Global pushback against plastic packaging accelerates

by **mrswdk** on Tue Aug 20, 2019 11:28 am

Progressive countries across Europe, Africa and Asia have taken the lead in saying no to needlessly generating billions of tons of plastic bag waste every year:

Sainsbury's has become the first UK supermarket to remove plastic for its loose fruit, vegetables and bakery items.

By September, paper bags will be available to customers for loose bakery items. Customers buying loose fruit and vegetables will either be able to bring their own bags or buy a re-usable bag made from recycled materials.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/0 ... ags-fruit/

Waitrose is starting a trial aimed at reducing packaging by removing plastic from flowers and plants and offering more loose fruit and vegetables.

Customers will be able to use their own containers to buy and refill produce such as pasta, rice and cereals.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-48498346

A Thailand supermarket came up with a genius way to reduce plastic packaging: wrap its produce in banana leaves instead.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace ... cafa0e7102

Bangladesh passed the first bag ban in 2002, putting the lie to the argument against bans and taxes because they disproportionately harm poor nations and poor people, who rely on free, inexpensive and sturdy sacks to carry goods and store belongings. The African continent now leads the world in bag regulations, with 34 countries adopting taxes or bans‒31 of them in sub-Saharan Africa, the world’s poorest region. Kenya’s penalties are the world’s most punitive, with manufacturers, importers, distributors, and users facing up to $38,000 in fines or four years in prison.

In Denmark, which passed the world’s first bag tax in 1993, residents use, on average, four plastic bags per year. By contrast, in the United States, which is the largest generator, per capita, of plastic packaging waste, Americans use almost one bag per person daily.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/envi ... pollution/

by **nietzsche** on Tue Aug 20, 2019 12:36 pm

my costumers get all the plastic bags they want.

you put in a plastic bag 6 items that all come in its own plastic wrapping. but the problem is the 1 plastic bag?

by **Lord Arioch** on Tue Aug 20, 2019 12:49 pm

So she hates cows ... man ur not animal friendly

by **NomadPatriot** on Tue Aug 20, 2019 12:58 pm

majority of rives that dump plastic into the oceans are located in Europe, Asia & Africa... so it's about time they took ownership of the problem they create..

by **waauw** on Tue Aug 20, 2019 1:59 pm

NomadPatriot wrote:majority of rives that dump plastic into the oceans are located in Europe, Asia & Africa... so it's about time they took ownership of the problem they create..

Europe? It's mostly Asia. Here's a map of the most plastic polluted rivers in the world:

Click image to enlarge.

by **mrswdk** on Tue Aug 20, 2019 4:31 pm

nietzsche wrote:my costumers get all the plastic bags they want.

you put in a plastic bag 6 items that all come in its own plastic wrapping. but the problem is the 1 plastic bag?

That is why several of the articles in my OP concern shops that are removing plastic packaging from many of their products.

The worst is when you go to some countries and they have a plastic bag containing food items, then you open the plastic back and each food item is separately wrapped in its own plastic. You might as well just dynamite all the world's fish now and be done with it.

by **mrswdk** on Thu Aug 22, 2019 5:36 am

Surprise surprise, Amazon has decided it would rather make a quick buck at the expense of the planet than join the global green revolution:

Amazon has come under fire for introducing a range of plastic packaging that cannot be recycled in the UK. The company, which ships more than four billion packages a year around the world, has replaced cardboard packaging with bubble-lined plastic bags for its Prime service deliveries, which it states are “not widely recycled across the UK”. Customers have labelled the move a “major step backwards”. The number of single-use plastic bags sold in the main supermarket chains has fallen by more than 90% since the introduction of the 5p charge in 2015.

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/news/amaz ... e-3968761/

by **Jdsizzleslice** on Thu Aug 22, 2019 7:06 am

NomadPatriot wrote:majority of rives that dump plastic into the oceans are located in Europe, Asia & Africa... so it's about time they took ownership of the problem they create..

Europe doesn't really dump plastic into bodies of water. It is mostly Africa, then Asia. Some of the countries located in these continents do not even have pollution prevention standards!

by **Keefie** on Thu Aug 22, 2019 7:14 am

60% of the worlds ocean plastic pollution comes from just 5 countries

China
Thailand
Indonesia
Phillipines
Vietnam

by **mrswdk** on Thu Aug 22, 2019 7:57 am

Keefie wrote:60% of the worlds ocean plastic pollution comes from just 5 countries

China
Thailand
Indonesia
Phillipines
Vietnam

I will see your un-referenced list, and raise you these lists that cite actual data and research:

In the chart below we see the per capita rate of plastic waste generation, measured in kilograms per person per day. Here we see differences of around an order of magnitude: daily per capita plastic waste across the highest countries – Kuwait, Guyana, Germany, Netherlands, Ireland, the United States – is more than ten times higher than across many countries such as India, Tanzania, Mozambique and Bangladesh.

With the largest population, China produced the largest quantity of plastic, at nearly 60 million tonnes. This was followed by the United States at 38 million, Germany at 14.5 million and Brazil at 12 million tonnes.

https://ourworldindata.org/plastic-pollution

As you say, has China accounted for something like a quarter of the world's 'mismanaged' plastic waste (waste that is disposed of in such a way that it might end up in waterways) and several other Asian countries also contribute a disproportionate amount. Proportionally, though, it's not actually producing that much plastic waste, but importing plastic waste from other countries (as the article acknowledges).

Basically, historically countries like the US and Germany have produced all the plastic waste and then dumped anything they couldn't handle on China. The developed world produced plastic, then fudged their data by chucking all their waste at China and making China look like the big polluter. Since 2017, however, the Chinese government has banned such imports; I wonder what those figures would look like if updated for 2019.

by **nietzsche** on Thu Aug 22, 2019 8:10 am

big deal, get one million roombas to vacuum the sea.

and if they find a fish, they give it a little massage, and say something like "we're sorry for your mommy"

this is like... the gayest topic. because it's like "ohh wow.. OMG, poor dolphins.. yeah you shouldn't get more bags.. yeah you can carry 15 items in your arms Mike..."

i mean.. it's a lot of fucking talk no action. Personally, when I find i have to do something because something is really bad.. if i stay analising the best way to go about it i just get anxious and go to the home depot to buy tools and plan and never fix anything becuse there might be another solution that's smarter. But if i get immediatly into fixing it, i might not even need any tools.. it isn't that of a big deal after all, and i fucking feel awesome to take something out of my head that easily.

so get a fucking plan and do it. and stop being gay about it.

i guess what really bothers me is the amount of idiots i've heard going on about the plastic bags? and it's not that they care, but that they're so stupid.. they only fucking care because tehre's an ad campaign now that moved them, about a little dolphin they found dead with his nose/mouth wathever that is tied with a plastic beer thing. well, and that would be ok.. if they were moved and decided to do their little thing for the world.. but the talk, and the way they talk about it? it's so freaking annoying. they don't have more than 4 neurons. If people jsut thought a bit. Instead of fucking repeating what they hear. In the gayest manner.

It's like those fucking millenial nerds.. or wanna be nerds actually.. they aren't even semi smart to be nerds. yes, because nerds aren't really smart, they're just nerds. so fucking gay.

i swear i hope all people in this earth died. all but me and some 20 hot women from 20-25. One that's a really good cook also.

so, all in all, it's a problem, but stop being gay about it and fix it and i don't fucking want to hear you going on about this again. you sound gay. don't mention any dolphins either.

by **mrswdk** on Thu Aug 22, 2019 8:13 am

nietzsche wrote:big deal, get one million roombas to vacuum the sea.

and if they find a fish, they give it a little massage, and say something like "we're sorry for your mommy"

this is like... the gayest topic. because it's like "ohh wow.. OMG, poor dolphins.. yeah you shouldn't get more bags.. yeah you can carry 15 items in your arms Mike..."

i mean.. it's a lot of fucking talk no action. Personally, when I find i have to do something because something is really bad.. if i stay analising the best way to go about it i just get anxious and go to the home depot to buy tools and plan and never fix anything becuse there might be another solution that's smarter. But if i get immediatly into fixing it, i might not even need any tools.. it isn't that of a big deal after all, and i fucking feel awesome to take something out of my head that easily.

so get a fucking plan and do it. and stop being gay about it.

i guess what really bothers me is the amount of idiots i've heard going on about the plastic bags? and it's not that they care, but that they're so stupid.. they only fucking care because tehre's an ad campaign now that moved them, about a little dolphin they found dead with his nose/mouth wathever that is tied with a plastic beer thing. well, and that would be ok.. if they were moved and decided to do their little thing for the world.. but the talk, and the way they talk about it? it's so freaking annoying. they don't have more than 4 neurons. If people jsut thought a bit. Instead of fucking repeating what they hear. In the gayest manner.

It's like those fucking millenial nerds.. or wanna be nerds actually.. they aren't even semi smart to be nerds. yes, because nerds aren't really smart, they're just nerds. so fucking gay.

i swear i hope all people in this earth died. all but me and some 20 hot women from 20-25. One that's a really good cook also.

so, all in all, it's a problem, but stop being gay about it and fix it and i don't fucking want to hear you going on about this again. you sound gay. don't mention any dolphins either.

In summary, you agree it's a problem but think that the key to change is for no one to talk about it ever?

Also people haven't used the word 'gay' as an insult for at least 10 years now. Get with the times, brah.

by **mrswdk** on Thu Aug 22, 2019 8:47 am

Right on cue:

Nepal is banning single-use plastic on and around Mount Everest in a bid to cut down on the region's trash problem.

Nepalese authorities said they will ban plastic soft drink bottles and single-use plastics under 30 microns thick (0.0012 inches, or 0.03 millimeter) in the Khumbu region, which is home to Everest. The ban will prevent hikers from bringing the plastic goods in -- and stop shops from selling them.

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/08/22/asia ... index.html

by **NomadPatriot** on Thu Aug 22, 2019 11:10 am

today I bought groceries.. but instead of throwing away the plastic bags. I went outside & the cool wind was blowing.. so I opened up the bags and set them free. .
FREE TO FLY THROUGH THE AIR
FREE TO SEE THE WORLD
FREE TO EXPLORE THE PLANET...
and as they drifted away over the trees...
I knew I had done a good thing

by **mrswdk** on Fri Aug 23, 2019 4:04 am

I think the world already realises that the future is going to have to happen without America's participation, but thanks for your input NP.

by **waauw** on Fri Aug 23, 2019 6:55 am

NomadPatriot wrote:today I bought groceries.. but instead of throwing away the plastic bags. I went outside & the cool wind was blowing.. so I opened up the bags and set them free. .
FREE TO FLY THROUGH THE AIR
FREE TO SEE THE WORLD
FREE TO EXPLORE THE PLANET...
and as they drifted away over the trees...
I knew I had done a good thing

You really are a walking stereotype, aren't you?

by **riskllama** on Fri Aug 23, 2019 9:30 am

i don't think he walks all that much, waauw...

by **mrswdk** on Fri Aug 23, 2019 10:11 am

riskllama wrote:i don't think he walks all that much, waauw...

by **nietzsche** on Fri Aug 23, 2019 10:20 am

that picture depicts something so real it's not even funny.

i mean, the machine gun might be a stretch, but don't be surprised if soon, by law, walmart is required to provide a docking station for firearms in those carts because, you know, people must be allowed the freedom to protect themselves with guns.

by **NomadPatriot** on Fri Aug 23, 2019 10:28 am

Ma'aM has resorted to Ableism.... ( making fun of the disabled...)
but not surprised honestly...

-------------------

if countries ban single use plastics.. this means no more Ziploc bags.. no more plastic trash bags, food can be factory sealed in plastic wrap, hospitals cannot have sterilized instruments hermetically sealed...

if a country wants to revert itself back to the 1850's.. they won't last long... disease, contagion, infection & insects will destroy them within a few decades.

good luck with that

by **mrswdk** on Fri Aug 23, 2019 11:00 am

Plastics only really became popularized in the 1960s.

But, I hear you NP. If hospitals don't have plastic bags to throw out old needles then they will have to go back to standard 1940s practice of simply sticking the old needle into the nearest passer-by's arm and letting them walk out of the hospital with it.

by **NomadPatriot** on Fri Aug 23, 2019 11:39 am

mrswdk wrote:Plastics only really became popularized in the 1960s.

But, I hear you NP. If hospitals don't have plastic bags to throw out old needles then they will have to go back to standard 1940s practice of simply sticking the old needle into the nearest passer-by's arm and letting them walk out of the hospital with it.

used needles do not get tossed into plastic bags genius.. but then again. .plastic needles would be a single use plastic.. and thus banned ..

by **tzor** on Fri Aug 23, 2019 12:20 pm

So let's stop needling each other (literally) and get to the real meat of the problem (wait, wrong thread, let's get into the polymers of the problem).
Europe does stuff because it's bureaucrats are actually defective care bears so we can ignore them. Plastic Pollution by Hannah Ritchie and Max Roser has a lot of nice charts. I'll look at one. Unfortunately, I can't directly link it but I'll try to download and then upload to my site.

Click image to enlarge.

Share of global mismanaged waste, 2010
Global share of mismanaged plastic waste derived from a given country. Mismanaged waste is the sum of littered or
inadequately disposed waste. Inadequately disposed waste is not formally managed and includes disposal in dumps or
open, uncontrolled landfills, where it is not fully contained. Mismanaged waste could eventually enter the ocean via
inland waterways, wastewater outflows, and transport by wind or tides.

Why look at that, China ... 27% and the United States 0.86%

Here we see a very strong geographical clustering of mismanaged plastic waste, a high share of the world's ocean plastics pollution has its origin in Asia. China contributes the highest share of mismanaged plastic waste with around 28 percent of the global total, followed by 10 percent in Indonesia, 6 percent for both the Philippines and Vietnam. Other leading countries include Thailand (3.2 percent); Egypt (3 percent); Nigeria (2.7 percent) and South Africa (2 percent). We discuss why such countries have high mismanaged plastic waste rates later in this entry.

Whilst many countries across Europe and North America had high rates of per capita plastic generation, once corrected for waste management, their contribution to mismanaged waste at risk of ocean pollution is significantly lower.

If we aim to address the ocean plastic problem, an understanding of this global picture is important. It highlights the fundamental role of waste management in preventing ocean pollution; whilst countries across North America and Europe generate significant quantities of plastic waste (particularly on a per capita basis), well-managed waste streams mean that very little of this is at risk of ocean pollution. In fact, if North America & Europe were to completely eliminate plastic use, global mismanaged plastic would decline by less than 5 percent.

But by all means, let's go crazy in the United States and Europe because ... er ... reasons?

by **Dukasaur** on Fri Aug 23, 2019 3:25 pm

tzor wrote: Plastic Pollution by Hannah Ritchie and Max Roser has a lot of nice charts.

Thanks, it's a good site. I found a lot of interesting discussions there.

Here we see a very strong geographical clustering of mismanaged plastic waste, a high share of the world's ocean plastics pollution has its origin in Asia. China contributes the highest share of mismanaged plastic waste with around 28 percent of the global total, followed by 10 percent in Indonesia, 6 percent for both the Philippines and Vietnam. Other leading countries include Thailand (3.2 percent); Egypt (3 percent); Nigeria (2.7 percent) and South Africa (2 percent). We discuss why such countries have high mismanaged plastic waste rates later in this entry.

Whilst many countries across Europe and North America had high rates of per capita plastic generation, once corrected for waste management, their contribution to mismanaged waste at risk of ocean pollution is significantly lower.

I don't think it's any mystery why relatively poor countries who have industrialized much more recently than the West have relatively poor waste management infrastructure. It's because they've industrialized more recently than we have and are still relatively poor. Good infrastructure takes time and money.

From the same site:

Prior to 1980, recycling and incineration of plastic was negligible; 100 percent was therefore discarded. From 1980 for incineration, and 1990 for recycling, rates increased on average by about 0.7 percent per year.4 In 2015, an estimated 55 percent of global plastic waste was discarded, 25 percent was incinerated, and 20 percent recycled.

All the progress that has been made on recycling plastics has been made only in the last 40 years. 40 years ago, Europe and North America were already wealthy; Asia was still dirt poor. Large parts of it still are. While here in the West we've been able to ride the forefront of environmentalism, in Asia most countries until recently were still worried about how to keep everybody fed. As they get wealthier, they have more money to spare for things like cleaner infrastructure, which we've had since the beginning.

tzor wrote:But by all means, let's go crazy in the United States and Europe because ... er ... reasons?

I wouldn't characterize showing leadership as "going crazy." We're ahead of the curve. That's a bad thing? Is it a bad thing for the runner who leads the marathon to keep running?

China is quite a ways behind, but is showing real interest in cleaning up the environment in the last 10 years or so. Malaysia, Vietnam, the Phillipines, are just waking up. India is still worried about how to feed its people, doesn't really have the environment on the priority list, but it will sooner or later. Should we sit on our hands and not continue to improve our record just because theirs is worse? We had a head start, of course we have a better record. Let's keep getting better!