Plastic vs ?

[W1der]

There is this this big debate going on about "plastic" and how we should use less of it.
We use way to much of this stuff so "banning" it is great!(?)

Well, what is going to replace it?
Paper/wood?

What will this lead to ... less trees on the planet?

What does the trees do ...
That´s right ... they clean the air that we breathe!

Are we planting as many new trees as we are taking down?

... *worried*

[Deadeye]

There is this this big debate going on about "plastic" and how we should use less of it.
We use way to much of this stuff so "banning" it is great!(?)

Well, what is going to replace it?
Paper/wood?

What will this lead to ... less trees on the planet?

What does the trees do ...
That´s right ... they clean the air that we breathe!

Are we planting as many new trees as we are taking down?

... *worried*

So I'm going to tread lightly here, as this is as much a political issue as it is a personal one, but I'm going to try to keep it a personal "ethics" issue as best I can. It's definitely something interesting to think about. Here it goes.

I am by no means a "tree hugger" or whatever you'd like to call it. This is simply based off of my own thoughts and experiences.

I personally think that yes, we use way to much plastic. Don't like your tap water? Guess what, you just go to the grocery store and buy a case of water in plastic bottles, and the case is wrapped in plastic. Need hardware? Just go to the hardware store. Those four or 5 bolts you are looking for are likely packaged in, you guessed it! Plastic. I could sit here all day rattling off examples like this. It is pure waste, and it disgusts me. It certainly doesn't help that so many people make pigs of themselves and just throw it wherever in the hell they please.

We really love our plastic. It really is a wonderful material. It's such an easy material to form and use however we want. I dare to say there is no other material on the planet that is as versatile and easy to work with as plastic. We certainly use too much of it too though. However, I don't see a way to outright replace it, as stated earlier. I think the best we can feasibly do is cut down our use, and reuse it when we can.

As for the solution, I don't think there is a clear-cut way to handle it. It's a very diverse issue. I know that materials such as wood and paper would not work in many applications where plastic is used. I also know that plastic is not biodegradable and oil is used to make it in many instances. Oil is a nonrenewable resource. On the flip side, wood is made from trees, which are renewable if properly maintained.

[Way2drunk2walk]

Hemp plastic.
Obviously won't replace all plastic but a step in the right direction.

[Dezza69]

Glad someone else also thought of HEMP.

HEMP based plastics bio-degrade.

And HEMP can also be used to make fuels, food (it's the most nutritious plant on the planet, containing a close to perfect for human absorbing ratio of Omega 3, 6 and 9), papers/textiles, building materials such as HEMPcrete (mildly flexing concrete), etc.

Henry Ford made a car mostly from HEMP and annual crops...

http://cbdhealthcures.com/2018/10/11/he ... years-ago/

[W1der]

I think cutting down on everything that we could do without is the key here (not only plastic).
Also, taking care of the waste in a proper way ... absolutely!

A while back i googled how many plastic straws where produced in just one day ...
If true, the numbers are mind blowing!

https://www.google.com/search?client=fi ... uced+daily

How many of these do we actually really need to use (no matter what type of material it is)?

Some plastic straws actually comes individually wrapped in paper ... !!!

[Deadeye]

A really good example I like to use of the "environmentally friendly" thing not necessarily working is also DEF. I don't know the exact makeup of it, but DEF (Diesel Exhaust Fluid) is supposed to be a non pollutant. Whether it is or not I am not entirely sure. I do know that it comes in plastic jugs. Where I work we get it by the case with about 4 jugs. Want to guess where those jugs end up?