How do you reduce the use of plastic? (1 Viewer)

[athenaaa]

The two most common types of plastic used is plastic bags and plastic bottles. Plastic bags are used at a rate of 1 million uses per minute. If everyone in the US combined their annual use of plastic bags and lined up the plastic bags they consumed, it would reach around the earth 776 times.

Are there ways that you reduce plastic use in your daily life? I got myself a new reusable water bottle, I used reusable bags for groceries, we reuse milk bags (the big ones that encase all three)​

 

[eclipsoul]

i use paper bags more than plastic and no longer buy any polyester clothes, but honestly that's it. i was extremely worried about my plastic usage for a long period in my life but then i realised that none of what i do really matters as long as there are billionaires flying their private jets just because they feel like it.

 

[athenaaa]

i use paper bags more than plastic and no longer buy any polyester clothes, but honestly that's it. i was extremely worried about my plastic usage for a long period in my life but then i realised that none of what i do really matters as long as there are billionaires flying their private jets just because they feel like it.

Thats so true, big money spenders and big corporations honestly don’t give two shits about plastic use.

 

[LoveYooShaSha]

The two most common types of plastic used is plastic bags and plastic bottles. Plastic bags are used at a rate of 1 million uses per minute. If everyone in the US combined their annual use of plastic bags and lined up the plastic bags they consumed, it would reach around the earth 776 times.

Are there ways that you reduce plastic use in your daily life? I got myself a new reusable water bottle, I used reusable bags for groceries, we reuse milk bags (the big ones that encase all three)​

If u read about the recycle/reduce/reuse PR tat plastic companies made up in the 90s, u would lose hope tat plastic usage/pollution will ever be lowered.

Microplastics/plastic toxicity will only grow n mitigation by individuals is a drop in the bucket.

I bought glass containers to takeaway food in 2020 but the effort to clean n reuse every day was too much effort after some while.

Industrial use/factory production overwhelms individual efforts. Only reduction of production/industrial usage would affect the microplastics/plastic toxicity already I the oceans/life on earth and it's never ending spread. I hvnt given up but it's very freeing to realise it's quite ineffective to reduce when individually one person or a group of normal people can only do so little/contribute so little to microplastic production/plastic toxicity compared to factory production/company pollution. I think iv stopped fighting/worrying about my efforts and tell myself I started worrying/caring when I learned of Earth Day when worldwide awareness grew in the 90s(1991?) n 35 yrs is long enuf to care/worry when 7 billion other people on earth don't care/worry(ok maybe not 7 billion but 1 against X billion means I can't affect the end result so I'll just live 1 day at a time n in a billion yrs earth will overflow with plastic n no human life or bacteria will eat all the plastic anyway n I won't hv affected the end 1 way or the other.

8 billion or maybe 10 billion ppl in 50 yrs is not sthg I can affect when it comes to plastic pollution/microplastic affecting life! In fact I use plastic bottles instead of buying bottled water from convenience stores n I think everything I wash my reusable bottles, a little plastic is corroded every time-maybe not much just a few molecules but it adds up. Unless u use metal and glass there's no avoiding contributing to plastic pollution/microplastic buildup. Or if u live in the wilderness n don't hv any plastic at all/live off the grid. But even then water tanks/plastic will still be with u smh!

 

[centen]

I get everyone else's point about how billionaires and major companies are the main polluters, but after watching the Buy Now documentary on Netflix, I personally can't stomach the idea of #yolo and indulging in the wasteful culture. Companies make this garbage because people buy it.

I try to have a mindset of buy it for life, and now that I know better, I've been replacing my nonstick cookware with cast iron as it wears out. (Isn't that gross??? They sold us on disposable cookware!) I carry bags with me to go shopping, and if I do have to get a plastic bag, I reuse it by donating it to the local animal shelter for their use in managing animal waste. I never buy "vegan leather" (which is a funny way to rebrand "plastic clothing") and avoid synthetic clothing in general.

Yeah, it's not going to counter balance Taylor Swift's jet usage, but IDK, the idea of buying something that it exists solely for a limited use and then to throw it "away" (which just means, in our ground, in our air, in our water) is gross to me.

/minor soapbox

 

[Selfmate]

we don't really have that problem down under since plastic bags and plastic containers and plastic straws are banned

also for plastic bottles there is a 10c surcharge levied on each plastic bottle but is also subject to a 10c refund on said containers when you bring the plastic bottles to a dedicated recycling center

 

[Ahsoka]

I get everyone else's point about how billionaires and major companies are the main polluters, but after watching the Buy Now documentary on Netflix, I personally can't stomach the idea of #yolo and indulging in the wasteful culture. Companies make this garbage because people buy it.

I try to have a mindset of buy it for life, and now that I know better, I've been replacing my nonstick cookware with cast iron as it wears out. (Isn't that gross??? They sold us on disposable cookware!) I carry bags with me to go shopping, and if I do have to get a plastic bag, I reuse it by donating it to the local animal shelter for their use in managing animal waste. I never buy "vegan leather" (which is a funny way to rebrand "plastic clothing") and avoid synthetic clothing in general.

Yeah, it's not going to counter balance Taylor Swift's jet usage, but IDK, the idea of buying something that it exists solely for a limited use and then to throw it "away" (which just means, in our ground, in our air, in our water) is gross to me.

/minor soapbox

I get feeling like your contributions aren’t as big and that those with the bigger contributions won’t do their part, making yours feel moot. And I do feel like there’s more emphasis on average people to change and less on big corporations and such, but I don’t see why people don’t view it more as we should put more pressure on the big corporations while simultaneously reducing our own. But at the same time I can understand feeling frustrated and demotivated because of how little of a change the average person can make compared to the total plastic used and such.

 

[centen]

I get feeling like your contributions aren’t as big and that those with the bigger contributions won’t do their part, making yours feel moot. And I do feel like there’s more emphasis on average people to change and less on big corporations and such, but I don’t see why people don’t view it more as we should put more pressure on the big corporations while simultaneously reducing our own. But at the same time I can understand feeling frustrated and demotivated because of how little of a change the average person can make compared to the total plastic used and such.

In a lot of ways, this reminds me of how people feel like voting doesn't matter. Like sure, most likely, one individual vote is not the difference between who wins. But when you see the results, in some races, a hundred people made the difference.

It's frustrating when there are a small handful of people who have such an outsized impact, but I also think small pieces add up a lot too. Which may be why I don't find it demotivating to try to do my part. Like one person throwing an apple on a ground is not going to cover the city with garbage, but 10% of the population? 20%? Or how book bans are driven by tiny numbers, like 11 people were responsible for the majority of bans. I remember seeing one city had ONE person who got 444 books removed.

So I think there's also an element of how you can be that one person, but in a positive way.

 

[Ahsoka]

In a lot of ways, this reminds me of how people feel like voting doesn't matter. Like sure, most likely, one individual vote is not the difference between who wins. But when you see the results, in some races, a hundred people made the difference.

It's frustrating when there are a small handful of people who have such an outsized impact, but I also think small pieces add up a lot too. Which may be why I don't find it demotivating to try to do my part. Like one person throwing an apple on a ground is not going to cover the city with garbage, but 10% of the population? 20%? Or how book bans are driven by tiny numbers, like 11 people were responsible for the majority of bans. I remember seeing one city had ONE person who got 444 books removed.

So I think there's also an element of how you can be that one person, but in a positive way.

Sure but if there’s no conceivable situation in which your state doesn’t vote one way, then your vote doesn’t matter. For a decent number of states that’s the case, and politicians know it: that’s why they promote almost exclusively in a minor of the states. For the small bits adding up yes, that happens. But that’s not an actually contingent on you doing your part, it’s more contingent on you convincing others to also do their part. If you quietly pick up trash and no one else does, it remains a small part. Additionally, if the waste from big companies is enough to doom the planet, and they do nothing while the public does something, the planet is still doomed. I’m not saying I think that’s true or that I don’t think people should do their part, but the idea of looking at it negatively isn’t necessarily not based in any reality. A positive outlook would help, but that’s true of many aspects of life and not possible for everyone.

 

[eclipsoul]

I get everyone else's point about how billionaires and major companies are the main polluters, but after watching the Buy Now documentary on Netflix, I personally can't stomach the idea of #yolo and indulging in the wasteful culture. Companies make this garbage because people buy it.

I try to have a mindset of buy it for life, and now that I know better, I've been replacing my nonstick cookware with cast iron as it wears out. (Isn't that gross??? They sold us on disposable cookware!) I carry bags with me to go shopping, and if I do have to get a plastic bag, I reuse it by donating it to the local animal shelter for their use in managing animal waste. I never buy "vegan leather" (which is a funny way to rebrand "plastic clothing") and avoid synthetic clothing in general.

Yeah, it's not going to counter balance Taylor Swift's jet usage, but IDK, the idea of buying something that it exists solely for a limited use and then to throw it "away" (which just means, in our ground, in our air, in our water) is gross to me.

/minor soapbox

i agree with you on that - the way overconsumption has become so normalised and even promoted in the modern age is really sad to see. like when i see those social media videos with people using 20893748273 "skincare" products before going to sleep or those shein hauls with clothes that will end up in the landfill by the next month, it makes my blood boil. it's one thing to not be able to afford quality products (non-synthetic clothing where i live takes a lot of time to find unless you can throw 1/4 of your paycheck into one piece of clothing) and another to promote that as some kind of trend. i hate that crap not only because of its enviromental impact but also because of the abusive labor practices behind it.