Any ideas how to reduce plastic usage? - Page 2

most of the notable mass of plastic material we come into contact with is carrying things we consume and dispose of immediately or soon after buying.

quote walnuts

I'm all for going back to good old fashioned glass tbfh.

for beverages, hell yes. there's no drink that can't be improved by sipping it out of a glass container. plastic bottles also wear down over time and mix in with the drink, so storing food and beverages in them long term is a better idea.

for bags, reusing cloth bags or whatever many stores offer or just sucking it up and carrying things.

not like any of that solves the problem (as if that was entirely possible) but in terms of what each person can do to alter their day to day

it's been pretty well circulated as i understand it, but i'll link story of stuff just because it's a good visualization of what's been going on in america.

quote ethan_2005

So i would really insist the government to really ban the plastics and start using the alternatives

Are you serious? Do you know what would happen to medical care if you got rid of plastics? If you were in the hospital what would you rather have stuck into your vein: A brand new plastic line that you are the only person who will ever use it, or a sterilized rubber and glass setup that was last used by someone with some nasty communicable disease. Oh, and sterilizing stuff after it has been used isn't anywhere close to 100% effective.

Without plastics we'd still be practicing 19th century medicine. We wouldn't have the medical devices, surgical tools, or drugs (yes plastics are used in research) that we use today. All of these nice minimally invasive procedures wouldn't be possible. We'd still be cracking rib-cages, sawing open skulls, and making large incisions to do procedures that can now be done with fiber-optic cameras, lasers, and incredably small incisions.

In truth, without the advent of plastics, most of us wouldn't be alive today to talk about just how bad they are for the environment in terms of human survival. You can't totally ban plastics, but I would like to see the end of plastic drink bottles and a reduction in the amount of non-reusable/recyclable platic used in packaging.