G’day,
Over the past few years it’s become more and more apparent that - Plastic Is Evil.
Despite this rather obvious fact (to which plenty still seem oblivious, or at least ambivalent), I myself must admit that the overwhelmingly hugeness of this issue has mostly stayed far in my periphery until very recently, sparked by such news stories as this:
And this:
…combined with the now oft quoted fact that is almost impossible to get one’s head around - EVERY piece of plastic ever made will continue to exist - whether it’s pulped down to micro beads or re-purposed - it’s here for good. (And that’s bad.)
Looking around my house, plastic is simply everywhere. My rechargeable batteries are sitting in a plastic tub. Torch. Printer. USB hub. Hard Drive enclosures. Camera. 1980 Tomy Alien Attack Tabletop Game. The keycaps on my Apple Extended Keyboard… And that’s just from turning my head briefly round my office.
I am moderately happy with the fact that the computer sitting on my desk, and monitor, are - outwardly at least - more metal than plastic. Mac Pro and 23" Cinema Display. But there’s a plastic Cube, TAM, eMac, MessagePad, and god knows what else - still existing - in my house.
Even if Western countries do head down the path of reducing their reliance on plastic - what about the rest of the world? This isn’t a local problem. India’s PM has pledged to ban single use plastic by 2022, however there’s conflicting thoughts on the reality of this - evidently some areas of India have already banned plastic bags, yet the reality is their use has not reduced.
At this point in time I am not finding myself standing in a store tossing up between 2 products - because one has plastic and one does not. I am not reading consumer reports on products to verify their “real plastic content” to ensure I buy a low-plastic product.
But maybe it’s time we do…
cheers
cosmic