Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
"World's plastic binge 'as dangerous as climate change'"
I'm as guilty as anyone of buying bottled water.
Although I try to carry water in reusable bottles and send the kids out with reusable drinks bottles as well (despite their habit of losing these, I'm sticking with it), these hot times sometimes lead me to succumb to an ice cold bottle instead of waiting until I can get a glass of eau de robinet.
On litter picks outside my house, and in the Passage, plastic bottles are a close second to cans for being discarded on the street where, if swept up by the road sweeper, they will simply be sent to landfill, not recycled. At least when I pick up cans and bottles, they go in the recycling bin. However, the problem isn't solved even then, as plastic drinks bottle manufacturers are refusing to use recycled plastics maintaining that we, the consumers, won't buy drinks unless they are in very clear, *new* plastic bottles.
Well, if it's all the consumer's fault that they won't change, maybe we need to bring this considerable power to bear on manufacturers. Refuse plastic bottles; start carrying our own water bottles, and support those few companies that use recycled plastics in their packaging (or reject packaging altogether - the M&S Food Hall I visited recently was a horror show. Every damned thing encased in plastic or film. I know this is exceptional since they specialise in "fast" food but the queues were long and buying brisk).
The Guardian campaign on plastics, Bottling it, has a lot of useful articles on this topic including facts and figures and photos to break your heart, including the one from which I took the quote in the title.
A truckload of plastics enters the world's oceans every MINUTE. It ends up in remote beaches in Scotland; small islands in the South Pacific, even on isolated beaches in the Arctic.
This is madness. Time to change
Tags for Forum Posts: plastic bottles
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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We've got to stop pumping oil and gas out of the ground and refining it, that's where all this plastic comes from. Hopefully soon.
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Permalink Reply by Liz on
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"Dear future generations: Please accept our apologies. We were rolling drunk on petroleum" ~ Kurt Vonnegut
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Permalink Reply by 1vut8bf3om5m9 on
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Don't undersell the issue by comparing it to a hoax like global warming.
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You will never beat Oscar Wilde when it comes to sarcasm.
Global warming is theology for athiests.
You might have a point if you put your argument in a non-Guardian view of the world template.
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I'm not taking this thread off topic to allow you to discuss your pet views of global warming. Open a new thread if all that you have taken away from what I wrote is the climate change reference and not the visible problem of plastics in our waterways, oceans and beaches. Either you agree that this is a problem requiring behaviour change or you don't.
I am happy to talk about plastics in the environment and the need to find a way to change behaviours, which is why I opened the thread. I quoted from an article. Sorry you dislike the Guardian. Other broadsheets are available.
My religious beliefs, my sense of humour and my "world template" (I presume you mean view) as you put it are simply a matter of conjecture on your part and have no place in this discussion.
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Permalink Reply by Robert Pike on
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The plastic bag charge allegedly has reduced single-use plastic bag usage by 85%. If something as little as 5p can have that impact on one source of pollution, then why can't a bottle return scheme be introduced that offers rewards do the same for this issue?
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Permalink Reply by Protheroe O'Shea on
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They do that in Germany.
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Yes I know. I saw when I was on holiday in Berlin. So what stops such a progressive idea from Europe being implemented in England?
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There has to be government will to do it.
The last big campaign was by CPRE in 2008. The proposals were rejected by the Labour government with the environment minister, Joan Ruddock, stating,
"Deposit and return schemes died out in this country because they did not make financial sense. Until their environmental benefits are clear cut, we are not currently persuaded that implementing them would be justified."
source Packaging News 16th April 2008
Interestingly that attitude appears to have changed in the Labour Party and now the main opposition parties support a scheme. They may have persuaded one of the biggest offenders, Coca-Cola, to change their policy and it appears the Conservatives are open to the idea.
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