how do we replace plastic. If we look to the indigenous people in rain forests whom survive on what is around them it makes you realise that we can't live like that because we have a different climate and ways of working. Without oil we do not get to work and earn money and would starve. Without plastic we would face serious problems as it is used in everything. Oil, plastics mother! However we have a wonderful country and climate to grow things in. We waste so much of what we grow we should be looking at the waste products and thinking what we can do with them. The scientists could be looking at new ways to use natural chemicals in plants and trees to not only use for medicines but for materials.
We know we can make string from willow, what is the binding molecule? The humble cabbage leaf, the outside leaf we compost, an excellent insulator for food, cool it in the fridge and serve or wrap foods to be kept cold in it. Use it instead of tin foil to cover things in the oven. Similar things are being used in countries that have not got the throw away life that we have.
Our ancestors went to their countries to teach them our way of life how crazy was that. Maybe it is time to ask them what they would come up with because they have some ingenious ideas on how to adapt and survive.
We grow lots of cereal crops in this country, the bread basket. The wheat for the bread the chaff for the basket. (don't know if that is technically right)
The answer is on the land, sustainable and regenerating. In other words look to mother earth she will provide.

Banning plastic, that would lead to mass unemployment and hardship. Without replacing it with something is economic suicide as a lady prime minister proved. Ok, not so much economic but would cause the death of many communities and the well being of our fellow countrymen. The use of plastic could be discouraged by levies and low tax levied on sustainable products. There is a very large tax on companies on packaging waste, cardboard is one of them, cardboard is recyclable.

[brendaward]

Sorry ZM. Did not realise you was located in Israel. Just presumed you was located in Great Britain as the site name indicates.

[Brocakat]

Serious question.

How much energy does it cost to make a say, - 1 litre plastic bottle Plastic Bottle
( which is never used again) VERSES a 1 litre Glass ( and lets have it a pure, tranparent & clear glass - which is more useful & versatile than a brown/green one) bottle?

And then - how many times is it that Yer Average glass botttle is reused, before it is smashed and recycled ? ( which then costs more energy ) .


Off the top of my head - may I suggest that the single-use placcy one - consumes less energy. I don't know, though.

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by Brocakat

Serious question.

How much energy does it cost to make a say, - 1 litre plastic bottle Plastic Bottle
( which is never used again) VERSES a 1 litre Glass ( and lets have it a pure, tranparent & clear glass - which is more useful & versatile than a brown/green one) bottle?

And then - how many times is it that Yer Average glass botttle is reused, before it is smashed and recycled ? ( which then costs more energy ) .


Off the top of my head - may I suggest that the single-use placcy one - consumes less energy. I don't know, though.

another point is that there is no particular reason why plastic bottles cannot be collected and reused - the technology to clean them is definitely there.

Plus when they are beyond reuse they can be recycled into plastic for other uses (ecodeck for example)

[STYRBJORN]

Less wrapping. Photo-degradable plastic for food wrapping and carrier bags. Less wrapping. Straw instead of blown PU for packing breakables. Less wrapping. Death penalty for installing UPVC windows. (Deserved on aesthetic grounds anyway.) Less wrapping.

Get the message pipple? LESS WRAPPING

Ric

[whitekitten]

Making every large chain store charge for and/or not provide plastic bags would help no end and maybe some kind of points scheme for depositing certain recyclables in certain places, eg some kind of card that gets swiped at the bottle bank or recycling centre. People are quite happy throwing away something that they got for free, but give them a reward for recycling or making them pa for someting and they'll soon change their ways.

[brendaward]

I don't want them to stop giving us bags in the supermarket, (maybe biodegradable ones better,) because I would have to give them more money buying bin bags. With fortnightly collections we are told to put our rubbish in plastic bags to stop he smell and keep the bins clean.