Plastic

The big topic everybody it talking about currently is plastic, and more importantly the plastic we as individuals throw away. This particular subject is something that I as an individual feel strongly about and is one of the main reasons i have started this thread as i am interested in peoples varying opinions on the situation.

 

Firstly let me introduce myself, my real name is Billy and i live in the United Kingdom, i study Environmental Science, and through this study and reading varied materials that i have decided to take part in the #Plasticfreeforjuly initiative. For this plastic free challenge i will be blogging my whole journey while also trying to post interesting and educational content. By using this blog i hope to create a platform where people can become inspired in trying to make a difference, if it can lead to one person deciding to make a change then what i am doing has become worth it.

For people who will be interested the blog can be found here https://billybrew23.wixsite.com/saynotoplastic

On here there is a page to write comments and leave feedback and also ask questions i will try my best to engage with each and other person that shows a general interest in what i am doing. There will be daily content for users to read and i will also be trying to add some questionnaires to try and gauge peoples opinions what i may also use to form a base for my dissertation at a later stage.

 

I hope you all enjoy, and thank you.

May i also add if you have any questions or want to know anything else that feel free to message me directly on here.

Good luck! One of my favorite subjects in college was environmental science.

Thanks Baby_Beel, it is one of those subjects that covers so many topics and the environment is always changing so you are continuous learning.

Thanks Leanna, i also am guilty of most things and by sharing my experience, i hope people will think this is a good idea and also attempt it because as you say one family can make a difference and hopefully it will encourage more people to join in and have a go.

I feel most people i share this with have the attitude of 'It wont happen while i am here' what yeah is a point, but its hardly a fair point to make because its not always about us. I honestly never used reusable nappies, if i have an opportunity in the future i certainly will and the same for wet wipes these will not be used again, But yes the effort of using a reusable nappy or having to use a flannel does make people turn there nose up, its a lifestyle and thats is the difficult part for people to change.

Personally I think it comes down to convenience and profitability. The convenience for us as consumers and the profitability for manfucturers.

People lead busy lives. While I agree that the amount single use plastic is an issue, at the same time people lead busy lives. For example, I don't have time to go to the supermarket and take my refillable containers with me and then to have to fill them myself. Especially when I can already just pick up whatever I need with relative ease.

Cost and availability also comes into play. The selection of loose products or plastic free packaging products is few and far between. Also, these products tend to more expensive when compared to their competitors, so I can completely understand why people including myself just disregard this.

Then there's profitability. Creating plastic packaging is relatively inexpensive compared to other types. It's all well and good everyone pointing towards the issue, but without a low cost solution I sadly don't see anything changing any time soon. I'm sure there will be a few do-gooders doing their part to help out, but in the grand scheme of things that isn't even a drop in the ocean.

SirWinston, you make some good points and without and this thread was made for discussion so with that being said im sorry but I dont have time is not an excuse, its that you do not want to, you have enough time for instance playing this game because it is important to you, but taking containers to a supermarket is low down on your importance list that you simply do not want to do it. But the same scenario works with everything not just taking plastic to the supermarket and it also is not just you i am guilty of doing the same thing, disregarding something and outting it down to not having time. Like it says in my about me section if only those people who sacrificed there lives fighting for us had the attitude i dont have time, what a different world we would live in today.

I didn't necessarily say that not having the time is an excuse, however the inconvenience of it is a contributing factor as to why people don't want to go down that road. Like it or not, that is how society is. Why would I want to go into a supermarket and have to fill up my own containers when I can just pick something up cheaper in ready to go packaging and carry on with the rest of my shop?

I think that for many people to even take this seriously, then the way we combat this has to be on a bigger scale. The trouble is that that starts with governments and corporations, and that costs money. Telling people that them not buying a plastic water bottle on their shop will help save the planet just doesn't work.

I'm not sure comparing the war on plastic against Nazi Germany or the war in Afghanistan is quite on the same level, but I see what you're trying to say.  

You are right, and i can see the effort that has to be made to try and buy stuff no packaged, and it is the goverment that needs to drive things such as vegetables and fruit to be loose, but also the same way if enough people boycott packaged vegetables and fruit the companies will be forced to do something about it.

If 1 person stop buying bottled water they in turn encourage someone else to do the same the chain can continue when you eventually have enough people not buying bottled water that it will start to make a change, it takes 1 person to make a change and for that 1 person to influence others to do the same. As for the war comparison, i actually heard this said to me by a lecture and tbh it what probably changed my mind and in context the rest of that conversation he said was that these people were willing to sacrifice there lives to save people like us, all we have to do is sacrifice our lifestyles to save the whole world and that in crude terms is true the little lifestyle sacrifices made by everyone can make a difference not just on plastic but on global warming as a whole. 

Personally I think that governments should introduce nationwide bottle and container laws to encourage recycling. There is a large difference in recycling rates and the overall cleanliness of an area where those areas are governed by those kind of laws. Funds would encourage greater investment in recycling and re-usability, and would make it worthwhile for people to do their part in recycling. If you expanded it to a lot of the containers we use for vegetables, bins and the like and switched to paper for a lot of the single serve plastic uses I think it would go a long way to addressing the problem.

The government is the real main issue here but while they decide to really not do much to tackle the situation then it is down to the people to drive changes themselves, the more pressure being put on the big companies and the government the quicker they would have to act. The government needs to stand up and be accountable they have all the power to drive this harder than anyone like myself could.

I try to use as little plastic as possible. Sometimes though it's just not possible. While you may want to use reusable nappies, what happens when your child goes to daycare? So there will be times where you will have to use plastic even if it isn't your choice.

Then you have grocery shopping, it's almost impossible to buy an entire dinners worth of food without having something wrapped in plastic. If I go to the local supermarket I take my own bags when shopping, I pick loose vegetable where I can. But all meat is wrapped in plastic, even if I go to the butchers. The tofu I buy is inside a box, wrapped in plastic. Until supermarkets find a way to make major changes people will continue to use excessive amounts of plastic in their lives. I would say today's shopping about 2/3 was in plastic packaging I could do nothing about. Fish, herbs, tofu, some vegetables, milk, bread, cheese, frozen stuff, pasta; all wrapped in plastic with no alternatives.

Also, my son is ASD, ever since I can remember he won't drink the tap water in my house, he doesn't like it. The only way to get water into him is bottled water. And no refilling a bottle doesn't help, he doesn't like the taste of the tap water. At my sisters house he drinks the filtered water from her fridge. My mum's house he likes the taste of her tap water. I can't move and I don't have a water filter on my fridge. He does, however, have his own reusable cup for when he wants a hot chocolate from a cafe, and he's very aware of environmental issues and helps me organise the recycling. But I will continue to buy him bottled water until I can find another solution for him.

Thanks for you reply Elyse, i hope you enjoy the blog and share you thoughts afterwards.

DororthyRoss, im not sure of your global location but the supermarkets where i live have started to introduce a bring your own tub scheme when it comes to buying meat off the butcher counter, and its funny you mention bottled water as my latest blog i just posted today targets bottled drinks. Unfortunately your bottled water situation can not be helped and the only thing you can do in this situation is ensure you recycle them as well as you can sometimes things can not be avoided but where they can not be avoided the next best thing is to recycle it. 

I live in the UK so I'll have to look into the bring your own tub for meat thing. I use farmer's markets also, so I might see if they can accomodate no plastic.

Yes, I make sure my son knows the bottles are to go into the recycling bin, he's a bit overly optimistic sometimes and thinks almost any packaging can be recycled though.