Reading “The Problem with Plastic”
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Sounds like taxing plastic works
“In 1994, Denmark took federal action by placing a tax on plastic bags—the first in the world!47 If you're skeptical about the efficacy of plastic-reduction policies, you might want to sit down for this: Danes use an average of four plastic bags a year—FOUR!48 Americans, meanwhile, average 365 bags a year-literally one bag per day. “
“In 2021, plastic was found in the human placenta.57 The year 2022 brought an uncomfortable flurry of scientific studies that, to name a few, discovered plastic in human breast milk,58 blood,59 feces,60 and urine. 61 In 2023, it was found in human testicles and carotid arteries. 2 In 2024, it was found in arteries leading to the human heart and in the heart itself, the uterus, and even the brain.63”
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“In 2021, plastic was found in the human placenta.57 The year 2022 brought an uncomfortable flurry of scientific studies that, to name a few, discovered plastic in human breast milk,58 blood,59 feces,60 and urine. 61 In 2023, it was found in human testicles and carotid arteries. 2 In 2024, it was found in arteries leading to the human heart and in the heart itself, the uterus, and even the brain.63”
“Nearly all of the top ten most commonly found items in worldwide coastal cleanups in 2023 were single-use plastic products, including beverage bottles, food wrappers, bags, food containers, cups, plates, straws, stirrers, and cigarette butts (which have plastic”
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“Nearly all of the top ten most commonly found items in worldwide coastal cleanups in 2023 were single-use plastic products, including beverage bottles, food wrappers, bags, food containers, cups, plates, straws, stirrers, and cigarette butts (which have plastic”
“Estimate … plastics contribute … $250 billion to annual US healthcare costs”
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“Nearly all of the top ten most commonly found items in worldwide coastal cleanups in 2023 were single-use plastic products, including beverage bottles, food wrappers, bags, food containers, cups, plates, straws, stirrers, and cigarette butts (which have plastic”
“If you remember one thing from this chapter, let it be this: Don't microwave food in plastic. "Microwave-safe" doesn't mean safe for the consumer—it just means the container won't melt or fall apart.”
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“If you remember one thing from this chapter, let it be this: Don't microwave food in plastic. "Microwave-safe" doesn't mean safe for the consumer—it just means the container won't melt or fall apart.”
“A study of a recycling plant in the United Kingdom found that up to 13 percent of the plastic waste coming in ends up as microplastics escaping into the environment. Even with filters installed to capture some of the microplastics, 6 percent of the incoming waste is still lost to the environment.”
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“A study of a recycling plant in the United Kingdom found that up to 13 percent of the plastic waste coming in ends up as microplastics escaping into the environment. Even with filters installed to capture some of the microplastics, 6 percent of the incoming waste is still lost to the environment.”
“Research shows that a standard cafeteria tray can be reused about 260 times per year, lasting four years before it needs replacement. Switching to reusable trays doesn't just help the planet-it saves money too.”
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“Research shows that a standard cafeteria tray can be reused about 260 times per year, lasting four years before it needs replacement. Switching to reusable trays doesn't just help the planet-it saves money too.”
“Refilling bottles and jars is another form of source reduction. In Oregon, Canada, and parts of Europe, wine, beer, and other beverages are packaged in sturdy glass bottles that can be refilled, able to withstand multiple washings. At the consumer level, "refilleries" and grocery stores can stock food, personal care products, and cleaning products in bulk, and allow customers to bring their own containers back to refill.”
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“Refilling bottles and jars is another form of source reduction. In Oregon, Canada, and parts of Europe, wine, beer, and other beverages are packaged in sturdy glass bottles that can be refilled, able to withstand multiple washings. At the consumer level, "refilleries" and grocery stores can stock food, personal care products, and cleaning products in bulk, and allow customers to bring their own containers back to refill.”
“Plastics recycling was built as a public relations strategy, not a real solution. That doesn't mean we should stop recycling altogether, but it does mean we need to shift our focus.”
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“Plastics recycling was built as a public relations strategy, not a real solution. That doesn't mean we should stop recycling altogether, but it does mean we need to shift our focus.”
“In Cancer Alley— an eighty-five-mile stretch of the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where residents have some of the highest cancer rates in the country—a single petrochemical complex can consume more than 1,500 football fields of land.”
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“Research shows that a standard cafeteria tray can be reused about 260 times per year, lasting four years before it needs replacement. Switching to reusable trays doesn't just help the planet-it saves money too.”
@shafik Wait, are single-use trays a thing?
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“The impact of Silent Spring extended far beyond its immediate influence, ultimately leading to the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970. It's worth pausing to reflect on this: A woman is directly responsible for the establishment of our country's Environmental Protection Agency. At a time when women were not allowed to have a credit card, serve on a jury, use birth control, or attend an Ivy League college, Rachel Carson demanded to be heard, and she changed history.”
@shafik Just as amazingly, the president who created the EPA was Richard Nixon.
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The word litterbug came from the plastic industry trying to deflect blame onto consumers.
@shafik See also "jaywalkers", namely people who think that they have rights on the streets.
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“Refilling bottles and jars is another form of source reduction. In Oregon, Canada, and parts of Europe, wine, beer, and other beverages are packaged in sturdy glass bottles that can be refilled, able to withstand multiple washings. At the consumer level, "refilleries" and grocery stores can stock food, personal care products, and cleaning products in bulk, and allow customers to bring their own containers back to refill.”
@shafik I bought a bottle of soy sauce this week which can be refilled. I wonder if I will have to produce the receipt (which I discarded) to do so.
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@shafik Wait, are single-use trays a thing?
Apparently
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“In Cancer Alley— an eighty-five-mile stretch of the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where residents have some of the highest cancer rates in the country—a single petrochemical complex can consume more than 1,500 football fields of land.”
🤯 they use it to de-ice?!
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“Plastics recycling was built as a public relations strategy, not a real solution. That doesn't mean we should stop recycling altogether, but it does mean we need to shift our focus.”
@shafik is there much detail of the petroleum industry's involvement in all of this?
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@shafik is there much detail of the petroleum industry's involvement in all of this?
yes, I started running out of steam, she has a whole chapter on it.
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🤯 they use it to de-ice?!
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@shafik I do wonder what "chemical features" are. Nitrogen? CO2? Latex?
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R relay@relay.an.exchange shared this topic
