More plastic than fish?!

[Sriram]

Hi everyone,

Here is a CNN article about an estimate that by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the oceans.

http://money.cnn.com/2016/01/19/news/economy/davos-plastic-ocean-fish/index.html?sr=cnnmoneybin011916davosfish0400story

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The world is flooded with plastic garbage.

There will be more plastic than fish in terms of weight in the world's oceans by 2050, the World Economic Forum warned Tuesday.

Almost everybody in the world comes into contact with it -- over a quarter of all plastic is used for packaging, the most popular use of the material.

But only 14% of plastic packaging is collected for recycling. The reuse rate is terrible compared to other materials -- 58% of paper and up to 90% of iron and steel gets recycled.

It gets worse. Almost a third of all plastic packaging escapes collection systems and ends up in nature or clogging up infrastructure.

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Cheers.

Sriram

[Nearly Sane]

Looks like we better get used to plastic and chips, as long as it's deep fried, I am sure we can get a market for it.


More seriously, I don't understand why there is an assumption from some political views that looking to do something about the effects of the numbers of us and how we use resources is somehow mad.

[Enki]

Couldn't agree more, Sriram. We need to do more, much more. There are some slightly more hopeful signs however. The recent trend towards biodegradable plastic is one. The move towards paying for plastic bags at supermarkets(which tends towards cutting plastic consumption) is another. On a purely local level, we conduct period sweeps of the Spurn/Humber Estuary coast/river line collecting all plastic washed up by the tide. The amount collected is always mindnumbingly large.

[Sriram]

Couldn't agree more, Sriram. We need to do more, much more. There are some slightly more hopeful signs however. The recent trend towards biodegradable plastic is one. The move towards paying for plastic bags at supermarkets(which tends towards cutting plastic consumption) is another. On a purely local level, we conduct period sweeps of the Spurn/Humber Estuary coast/river line collecting all plastic washed up by the tide. The amount collected is always mindnumbingly large.

Paying for the plastic bags doesn't help. Its a small amount and everyone ends up taking a bag anyway.   Plastic bags should be banned.  Period.

We carried cloth/jute bags to buy stuff in the olden days. Can't see why we can't today. My wife always carries a cloth bag in her handbag and refuses the plastic bag every time. 

About water and Coke etc..... no idea what to do.

[Nearly Sane]

Paying for the plastic bags doesn't help. Its a small amount and everyone ends up taking a bag anyway.   Plastic bags should be banned.  Period.

We carried cloth/jute bags to buy stuff in the olden days. Can't see why we can't today. My wife always carries a cloth bag in her handbag and refuses the plastic bag every time. 

About water and Coke etc..... no idea what to do.

  I would go with your argument against plastic bags if you didn't make a false case. Your position argues that charging for them doesn't have any effect, it does. You want to base the argument on that that effect isn't enough.

[Enki]

Paying for the plastic bags doesn't help. Its a small amount and everyone ends up taking a bag anyway.   Plastic bags should be banned.  Period.

We carried cloth/jute bags to buy stuff in the olden days. Can't see why we can't today. My wife always carries a cloth bag in her handbag and refuses the plastic bag every time. 

About water and Coke etc..... no idea what to do.

I don't agree, Sriram. In Ireland a carrier bag tax was introduced in 2002. This led to a 90% reduction in the number of single use plastic bags, and a reduction in plastic bag litter from around 5% to 0.22%. Also, I didn't suggest this was the answer to the problem that you've outlined, but that it is a step in the right direction.

Incidentally we use re-usable cloth and jute bag also.

[Sriram]

Well...in India we haven't found any dramatic effect due to charging for plastic bags. When a person shops for about Rs.500-1000 or more....paying an additional Rs.3 is no big deal.   

Some people choose to carry their own bags anyway. Fold able cloth bags that fit easily into ladies handbags help. 

[Nearly Sane]

Well...in India we haven't found any dramatic effect due to charging for plastic bags. When a person shops for about Rs.500-1000 or more....paying an additional Rs.3 is no big deal.   

Some people choose to carry their own bags anyway. Fold able cloth bags that fit easily into ladies handbags help.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-34575364