First Steps Agreed on Plastics Treaty After Breakthrough at Paris Talks - Slashd...

• Re:

  This "treaty" won't be ratified and written into US law.

  I think it's a good start, but we should not bind ourselves legally to any of this type stuff....you never know what can happen.

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• Ok but we need to be careful not make it sound like because it's not perfect right now, then it's better to do nothing. This conference is not going to be the last.

  We started with the plastic straws, cutlery, dishes, coffee cups, shopping bags, we talk already of single-use food packaging. Every time we hear some voices saying it's nothing. It's a step by step process because an immediate complete ban is impractical, as public acceptance is important for the democracies to be able to approve laws, and acceptance can only be reached when done cautiously through small steps (remember the outcry when plastic straws, which do not affect our lives in any important way, were targeted).

  The simple fact that nation-states accepted to join and, in principle, reach agreement to ban something, whatever it will be, is already a progress compared to what happened until now. And the trend to address one by one the different sources of plastic pollution will hopefully continue over the next decade or two.

  • Re:

    Plastic shopping bag bans do significantly more harm than good for the environment as they are regularly used to contain a hell of a lot of other trash, much of which itself is plastic, for an EXTREMLY small amount of plastic used. It is the definition of feel good environmentalism that has little effect on the problem, and a large amount of negatives.

    • Re:

      What studies say about plastic bags is that it is unclear if the total amount of plastics was reduced because the reduction in free plastic bags was compensated by increased purchased of dedicated trash bags. The intended effect here was not reduction of plastic volume but reduction of careless behaviour with free bags. I find it has worked, I no longer see plastic bags flying around.

      • It has not worked

        I find it has worked, I no longer see plastic bags flying around.

        I regularly go on trash walks, and the volume of plastic bags in the wild has dropped MAYBE 10%. Still find several fresh bags a week in trees, in streams, etc.

        Where is it you can not find plastic bags in the wild? Certainly not California either, which has masses of the things blowing around because of the homeless. The entire state is a trash pit at this point last I was there, from LA to SF and more north.

      • Re:

        It's changed nothing. It's virtue signaling at its worst. The big grocery chains went along with it for the combination of PR with loud Leftist groups as well as the added revenue stream of selling people bags every time they shop.

        The few that are actually using reusable bags are using bags with much larger carbon footprints and also wasting water washing those bags over and over again.

        This is yet another example of why I ignore most environmentalists. They keep going for the highly visible feel good win

  • Re: Clothing is the largest ranging source.

    One of the weird things about current regulation in Europe, is that the cutoff for "plastics free" is at 5%. That means if you have a plastic wrapper weighing 0.5g, and you replace that with a 20 gram paper wrapper coated with 1 gram of plastic (in order to get a heat sealable surface), you can now claim plastics free packaging, and your product looks so environmentally responsible on the shelves when it's packaged in brown paper.
    But in actual fact despite the good looks, the amount of plastic doubled, and

• Re:

  Yeah no, the actual headline should be poor waste/water management intensifies flooding. Put enough trash or any other detritus in front of the drains and you get flooding, plastic or not. An amalgam of paper, metal foil, and cloth bags would have the same effect.

• Re:

  Maybe we shouldn't be using disposable crap at all... use washable/reusable plates and cutlery. Don't use straws -- we're not newborn infants that need a teat to drink from. If you're over the age of 2, just drink from the glass.

  • Re:

    Merchandise still needs to be packaged for transport, and Skip The Dishes is not going to pick up my containers before they go pick up my food, nor am I going to take my own dishes when I order takeout, I draw the line at my own coffee mug. I've gotten used to always taking re-usable bags for shopping, but there is a limit to how much stuff I'm gonna carry with me, and indeed I now have to buy plastic bags for kitchen waste and cat litter that I used to get for free, cause paper just does not do the trick

    • Re:

      I don't do takeout -- at this point with appitty-apps! (crap craps!) it's often cheaper to just walk to the resto, sit down, and pay the tip. Not to mention being less asocial.

      Energy shouldn't be a major issue if we weren't FUCKING COWARDS being allowing new, clean, safe nuclear reactors to be built.

      • Re:

        I have a handful of good restos in walking distance, but many more in driving distance (and hundreds on the app). I love all sorts of ethnic food - Indian, Chinese, Caribbean, Japanese, Mexican, South American, African, Thai, Ukrainian, Middle Eastern, et al as well as the usual pizza, chicken and burgers. Can't be limited by what is close, way too much variety to enjoy. I do prefer local establishments over chains, with some rare exceptions.
        
        As for nuclear, I'm a big supporter, but talking about that

      • Re:

        And another person that has the attitude of "I see no use, so no one else should have a use". Nice self-centered world you live in.

  • Lots of things I want disposable and airtight

    We can't go that far. Medical supplies in particular should be disposable and use plastics wherever needed for seals and safety. No used needles, thank you. Making sure we have sterile hermetically sealed bandages, syringes, ultra clean and flexible IV lines, etc. etc. all seem intrinsically worth the cost in use of disposable plastics. Find a way to incinerate them safely, filter the exhaust, and use the energy generated as well, but preventing more disease outbreaks through overly zealous avoidance o

    • Re:

      I was talking about gratuitous uses, not medical supplies.

      • Re:

        It's not just medical supplies. That was just a really good example. Plastics have done a lot to improve sanitation and thus reduce disease while improving quality of life across a multitude of uses.

  • Re:

    And how about all the people screaming about fresh water supplies? What are you going to use to wash all those non-disposable crap?

• Re: What about saving the trees?

  The real solution is the same for paper as for plastic. Don't throw it away in random places! Put each item in the proper recycling bin.

• Re:

  It is going to be an issue in terms of economy of making consumer goods vs historical materials like wool, leather, wood, glass, metal etc. I'd guess that happy mediums of resilience and ability to be recycled will keep plastic in general use just because it is too useful but limiting it in other ways is as sensible as limiting lead or asbestos and so on.