Quote:
Originally Posted by frayedends
We have towns in MA that don’t allow plastic bags. So they put my laundry detergent (plastic jug), produce (plastic bags), vegetable oil (plastic container) and everything else packaged in plastic into a weak paper bag that’s hard to carry and tears open.
Not to mention, our eyeglasses are plastic, our shoes, our clothes, desks, cars have tons of plastic, computers are plastic, k-cups are plastic, aluminum cans are lined with plastic, windows, siding, picture frames, plugs. It's in everything.
I think plastic is a big problem. I just don’t see supermarket bags doing much at all.
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All true.
Just a couple of other things to add to that list. Styrofoam, which is extruded polystyrene foam (AKA "plastic") is one of the biggest "offenders" when it comes to plastic. It is one of the best insulating materials around. I insulated my garage with it back in Minnesota a few years back--easy to work with; comes in 4' x 8' sheets in whatever thickness you want depending on the insulating property being sought. Styrofoam is everywhere; not just in building construction or remodeling. Just about every large item ordered from Amazon, Costco, etc. comes packaged in the stuff: light, cushioning and can be formed to exactly the shape needed. There are probably dozens of examples as well. Problem with Styrofoam though is that it doesn't degrade, or degrades very slowly, in landfills, plus you can't recycle the stuff. In fact landfills are composed of anywhere from 25% to 35%, by volume, of Styrofoam.
And that doesn't even include the other "offender", expanded polystyrene (EPS), which is used to make all those cups, containers, to-go boxes and bags, etc. etc. etc. that people think are styrofoam but isn't, used once and then tossed by both businesses and consumers, to the tune of eleven million TONS of the stuff. Every year. It might not be Styrofoam but it degrades just as slowly as Styrofoam. And like Styrofoam, it is non-recyclable.
Looking at the problem from that perspective, burning both the styrofoam and expanded polystyrene and turning it into energy, such as is being done here in The Villages, makes a lot of sense. You're getting energy from something that would otherwise just lay in the ground not just taking up space for decades but at the same time leaching harmful chemicals back into the soil. MUCH better to get rid of it by using it as fuel for electricity.
This is just one of the reasons I am so amused by those anti-plastic bag crusaders and their unthinking mantras. It is a great way to show others of like mind how virtuous they may be, I suppose, but in the grand scheme of things it carries all the weight of, say, a spat of flatulence in mid-Katrina.