Thread: Any ideas how to reduce plastic usage?

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?

Ethan
www.greenilo.com
Ideas for Green Earth

If a majority of the public agreed that plastic use should be reduced, they would not purchase products in plastic containers. Why look to the government for solutions that are so simple? Just stop purchasing products in plastic.

plastic was an amzing idea from the start it is strong stretches a tiny bit and is easily molded its just to pratical with our plastic there would be no more LEGOs but I rather have no plastic then have legos.

As with any technology, in plastics there is a profound potential of good, and harm. I definitely want to keep Lego's. One of the immediate biological dangers in plastics is the presence of Bisphenol A in PET 7 plastics, which is predominately used as a liner in metal cans. So for now canned item's are mostly off my list.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_a
I use a water filter and refill glass olive oil bottles for my water. I use reusable shopping bag's. Some stores even offer a small discount for this. I definitely make sure all recyclable type plastics go in the recycle bin. Yes, there is a need for a reduction in packaging plastics use. And, a system where a greater amount of commonly used plastics are recycled. I support such legislation. But, I am against an outright ban of all plastics.

Originally Posted by GiantEvil

As with any technology, in plastics there is a profound potential of good, and harm. I definitely want to keep Lego's. One of the immediate biological dangers in plastics is the presence of Bisphenol A in PET 7 plastics, which is predominately used as a liner in metal cans. So for now canned item's are mostly off my list.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_a
I use a water filter and refill glass olive oil bottles for my water. I use reusable shopping bag's. Some stores even offer a small discount for this. I definitely make sure all recyclable type plastics go in the recycle bin. Yes, there is a need for a reduction in packaging plastics use. And, a system where a greater amount of commonly used plastics are recycled. I support such legislation. But, I am against an outright ban of all plastics.

Some toxicity of plastics like Bisphenol which are used daily by us

here is the type of plastics and its toxicity level.

#3 Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Commonly contains di-2-ehtylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), an endocrine disruptor and probable human carcinogen, as a softener.
#6 Polystyrene (PS) May leach styrene, a possible endocrine disruptor and human carcinogen, into water and food.
#7 Polycarbonate Contains the hormone disruptor bisphenol-A, which can leach out as bottles age, are heated or exposed to acidic solutions.

Yes..... we should use jute fiber....,..


it save environment..........

Jute product is the best thing for environment .....

everyone should use jute thing ....

environment goon well if jute is used ....

Somewhere along the line it should have been determined that the proliferation of plastic usage would become a critical waste issue. Why produce something that may never degrade? See how much plastic is around you, then do the math to determine the severity of the situation. The government should be involved because the average consumer is not thinking about the big picture. The oceans are filling with plastic and the average Joe might not see or care about it.

Plastics are a big business. They save corporations money. At this point, plastics are ubiquitous. How do we turn this ship around? Educate the consumer. Support organizations that fight the future of plastics on our planet. Buy biodegradable & educate others to do the same.

Governments can make people use less plastics by doing what governments are best at: imposing a hefty tax. Before long, we'd see reusable shopping bags and even soda bottles, disposable fast-food dishes made of potato starch, and MP3s sold in cardboard boxes instead of plastic blisters.

But governments of many countries would have to impose the tax simultaneously, or else the most plastic-conscious countries will be penalized as industries move away to "plastic tax heavens". One of which, I bet, would be mainland China.

Plastics are just too useful for us to give up overnight as per a previous post. Strong, non-toxic as a polymer, can be moulded to virtually any shape, etc.

Consumers can't just refuse to buy products with excessive plastic packaging because there isn't a practical alternative.

I have written an article on how to make plastic from vinegar and milk, and is listed on my site.

Originally Posted by Leszek Luchowski

Before long, we'd see reusable shopping bags and even soda bottles

Like bottles made from real glsss that you take back in and get a deposit back on
I think they tried that already. in fact They used to even deliver your milk and take the empty glass bottles back and sterilize them and reuse them.

But the cheaper, faster is better mindset brought us to where we are today with the disposable society pushed on us by corporations looking to make easy money by reducing the human factor in production and service, like having a deliveryperson, someone to autoclave the bottles, or even the clerk at the carrytout that gave you five or ten cents for each returned bottle.

Though I'm not sure the lesson applies to plastic, there are definitely problems with our models of corporations seldom paying the entire real cost from manufacturing to disposal (or cleanup) for most items.

First : a minor correction.
Plastics are not non-degradable. In fact, a problem striking those who conserve art works is that many art works that incorporate plastics are degrading. However, plastics take a long time to degrade, unless continuously exposed to ultra violet light. Eventually, even those plastics buried in landfill will degrade.
http://www.azom.com/details.asp?ArticleID=1655

Plastics should not be banned. They are too damn useful. However, some uses could be regulated. Plastic drink bottles and plastic supermarket bags are genuine problems. It is items like this that need regulation or heavy taxes.

Originally Posted by tswiczko

or even the clerk at the carrytout that gave you five or ten cents for each returned bottle.

This job does not require a human.

I have returned glass bottles in a French supermarket and beer cans in a Swedish ones. In either case, the "clerk" was a machine that accepted the bottles/cans and printed me a slip which was then accepted, at the cash desk, as part of payment for any goods I bought.

Glass is environmentally friendly in that you can wash it and reuse it a lot of times, or melt it and make it into new bottles/jars/whatevers almost indefinitely. But it is environmentally hostile in that it is heavy, so the transport of glass-bottled products uses a lot more fuel than if the same liquids were in aluminium cans or plastic bottles.

Here in the USA when I was younger we used to get our beverages in glass bottles that had a 5&10 cent deposit the could be reclaimed at a carry out or grocery store. with the advent of the plastic bottle and aluminum can this practice fell to the wayside in thelate 70's and early 80's

It's a shame because as kids I remember if you found a couple of bottles you could get a candy bar. It helped keep the litter down tremendously.

I also collected glass bottles to return and buy candy.

However, it is worth remembering that glass, too, has its downside. By which I mean that it breaks and leaves child-maiming debris. When I was a kid, we had to look carefully where we walked, if (as was often the case) we were barefoot. Walking carelessly through town was a sure way of getting badly cut feet.

The return of glass large scale will inevitably mean broken glass all over the damn place, and wounded children.

Polyethylene grocery bags may seem a larger problem than they are... taking other plastic & petroleum consumption into the perspective. A sheaf of bags at the supermarket checkout includes 100 - 500 bags depending on thickness; that's roughly equal to one person's consumption over one year. By weight that's really not so much compared to all the lawn chairs, gasoline, cans of paint and so forth one may go through.

I'll bet I own tons of plastic - LOL including a largely plastic wheelbarrow. Being plastic, these items will not age gracefully, nor are they repairable, so they must end up in a landfill.

Grocery bags present a large, hollow target.

Yeah I remember that part of it as well Skeptic.

The reality of the situation is companies probably won't produce a more ecofriendly product without being pressured into it politicaly or otherwise.

Consumers need to look for and buy products that will help reduce our impact on the environment and larger companies will follow suit when they see there is a market for such products.

Pong, I have a few cloth sacks that I use on a regular basis, and I agree that the polly bags are a major problem. Some stores around my area have a drop box for them but what happens with them afterwards is up to the store for all I know they could be emptyig the drop boxes right into their dumpsters.

As consumers, we are no longer hunter gatherers, we purchase products that are manufactured by corporations, corporations will only change the product or manufacture of a product when it needs to be made more marketable. lets not forget that these bags were the product of conservationists who felt the paper bags being used contributed to deforrestation so they started a huge industry for the plastic bags and now there is an issue with the plastic bag.

Ive read various research suggesting that paper bags and their production is more of a strain on the environment than plastic bags? Is this true?

[quote="ethan_2005"]

Originally Posted by GiantEvil

#7 Polycarbonate Contains the hormone disruptor bisphenol-A, which can leach out as bottles age, are heated or exposed to acidic solutions.

That stuff aka BPA is coming at us wholesale from receipts printed with thermal technique. Nowadays, that makes it a confusion factor to mention polycarbonate as a BPA source, only because it distracts from focus on the flood of BPA getting onto our paper money. The stuff even soaks into us through our skin. The next depression should cut down on some of that exposure.

A report on the production of carrier bags made from recycled rather than virgin polythene concluded that the use of recycled plastic resulted in the following environmental benefits:

- reduction of energy consumption by two-thirds
- production of only a third of the sulphur dioxide and half of the nitrous oxide
- reduction of water usage by nearly 90%
- reduction of carbon dioxide generation by two-and-a-half times

Here are some plastic recycling tips .

Hi,
Reducing our plastic use and consumption is incredibly important.Stop using deodorant or antiperspirant. It's not natural to prevent yourself from sweating. Use perfume in a glass bottle if you want a nice smell.Store all your food in glass containers. If you purchase something bottled in glass, clean it and reuse it!

Originally Posted by winstonterr

Hi,
Reducing our plastic use and consumption is incredibly important.Stop using deodorant or antiperspirant. It's not natural to prevent yourself from sweating. Use perfume in a glass bottle if you want a nice smell.Store all your food in glass containers. If you purchase something bottled in glass, clean it and reuse it!

Rather bad PR reinforcing the imagine of environmental hippies. Another was the Cheryl Crow comment a couple years ago about only using one piece of toilet tissue. While such comments are well intended they hurt the movement because they cast doubt on the messengers as well as ask people to change in an unpleasant manner. Just think there's a lot more potential for people to conserve with little to no impact on their regular lives before we get into thing which people don't want to do.

In the USA we are starting to ban sale of most beverages to poor folk and converting most rich folk to poor folk. This will help shrink down on manufacture of plastic bottles. It will probably wind up removing soda pop vending machines from coast to coast. That will cut down on the use (or possession of) nickels dimes and quarters too which will probably soon be made from plastic.

As said before, it's just a question of making it less attractive to the final consumers.

There is another type of plastic that people don't know too much in the West.

The 'Pure Water' disaster

In West Africa, there is a huge market for 'drinkable' water at cheap prices. So people have created the 'pure water'. It is usually water, purified with osmosers and packaged in small transparent plastic bags of 60cl (if I don't make mistake). One pack cost around 6-7 cents (5 cents of euros). Once drunk, the packs are thrown away in the street, there is no disposal nor a culture of throwing the thrash in a basket. They are ultimatly going in the sea. (I am not talking about the drinkability of the water which is often questionable)
In sea water, it is looking exactly like a jelly fish. So, for leatherback turtle, sunfish, it's a disaster.

Someone may have already mentioned it, but right now, some folks are working on an idea to recycle gum into gum recycling containers! Actually the emmissions in producing the containers are actually more than it would be to simply make more plastic. But, the whole idea is to reuse the plastics we already utilize rather than create more that may just end up in a landfill for hundreds of years.

Hi,

I found this forum by chance while browsing the net for information on reducing plastic usage.

Our family is currently in the process of trying to eliminate plastic from our daily life. We now that a 100% reduction is not feasible at this point, but as a society we use way too much disposable plastic. Plastic is also one of those items that don't recycle well, and it is cheaper for companies to use 'virgin plastic'.

We are blogging about our efforts: http://fighttheplastic.blogspot.com/

So far we are targeting getting rid of plastic grocery bags, plastic food containers, and cheap Chinese disposable plastic products.

--Chegg

plastic was an amzing idea from the start it is strong stretches a tiny bit and is easily molded its just to pratical with our plastic there would be no more LEGOs Crying or Very sad but I rather have no plastic then have legos.





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