Plastics

Discussion on living for a better and more responsible future
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KathJ
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Re: Plastics

Post by KathJ »

It is frightening yike* , which was my initial point. How can we as individuals make a difference by doing a little bit here and a little bit there when we're absolutely surrounded by plastic in some form or other that we seemingly 'can't do without'. A real conundrum!!
On the other hand I read a lovely quote yesterday which was actually on a dog rescue site but I suppose can be translated in the fight against plastics and it's basically that even if you're only saving one thing (dog/plastic bottle/plastic bag) it's one less )t' Does that make sense???????
Kath xx

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RIP my beautiful Ranger, Roxy, Bluebelle, Poppy, Speckle, Daisy and Honey xxxx
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Mo
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Re: Plastics

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Are plastics the problem, or what happens to them?
If councils recycle or use them to generate power they won't end up in the sea.
But even if there are good schemes in place some won't use them and will just throw things anywhere.
Plastics, like everything else we use, use resources and power to make them and cost to dispose of. So people should be charged the true cost of what they buy.
And we shouldn't worship 'growth' and GDP and only measure what is paid for as if that is all that matters.
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lancashire lass
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Re: Plastics

Post by lancashire lass »

Mo wrote:Are plastics the problem, or what happens to them?
If councils recycle or use them to generate power they won't end up in the sea.
But even if there are good schemes in place some won't use them and will just throw things anywhere.
Plastics, like everything else we use, use resources and power to make them and cost to dispose of. So people should be charged the true cost of what they buy.
And we shouldn't worship 'growth' and GDP and only measure what is paid for as if that is all that matters.


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lancashire lass
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Re: Plastics

Post by lancashire lass »

well last night's documentary War on Plastic series on BBC 1 highlighted what happens to some of the plastic we put into recycle bins ..... {mr.angry} https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-b ... s-48572167

And that was just a couple of fleeting visits to pick up a few examples in one developing country. How many others not identified.
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Re: Plastics

Post by Gwenoakes »

That documentary was a reeeeal eye opener for sure, especially to see it dumped in places like Malasia!! What a mound they had and right near a water course...……
I wonder how much it costs to transport it to such places and by what method and who is paying for it.

I would like to know why, when and who decided that brown paper carrier bags and small brown paper bags was a no no. I have been trying to rack my brains and remember when they disappeared.

I think I heard something that Waitrose is now selling loose veg and fruit. The difference in prices from loose to packaged was really appalling and illogical imho and does not encourage people especially on a low wage to go that way.
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albertajune
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Re: Plastics

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I say the program also and find it unbelievable that no one can find an answer to it all.
Why should unpackaged produce cost more when surely it should be the other way, cheaper.
We can buy recyclable plastic bags at double the price so people don't buy them. If I remember right, the explanation for using plastic bags instead of paper was to save the forests that were being cut down at such a rate that animal life was losing its living environment. Most white plastic cartons and containers are recyclable so surely this should be used if necessary rather than the black and coloured non recyclable type.
More to it than we know and all to do with money

Another point about pre packaged food is that it is almost impossible to buy for one person. Something that really annoys me.
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Mo
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Re: Plastics

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albertajune wrote:Why should unpackaged produce cost more when surely it should be the other way, cheaper.
I wonder if i't because it is easier to load the shelve with bags. Then people take a bag as it is but with loose they pick and choose the best, poke and perhaps damage what they don't take.
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Mo
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Re: Plastics

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Or could be that they think people concerned with the environment will not penny pinch so can be profited from
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Spreckly
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Re: Plastics

Post by Spreckly »

Hugh and Anita's programme last night was indeed an eye opener.
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KathJ
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Re: Plastics

Post by KathJ »

I caught up with it last night. I really like everything that Hugh does anyway but this was a real eye opener. Looking forward to next week with the bathroom products as that's another area where I've been trying to cut down by using soap bars and even shampoo bars.
Kath xx

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Meanqueen
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Re: Plastics

Post by Meanqueen »

Mo wrote:
albertajune wrote:Why should unpackaged produce cost more when surely it should be the other way, cheaper.
I wonder if i't because it is easier to load the shelve with bags. Then people take a bag as it is but with loose they pick and choose the best, poke and perhaps damage what they don't take.


I wouldn't mind buying root vegetables loose because you wash them them first before cooking. But I wouldn't buy bread unwrapped, what with everyone coughing and sneezing on it, and squeezing it to see if it's fresh. And as Mo says, folks picking out all the best leaving a few miserable carrots or sprouts behind, which then gets chucked. You might get a limp carrot in a bag, but that's not a problem, in the pot with the rest of them.

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lancashire lass
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Re: Plastics

Post by lancashire lass »

Meanqueen wrote: But I wouldn't buy bread unwrapped, what with everyone coughing and sneezing on it, and squeezing it to see if it's fresh.


Probably find the plastic bag also keeps the loaf from "drying" out so always has that fresh bread taste, not to mention keeps the slices from falling off. Way back in the 1960s when I was growing up abroad, our bread was sold unwrapped except for an 8 inch wide piece of greaseproof paper wrapped round the middle where you would normally pick up the loaf (from supermarket shelves not bought from a bakery) Selling sliced bread was still to be invented back then LOL. When we came back to the UK, I can remember sliced bread was completely wrapped in waxed paper and sealed at the ends so you couldn't handle the bread itself and was as good as any plastic bag today.
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wendy
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Re: Plastics

Post by wendy »

Yes LL that is how I remember the fist sliced bread being sold
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Re: Plastics

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Reading the thread about the paper bags and them being discontinued because of deforestation, I guess the problem is that there are so many of us on the planet that when we all chose to do something it's going to have a huge impact,
The converse of this is optimistic, though, because all those small changes do add up, so I'm going to keep on keeping on.
There are now clear biodegradable plastics for food use which are cellulose-based, and of course plastic bags were also going the biodegradable route before the bag for life. I suppose, though, that the sheer bulk of those in circulation will always take time to break down, which is why I never even throw apple cores into hedgerows.
I suppose the best solution to many of our problems is population control.
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kitla
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Re: Plastics

Post by kitla »

Things like this are good to hear
https://www.thescinewsreporter.com/2019 ... t-eat.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
"He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals."
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