Time to ban disposable plastics?

[WarDaddy]

My gut reaction to a statement like that is , heck no, you can't take my ziploc away! What will I put my sandwich in?

But then I wonder, is that such a bad idea? If we ban the disposable one time use plastics, is it that big a burden on society? We managed up unitl the late 1960's without them, surely we can survive again without them.

Here is a great, and long, artile from the New York Times about another way we are impacting the oceans, this time it is undoubtably a man made disaster, no scientist can deny we caused it, although many will argue if it poses any dangers.

Read the article, what do you think? Time to ban single use plastics?

 

[schudini]

Unless the world does it together, it doesn't matter. The plastic on the shores of Alaska did not come from the US.

 

[WarDaddy]

The palstic on the shores of Alaska came from all over the world, including Alaska. It specifically was blown to Alaska by a seasonal wid current that blows across the large "trash island" in the Pacifc Ocean. The waste int eh pacific comes from all over the world, the US is not excluded from that flaoting dump.

It takes leadership to accomplish anything in this world, do we set an example, or do we just continue to contribute to the problem and wait for somethig worse to happen?

 

[schudini]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12811469#post12811469 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by WarDaddy
The palstic on the shores of Alaska came from all over the world, including Alaska. It specifically was blown to Alaska by a seasonal wid current that blows across the large "trash island" in the Pacifc Ocean. The waste int eh pacific comes from all over the world, the US is not excluded from that flaoting dump.

It takes leadership to accomplish anything in this world, do we set an example, or do we just continue to contribute to the problem and wait for somethig worse to happen?

I agree that something needs to be done. I'm all for cleaning up the ocean and support bans for whaling and shark finning, etc.

I just get discouraged when I see that our neighbors to the west (or rather Far East) don't care about the planet (as evidenced by the decimation of species, continuous pollution, and blatant anti-environmental behavior). Doesn't mean that we don't do what we can to keep our country clean.

 

[shibumi]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12811437#post12811437 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by schudini
Unless the world does it together, it doesn't matter. The plastic on the shores of Alaska did not come from the US.

I think lots of people think the same way. That is why nobody does anything. I think every little thing helps.

 

[ichthyman]

WCI student isolates microbe that lunches on plastic bags

 

[WarDaddy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12812187#post12812187 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ichthyman
WCI student isolates microbe that lunches on plastic bags

Here is a functioning Link

That is a great step in the right direction, but his microbes ate plastic ground to a pulp...I wonder how effective they would be in the unforgiving environment that the ocean is.

Then there is this guys findings... He finds plastics more dense in the water column than plankton. This is troubling for all kinds of reasons. but maybe that microbe would like those smaller plastic particles better, but they are found deep in the water too, not just on the oceans surface, sadly,

Then there is Corn Based Plastic, totally organic. But this stuff has its limits too It may not be the silver bullet that will give us plastic baggies and bottles for all of time. But it may lead us down a path to a product that will break down in landfills and sea water quickly and cleanly. Who knows.

The one thing that is clear, we need, as a species, to stop allowing our waste to find its way into the oceans!

 

[landragon]

so will everyone be bringing hemp, thrice-recycled, organic bags to pick up your new fish/invert/coral from the lfs soon?

 

[WarDaddy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12812672#post12812672 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by landragon
so will everyone be bringing hemp, thrice-recycled, organic bags to pick up your new fish/invert/coral from the lfs soon?

There are alternatives, not as convenient as bags, but effective.

Unfortunately, with us humans, convenience usually is teamed with waste and pollution.

 

[guntercb]

Bryan,

With cost of energy rising the plastic price may rise and we may not be using "disposables". Problem could be solved because of economics. (-: Money drives us more than any political rules.

 

[LauraCline]

Great article Bryan. I don't know if we need to ban it (and frankly with the amount of money and big business involved, politics would hold this up until people forget about it) but I think there are some small things that can be done to make a big impact. For example, at the stores they could charge people a small amount per bag used while at the same time taking off the same amount or more per bag for people that bring their own cloth resusable bags. We could also charge refundable deposits on plastic bottles and the like. For Bryan's sandwiches there are reusable sandwich holders, we sell the ones made by wonder bread at Wally World for $1.00. You can buy a box of about 50 store brand disposable ziplocks for close to the same price and they don't need to be washed. The problem is that easy is also cheap. For some stupid reason healthy food and environmentally sound consumables cost alot more compared to the alternatives. If we can find a way to make the things that really impact the planet in negative ways more expensive while making the better choices less expensive or at least comparable, it will compel most people to do the right thing without having to ban. I also think the article was onto something regarding making goods more durable. There would be alot less waste of things like appliances, computers, and electronics if consumers demand well made items that can be repaired for less than the cost of replacement.

 

[cmjreef]

The tough part is population growth. No matter what the situation is, the population continues to grow...exponentially. And until that stops, we will snuff ourselves out eventually. The earth wont mind, and will recuperate in a hurry (relative to time as a whole). But if we want to stick around, population growth is key.

 

[greg smith]

long but interesting article, thoughtful discussion. that picture was worth about 100,000 words, and there's nothing quite like leadership by example as war daddy suggested.

 

[cwegescheide]

Thats funny, I was just reading another article about the amount of trash collecting in parts of the pacific. Another disturbing article

http://www.mindfully.org/Plastic/Ocean/Moore-Trashed-PacificNov03.htm

 

[mflamb]

May be a stupid question, but how does the trash get into the ocean to begin with???

 

[LauraCline]

Not a stupid question Mike. Most of gets there by wind and rain runoff into rivers and streams which empty into the ocean.

 

[WarDaddy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12822199#post12822199 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mflamb
May be a stupid question, but how does the trash get into the ocean to begin with???

Watch that car in front of you on the way home, cigarette butt out the window. People wonderfully simple creatures, out of sight out of mind. You can not legislate stupid, but you can limit the items they get in their hands that cause harm.

Mind you I am not endorsing anything I am asking a question. There is a very evident problem, how do we as a society deal with it?

 

[mflamb]

If we ban everything that the "environmentalists" say is harmful to the environment, then we have to ban breathing and farting.

If you follow the car that threw the butt out the window to their destination and smacked them in the head and told them that was for throwing trash out the window, they'll think twice about doing it again.

The majority of Americans are for environmental conservation, but "political correctness", and a "kinder gentler America" tells us not to say anything, don't get involved, let the govt take care of it. I say it's time to crack some heads and get folks thinking about it.

 

[cwegescheide]

He said crackin heads and farting... :lol:

 

[forddna]

Can we smack them for throwing out the butt AND for smoking to begin with?

(sorry, smokers)