The new banish plastic movements

[Green Aura]

To many people cost is an important consideration

I think for many, these days, it's the only factor. It doesn't matter what it comes wrapped in if you have to get it from a foodbank, or count every penny. It doesn't matter that you might only need to use half the number of sheets of the more expensive stuff (which would make it far cheaper in the long run), or that it's better for the environment, if you just don't have the cash to buy it in the first place.

The same logic seems to apply to why we still have plastic drinking straws - it's too costly for business to use alternatives at present

Absolute balderdash - if cost was a factor they wouldn't supply straws of any form. Good old BBC.

[Weedo]

Straws were promoted here for a while as drinking straight from the container was considered unhealthy - risk of bugs on the bottle or can. During the 1980's introduced European wasps ( Vespula germanica) population exploded (simple exponetial population growth) and became very problematic in urban areas. One of the health risks touted then was drinking from a soft drink container (sugary stuff) where a wasp had got into it and subsequently stung inside the mouth or throat; straws were promoted.

Could alsdo be generational? My grandkids were given straws from a very early age rather than being trained to drink from a cup properly. Their parents could manage a cup from about 6 months old - perhaps because they only used the natural container before that.

[AmalWarrior]

Plastic packaging has always annoyed and baffled me - often in equal measure. I may have mentioned it once or twice. I can feel my hackles rising as I think of ridiculous examples, so I won't go there. Yes I will, plastic-wrapped coconuts in their shell, peeled oranges in little plastic boxes, trays of peeled bananas. It's almost as though they're trying to turn the buying public into idiots who can't even peel their own fruit - which makes the coconut even more bizarre.
I fear the sudden Government concern re plastic is a smokescreen, rather than a commitment, but I definitely won't go there.

I laughed and laughed when I read this post, so thank you for that. Pointless plastic packaging gets my goat too. The one that really gets me is plastic packed scissors, because you inevitably need what's inside the package to get inside the package!!
I have started shopping elsewhere here in Ireland specifically to avoid the unnecessary packaging on my fresh foods. I would love to try plastic free food shopping, but I don't know what I'd honestly be left with to eat-just fruit and veg!

Ecover apparently have refilling services for their products, but there isn't anywhere near me that does it. I think there were only 2-3 places in Ireland that did it at all.

I have no doorstep recycling here, just a local recycling bank (presumably designed for alcoholics), as they only take glass and drinks cans! Nothing else!!

[AmalWarrior]

How could each of us promote the banishing of plastics in simple ways?
I have given up loo roll, in favour of tissues, because of the plastic bags they come in, and the fact that I cant recycle my cardboard here...although this does mean I now have a cardboard box instead, but at least I win on the plastic front!

[Weedo]

So what actually drives recycling? Certainly not any concern about the environment around here. Plastics are slowly being removed from what can be put into our recycling. Firstly plastic films including the heavier flexible types, bubble wrap etc; reason - they get caught in the sorting machinery; next plastic bags - no reason given; latest is the plastic meat trays - reason - the Chinese will no longer accept them. Apparently the majority of our recyclables are shipped to China for processing????????

Polystyrene is, apparently, recyclable but its weight / volume ratio means the cost of shipping exceeds the recycled value. Perversely, it IS ecomonical to ship the new product - I see truck loads of polystyrene insulation slabs being delivered to a new local millenium ghetto development each day.

Obviously it is only economics that drives effective recycling. Perhaps the solution is to develop a system for assessing the risk of each plastic product type against environmental and human impacts. From this create a rating system against which Government can set a levy added to the price of the product. The levy should be suffient to cover the cost of recovery / recycling and remediation where there has been impact, be collected by the manufacturer and delivered to a Government trust and be advertised on each and every product. Perhaps if people start being charged $2(ish) for every plastic bag or plasic wrapped item it will drive some change.

[Odsox]

I cant recycle my cardboard here

May I ask why you can't recycle cardboard?
Cardboard and paper is readily recyclable everywhere in Ireland.
Not that I recycle my loo roll tubes as they are much too valuable for sowing parsnips and sweetcorn in, in fact I don't get enough.

[AmalWarrior]

Because as mentioned above, there is no place to take them to. I live out in Newtownforbes, and I don't drive, so I can't get my recycables into Longford to take them to their big collection places. My estate doesn't have a recycling collection, but my friend in Roscommon can put all their's into a bin hut, and they take everything away. Starting to wonder if that is actually being recycled, or just thrown away with the general waste now.
I miss England!

[AmalWarrior]

To answer your question, Weedo: For myself, because I love this planet, and feel duty bound to look after it as best as I can.

Other people's reasoning might be: guilt about how much is incinerated or sent to landfill, because it's in trend, they may feel better for doing it, that it somehow makes up for all the other less eco behaviours they have/do.
I do unfortunately know one old woman who doesn't bother to recycle anything at all, and spends money she hasn't got because everything has to be the best of the best, whatever the price. I think she believes that it isn't really recycled. Personally, this is something I'd give the benefit of the doubt to (probably the only positive assumption I make about human beings and their systems)!

[Green Aura]

I have given up loo roll, in favour of tissues, because of the plastic bags they come in

My loo rolls come in compostable packaging - Ecoleaf.

I cant recycle my cardboard here

Any gardeners about. We use lots of cardboard, instead of weed membrane.

Obviously it is only economics that drives effective recycling. Perhaps the solution is to develop a system for assessing the risk of each plastic product type against environmental and human impacts. From this create a rating system against which Government can set a levy added to the price of the product. The levy should be suffient to cover the cost of recovery / recycling and remediation where there has been impact, be collected by the manufacturer and delivered to a Government trust and be advertised on each and every product. Perhaps if people start being charged $2(ish) for every plastic bag or plasic wrapped item it will drive some change.

Let me know when you're running for office, Weedo - I'll let friends and family over there know. I'm sure they'd vote for you!

[Odsox]

I miss England!

So do I, like the proverbial hole in the head !
I'm afraid England has become a nasty alien country in the 25 years since I left, but that's a whole different topic.

[AmalWarrior]

I was thinking of saying I'll send my loo rolls to odsox for the garden!
I should also add that I don't have a bank account (it costs money to have one here, and I don't really like them tbh), so that can make sourcing eco friendly products harder. Fortunately, we do have a very good health food shop in Longford, but they don't sell ecoleaf.

I miss so many things about England...but that would be a whole other thread!

[AmalWarrior]

In Kenya, they brought in heavy fines and prison sentences for makers and suppliers of non biodegradable plastic bags. Many other African countries have done similar things in the past. They kept fobbing the government off with "we need more time, etc etc". So finally time has been called on them!

[ina]

Most of my cardboard goes into the compost... Plastic bags that aren't easily avoidable fulfil a double function (at least) - the contents of the cat litter tray has to be somewhat protected before it goes in the bin... Etc. I still use plastic containers that were supposed to be single use 20 years ago!

[AmalWarrior]

I had been composting at the bottom of the garden, but as I'm in a rented flat, I don't know if that's a great idea. Waiting for someone to snitch on me to the relevant busy-bodies...like they did about bags I had put up to block out the streetlight from the bedroom window (as a result of this, a blind was fitted by the maintenance man).