Come on Poland

[Rhiannon]

Plastic bags are just one issue. I’m staggered by the micro plastics problem, a good deal of which is caused by acrylic fleece. Most of us I would guess own fleece products - jumpers of course, outdoor kit, pyjamas, dressing gowns, slippers, blankets and throws... fleece is durable, easy to wash, quick drying and useful. And I didn’t realise until recently how it sheds fibres during washing that are too small to be filtered out, that end up in our rivers and seas, in our drinking water and our food. We have no clue what they do to the creatures we share the planet with, or our own bodies. And I can’t even begin to think how this gets cleared up. I think it’s probably too late.

[Gonnagle]

Dear Rhiannon,

I don't think it is to late, but the world has to wake up to how serious the problem is, how do we do this, we need to hit the big guns, Tesco, ASDA, McDonalds, now how do we do this?

Once we have the message across, then I am sure we can figure out a way to start clearing up the mess we have made.

Gonnagle.

[Gonnagle]

To whom it may concern,

We are also up against,

Dow Chemical. Global sales: $49 billion. ...
Lyondell Basell. Global sales: $33 billion. ...
Exxon Mobil. Global sales: $236 billion. ...
SABIC. Global sales: $35.4 billion. ...
INEOS. Global sales: $40 billion. ...
BASF. Global sales: $63.7 billion. ...
ENI. Global sales: $61.6 billion. ...

http://www.bpf.co.uk/industry/default.aspx

So the choice is, do we choose between, profit, jobs or the Planet?

Gonnagle.

[Nearly Sane]

Not just profit, life style. What we eat, where and how often we travel. The problem isn't companies, it is humanity.

[torridon]

Yes, I'd echo that.

It is easy to blame multinationals.  Sure, big firms might be making fat profits; but they are only in business at all because we provide the demand for their goods and services.

[ippy]

Plastic bags are just one issue. I’m staggered by the micro plastics problem, a good deal of which is caused by acrylic fleece. Most of us I would guess own fleece products - jumpers of course, outdoor kit, pyjamas, dressing gowns, slippers, blankets and throws... fleece is durable, easy to wash, quick drying and useful. And I didn’t realise until recently how it sheds fibres during washing that are too small to be filtered out, that end up in our rivers and seas, in our drinking water and our food. We have no clue what they do to the creatures we share the planet with, or our own bodies. And I can’t even begin to think how this gets cleared up. I think it’s probably too late.

My reference was for almost the whole lot of plastic goods to be biodegradable, not just plastic bags.

ippy

[Harrowby Hall]

I think that we are looking rather narrowly at plastic trees and not seeing the plastic wood. I am sitting in my kitchen and using a laptop which is made largely of plastic. All that I can see is made from some form of plastic or other - the keyboard, the body, the screen. Cables contain metal wires which are encased and protected by plastic. My kettle, my coffee maker, many of my utensils and appliances contain large amounts of plastics of one kind or another. As does my television and my soundbar.

Plastic is not just packaging and bags, it is ubiquitous.

CDs and DVDs are made of plastic. Money is made of plastic. A significant proportion of the modern motor car is plastic. Clothes are made from plastic.

Without plastic much of our modern way of life would be untenable and certainly unaffordable. There is no way that a simplistic "ban plastics" strategy would even begin to be workable.

What we really need is a approach which recycles plastic materials effectively. A start would be to stop perceiving a product which when treated carelessly can create so much damage as a low cost disposable commodity. The recent refusal of China to take any more waste for disposal/recycling should be seen as a wake-up call for joined up thinking.

[Gonnagle]

Dear Harrowby,

A wake up call, what kind of wake up call, I am absolutely sure that if I popped into my local and asked them "what do you think of those pesky Chinese refusing to take our rubbish" I would be met with blank stares.

The wake up call needs to affect Joe public in some way, affect his precious civil liberties in some way.

Our kids are very savvy about this catastrophe we are creating, but adults are far to busy paying mortgages, working more and more hours and wondering who is going to win the next Z factor.

It is us who have created this tragedy, so it should be us who pay, so what kind of wake up call would it take, a tax on all things plastic, no that would only affect the poor, it has to be something which affects us all.

Gonnagle.

[floo]

Getting back to Sunday trading, I was surprised to discover the Specsavers franchise, where my husband and have our eye tests, are open from 10.30 am - 4pm on a Sunday. Actually that will be quite convenient for us, our new specs are due for collection tomorrow, but as Saturdays are so busy, picking them up on Sunday would be much more convenient. That is providing there is no white stuff falling from the sky, as I don't like to drive in snow.

[Nearly Sane]

I see that Stewart McDonald's bill as regard unpaid trial shifts was talked out by govt