Plastic reduction

[6Foot2]

...The supermarkets could also do what @AMLinington suggested and replace the bags with non-plastic alternatives and/or cardboard boxes...

Our supermarkets, and I am sure others too, stack emptied cardboard boxes behind tills for use by customers. I have seen supermarket workers helping customers pack the boxes to aid till throughput.

[FN-GM]

 

The supermarkets could also do what @AMLinington suggested and replace the bags with non-plastic alternatives and/or cardboard boxes.

 

I remember around 15 years ago Aldi used to provide old cardboard boxes to pack your shopping in. Its great as the box can go into the recycling when you get home.

[Andrew_C]

Our supermarkets, and I am sure others too, stack emptied cardboard boxes behind tills for use by customers.

 

They ALL used to do just this. A compound by the tills full of boxes; I guess it doesn't look 'corporate' enough.

[elsiegee40]

Back in my uni days (early 1980s), Booths supermarket provided American style brown paper carriers rather than plastic ones

[mavhc]

Paper bags aren't great, heavier for a start, less durable.

 

Surely the bags for life are being reused.

 

"Seven major retailers issued 7.6 billion single-use bags in 2014 but that figure was down to just over a billion in 2017-18"

 

So we were buying 7.6 billion, and now we're buying 2.4, or 3.6 in terms of plastic used, that's halved. So of the 1.2 reusable bags bought, we should estimate each are being used 5 times. Are they then returned for recycling and a new bag, can't tell if "sales" includes free under bags for life scheme.

 

Seems fine. Main problem is complexity of recycling, and lack of reuse.

 

Corporations marketed the theory that the user was responsible for litter, not the creator, and got rid of reuse schemes in favour of recycling. We need to be bringing our bags for life back to the shop full of empty containers to be taken back on the empty lorries to the distribution hub, and back on their empty lorries to the manufacturer.

 

Also those lorries need to be electric.

[Arthur]

EU to ban plastic plates, cups, and cutlery by 2021

 

The European Union is taking the lead in saving the world. The EU parliament has voted to ban single-use plastic cutlery, plastic cotton swabs, straws, and coffee stirrers as part of a sweeping law aimed at fighting the plastic waste that pollutes oceans and beaches. The ban on single-use plastics will go into effect by 2021 in all EU member states (and maybe the U.K., depending on what happens with Brexit).

 

The countries aren’t stopping there, either: EU member states will also have to reduce the use of plastic food containers and plastic coffee lids. The new legislation also states that by 2025, plastic bottles should be made of 25% recycled content. According to Bloomberg, the new legislation also sets an admirable target of recycling 90% of plastic bottles by 2029–as well as a goal of making them out of 30% recycled material by 2030.

 

Parliament originally rolled out its plan at the end of 2018 and have now made good on the ambition directive. The single-use plastic ban will not only help the environment and protect the ocean, but by 2030, could reduce the cost of environmental damage attributed to plastic pollution in Europe (which has been estimated to be around €22 billion). Saving money while saving the environment is undoubtedly a big win.

[elsiegee40]

There is a petition to make micro plastic filters on new washing machines mandatory which may be of interest

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/248269

[FN-GM]

All my Amazon deliveries used to use cardboard boxes and paper packaging. Yesterday I received it in a "jiffy bag" that is plastic on the outside. A step backward IMO.

[elsiegee40]

All my Amazon deliveries used to use cardboard boxes and paper packaging. Yesterday I received it in a "jiffy bag" that is plastic on the outside. A step backward IMO.

 

Yes, I have noticed this too. I was unimpressed as well!

[tg12]

Another one annoyed by Amazon’s sudden use of really horrid plastic Jiffy bags. Considering they’ve spent years using all cardboard, this is definitely a step backwards, and awkwardly timed too as more people have become aware of plastic use

[Katy]

Another one annoyed by Amazon’s sudden use of really horrid plastic Jiffy bags. Considering they’ve spent years using all cardboard, this is definitely a step backwards, and awkwardly timed too as more people have become aware of plastic use

I got one recently too. I really don't understand why they are using them - it's not like they will save room on the vans as they already have cardboard packets for thin items, books etc.

[FN-GM]

I got one recently too. I really don't understand why they are using them - it's not like they will save room on the vans as they already have cardboard packets for thin items, books etc.

 

Even if it did save space surely they can use the paper jiffy bags that the rest of the population uses?

[elsiegee40]

Even if it did save space surely they can use the paper jiffy bags that the rest of the population uses?

 

Most jiffy bags contain a plastic liner. The paper ones are heavier. Their boxes are better

[tg12]

And on the Amazon thick plastic bags, I had a book come in one, with damaged corners because it had loads of room to slide around in it. Probably a lot less likely in one of their normal cardboard sleeves

[elsiegee40]

San Francisco International Airport rolls out ban on plastic water bottles (CBS News)

 

San Francisco International Airport is rolling out a ban to end the sale of plastic water bottles at its convenience stores, restaurants and vending machines. The ban, which begins on Tuesday, is part of the airport's latest effort to become the world's first zero-waste airport by 2021.

 

San Francisco International said each guest that comes through the airport produces half a pound of trash. To eliminate that waste, the airport has already cut back on single-use food items like napkins and straws. Prior to the ban, the airport sold about 10,000 bottles of water each day and generated about 28 million pounds of waste each year, according to Doug Yakel, a spokesman for the airport. But starting on Tuesday, the airport will gradually begin phasing them out.

 

First, it will sell off what's currently on store shelves. Once that inventory dries up, passengers will be encouraged to refill their own reusable containers at any of about 100 "hydration stations" or buy water in glass or aluminum containers.

 

Some passengers appeared to be on board with the change. "If you know about it, it's great," said traveler Chris McCloud. "If you don't know about it, it's going to be inconvenient. But it's headed in the right direction, I think."

 

The airport is following a 2014 ordinance banning the sale of plastic water bottles on city-owned property. Nationwide, Americans discard more than 30 million tons of plastic every year, only 8% of which gets recycled. Much of what remains ends up in landfills, where it can take up to 1,000 years to decompose, leaching toxins into the soil and water.

 

There will still be some plastic bottles at San Francisco International. The ban does not apply to flavored drinks like soda and juice. That bothered traveler Claus Dojahn, who told "CBS This Morning" that "They want to do something good, and yet they don't tackle the whole problem."

Yakel said that "our hope is that the industry continues to expand…There's really not a lot of good alternatives yet for teas, juices and sodas, but we're hoping that changes over time."

 

As of now, the policy only applies to the airport and not to the airlines that fly in and out. The airport said it's the first to ban plastic water bottles, but it's hoping the idea will take off at other airports and airlines as well.

[mikes]

Ordered some Lenovo thinkpads/thinkboxes, 280 in total, plus 100 chromeboxes/displays. the amount of packaging probably would fill up a large transit van (even crushed down).

 

The chromeboxes weren't so bad but with Lenovo, I guess every item is manufacturered separately in its own factory, they are then shipped to be packed together as a final unit. That means the mouse, keyboard, 3 different bags for different screws, power etc are all individually wrapped in cardboard and plastic.

Plus I now have 100 VGA, DVI and power cables I've got no idea what to do with I guess the admin work of finding out which customers want VGA cables and which don't, would actually be more expensive than just bundling one in every box anyway.

 

The thing is some companies seem to be making a change just for the sake of being visible. MickeyD's changed to paper straws, but these straws are now being sent to general waste as they can't be processed for recycling; the old plastic straws were recycled. Same with these Bags for Life - doing worse for the environment, as people just buy and treat them as disposable - and because they are so much thicker and contain a lot more plastic - they are much worse when it comes to recycling. A large part of my general waste is crisp packets / food packaging. Why is it we can't recycle crisp packets?

[elsiegee40]

MickeyD's changed to paper straws, but these straws are now being sent to general waste as they can't be processed for recycling; the old plastic straws were recycled.

Bit the processes involved in making a paper straw are less environmentally unfriendly. And a paper straw rots down not requiring further greenhouse gasses to get rid of it. So actually, not being able to recycle it is fine. Personally, I vote with my feet and won’t accept a straw anywhere regardless of what it’s made of. It’s perfectly possible to drink something without one.

 

Same with these Bags for Life - doing worse for the environment, as people just buy and treat them as disposable - and because they are so much thicker and contain a lot more plastic - they are much worse when it comes to recycling. [/quite]

This is true. I have a handful in the back of the car that are used a couple of times a week, but many people don’t do this.

 

A large part of my general waste is crisp packets / food packaging. Why is it we can't recycle crisp packets?

Yes, you can. Walkers accepts any crisp packet for recycling

 

https://www.terracycle.com/en-GB/brigades/crisppacket

[featured_spectre]

What I do:

 

Use a travel mug. Everywhere. I even have one for my kids to use. there is always one in my backpack

I use fabric or hessian bags for my shopping. If I order online, then I ask for it to not be bagged

My best friend is a butcher, I visit him, and have him portion out my meat for a week and put it in tupperware boxes (I've done this for well over 8 years now, each one is labeled and it gets thoroughly cleaned. It is also airtight, and stackable which is good for the fridge drawer).

If I have a plastic bottle, I cut the hard tops off, and bottoms off, and shred the weaker part in my paper shredder through the card slot. Does the job nicely. I have a friend who melts and moulds plastic for her etsy shop, so she uses this for her projects.

I have metal straws which I take if I go out to a restaurant or whatever - Have had these for a few years so this whole paper straw thing has never bothered me.

I have replaced all plastic cups in my house with glasses as my children are old enough to use glass and not plastic cups (I trust them enough anyway to not break them).

For my bins I do the followings:

 

Raw Food waste - goes into the compost (IE Apple cores, banana peels, tea bags etc)

Raw meat waste - gets put into a food bag, tied up, and binned

Cooked food waste - a rarity as if it isn't eaten that night, leftovers will be lunch the next day. IF there is still some remaining, I heat it up, put it in an aluminium foil container and give it to a homeless person I see on my usual walk into work

Bread if it stale gets turned into breadcrumbs or croutons.

Dairy waste is poured down the loo, and the bottle rinses and destroyed as above. Cheese is binned if it gets that far.

 

For presents etc, I bought re-usable gift bags (made from fabric) and just buy a new tag each time. I always ask for the bag back and its actually become a bit of a thing in my family and friends that they'll us the same sort of gift wrapping for me and my kids. The one big thing people have realised is how much gift paper was used and sellotape etc when wrapping lots of gifts compared to a handful of fabric bags - think of the amazon type gift bags if you ask them to gift wrap an item.

 

About the only thing that really has any non-desirable products are sweets, biscuits and crisps in my house, but biscuits go straight into the airtight jar, sweet wrappers get thrown in the bin if not recyclable, same for crisp packets.

 

Kids toys get donated to the local food bank and childrens centres when my children are done playing with them (food bank because some less fortunate kids can get them along with the parents getting food etc).

 

I put my general bins out once a month, as every week or fortnight isn't warranted. My recycling bin goes out when it is full, and that so far has happened once in June, and right now its about 1/4 full.

 

When you truly make the effort, and reuse as much as possible, it makes a huge difference on how much you get rid of.

 

The worst culprits are the bathroom products. So we have a shampoo soap bar which my kids love as it means no bubbles or whatever in their eyes. Same for conditioner. Toothpaste, well, can't avoid that unfortunately so we use what we need there. We use actual soap and not the pump action stuff. Toothbrushes are made from a biodegradable bamboo material, and when we're done with them, we put them in the compost and we use the next ones.

[LeMarchand]

Toothpaste, well, can't avoid that unfortunately so we use what we need there.

 

Tooth powder? The jars should be recyclable.

 

Re: Straws, I don't understand the fuss that is made by some disabled people who need something more durable. Surely they could carry their own reusable straw?

[localzuk]

MickeyD's changed to paper straws, but these straws are now being sent to general waste as they can't be processed for recycling; the old plastic straws were recycled.

Just point out that this is wrong. McDonald's plastic straws were recyclable, but they were most certainly not recycled. They all ended up in landfill or incinerators. Or random hedges. Paper decomposition is quick and relatively less damaging anyway.

[featured_spectre]

To answer the point about tooth powder, it would be fine for me, however one of my daughter has a reaction to it which causes ulcers within a day of usage, so using it AND toothpaste in our house made no logical sense. Its one of the few we use in that sense. However, with that said, we do go through and use every last possible part of the toothpaste, using one of the key things that squeezes it all to the top. The standard 75ml toothpaste tube lasts me alone about 7 or 8 weeks or so (at a rate of twice a day, 7 days a week), and my kid a lot longer as they're here on weekends and some of the school holidays time, so whilst they brush at the same time as me, its not as many brushes (4 brushes a day, at most 3 days a week when they're here unless we go on holiday away).

 

I could probably cut down the toothpaste I use if I reduced the amount on the brush, but I don't go overboard with it as it is. Kids get a pea sized blob, I get 2x pea sized blobs.

[mavhc]

Main problem is recycling is a waste of time. Spend time making sure countries with worst waste disposal get our standard of waste disposal, so rubbish is picked up and buried, not left to float into rivers, and thus the sea.

 

Also stop eating fish, most plastic in the sea is from fishing

[featured_spectre]

How do you mean from fishing? I know nets get washed up on beaches etc and such. Also whenever I take the kids to the beach, we fill 3 carrier bags with rubbish before leaving it.

[jmak]

How do you mean from fishing? I know nets get washed up on beaches etc and such. Also whenever I take the kids to the beach, we fill 3 carrier bags with rubbish before leaving it.

There are loads of different ways of measuring our hideous behaviour, but an example of recent research was reported here:

 

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2018/03/great-pacific-garbage-patch-plastics-environment/

 

What’s Really in the Patch?

 

Microplastics make up 94 percent of an estimated 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic in the patch. But that only amounts to eight percent of the total tonnage. As it turns out, of the 79,000 metric tons of plastic in the patch, most of it is abandoned fishing gear—not plastic bottles or packaging drawing headlines today.....

 

....The study also found that fishing nets account for 46 percent of the trash, with the majority of the rest composed of other fishing industry gear, including ropes, oyster spacers, eel traps, crates, and baskets.

[/Quote]

[Arthur]