The Cure for Disposable Plastic Crap Is Here—and It’s Loony
August 16, 2024 at 09:33PMWe rely on single-use plastics for every aspect of our daily lives. Thin white bags for groceries, thicker containers for takeout, bottles for sodas and water—the list goes on. Around the world, we generate more than 500 million tons of plastic waste a year, and only 9 percent of it is actually recycled. Is it time to break this addiction? Clive Thompson talks with people experimenting with viable solutions, like a bioplastic made of seaweed or a company that allows customers to return reusable products. The question is: are we ready to make these changes?
I realize it would be easier to imagine an unplastic future if we could point to one clear answer and one way forward. But, as some anti-plastic advocates told me, the diversity of these approaches is actually good. It spreads our bets. Plus, the solutions interlock. Of course, this plan is only a partial solution. Some plastics may be especially hard to quit, like the thin films that keep medical products sanitary. And then there’s the plague of microplastics, those infinitesimal bits that end up in our bodies, the soil, everywhere. A big chunk of them come from car tires and synthetic clothing—a whole other cluster of headaches. But the point is to move on all fronts toward fewer and fewer.
from Longreads https://longreads.com/2024/08/16/the-cure-for-disposable-plastic-crap-is-here-and-its-loony/
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