The future of plastic

Science needs to step in and find a replacement that is biodegradable. I am amazed that sometime in the past everyone thought it was okay to create a substance that doesn't biodegrade and then proceed to manufacture it in such jaw dropping quantities. Didn't people realise where this would lead? If you use it for anything and everything then what did they ever think would happen to it all?

What about all the sachets in cafes etc - ketchup. mayo - and for shampoo etc.!

Hospital use can be justified, I think, because it means infections are more controlled. Although when I was in hospital with a broken leg a nurse used a pair of scissors to snip something on my dressings. She left her scissors on my tray table so I pointed them out when someone passed by. She took the scissors and dropped them into the Hazardous Waste bin, saying they were single-use only! I was cross at that, because if I’d known, I’ve have brought them home to use for my craftwork as they were devilishly sharp. Not plastic, of course, but still...

Yes, I’ve thought about the sachets in cafes. They must mount up. Some places still have sauce bottles, though.

I don’t suppose the inventors of plastic ever dreamt that it would become as ubiquitous as it has. I was astonished yesterday to learn that some inexpensive central heating boilers have plastic innards! The engineer said it’s a false economy, because they wear out faster and are often unrepairable so the whole boiler has to be replaced.

I’m trying to cut out as much single-use plastic as possible, eg I’ve been using my own shopping bags since the days when shops really frowned upon them because ‘you might be shoplifting’.

I remember distinctly my Mum wrapping sandwiches up in greaseproof paper. I look in my freezer and see all those meals that I've made, in plastic bags, with plastic ties - and I thought I was doing the 'right' thing.
My plastic windows, my plastic vacuum cleaner, plastic everything ..... its everywhere!
Roll on someone making a satisfactory degradable plastic - they will deserve to make a fortune.

I think there are arguments for multiple use plastics. It's the single use ones that are the worst I understand.

Plastic packaging is being made from potato starch now which is a start. www.bigcompostexperiment.org.uk/
I heard about this on the radio this afternoon. If you have a compost heap ....! We have put a RSPB magazine wrapper and a few other magazine wrappers on ours and they seem to have vanished.

Apparently there are spoons and such which are supposed to be compostable so things are moving slowly in the right direction. I don’t think we’ll ever be plastic free now. The genie is out.

Yes, plastic can be a horror but thank goodness their are people in the world who are really thinking outside the box.

Did anyone see the chap in China building houses from recycling via a 3D printer. We aren't talking about your average PC here this is a huge project and the houses are very strong.

When my DH was in the ICU I have never seen so much single use plastic . After a patient has left the cubicle everything in the drawers and on the benches is destroyed whether it was used or not . I can’t see how they could do it any other way as there is too much risk of infection to reuse anything.

The bags I use for food recycling are biodegradable but they are pretty fragile and not meant to last. The challenge will be in making plastic bags which last for about a year because they must be fit for purpose but not last for ever. The same with plastic water bottles etc. which must hold the contents safely but not last for ever. Difficult. I can't see drinks manufacturers wanting to use any other type of container other than plastic and they are the worst pollutants ever.

Our Boots pharmacy which had started issuing prescriptions in plastic bags has now changed to using ones made from potato starch, which as previously mentioned can go in the compost bin.

It's totally unrealistic to sugges we can do without plastic. It's superior qualities for hygiene, versatility and durability will keep it in place in many areas.

A local paper brought out results of a survey of how people dispose of the paper which has replaced plastic bags.

They burn it!
Plastic bags they used - for all manner of things. Paper just goes on fire, bonfire or to start the BBQ - and this despite the plethora of recycle messages. Less than 1% of paper bags are recycled and they're genrall too flimsy to reuse.

The shopping we could get into 2 plastic bags, now has to be packed into 4 paper ones becaue they're not as strong as the plastic ones.
In addition, supermarkets sell more commercial plastic bags than ever before.

Re-usable bags are promoted and many regularly use them but there's an argument that they too are a detriment to environment in their manufacture.
Some even contain (shock, horror) plastic for durability!!

All we can do is try to be sensible (and not hysterical) about the issue; cut down where and when we can on our own usage; not preach to others what they should be doing as if people who use plastic are now pariahs.

It's a bandwagon and you can't let it run over you and steal your soul

Like it or not, polymers are here to stay.

Our town tried to go plastic bag free. Only Tesco didn’t join in - and the butchers who, by law, apparently must put meat into plastic bags. Of course many shops have slid back as plastic bags are cheaper than paper.

'Hidden' plastic in such articles as T-bags, kitchen towels. single use plastic does dominate our lives at present, and needs to be stopped asap.

Maybe instead of stopping using plastic research should be stepped up on recycling ?

Currently a vast quantity of things that could be recycled aren’t so that would be a good start .

There is nothing wrong with making plastics and continuing to use them. The current problem comes from the careless discard of one use plastics, especially plastic bags.

The plastic manufacturers who have developed the many plastics we have today that make life so much easier will, over time, develop plastics that are biodegradeable and/or more easily recycled

Do not throw the baby away with the (plastic) bath water.

We have just gone over to having our milk delivered in bottles from Milk &More. Today they added a plastic milk crate to it!

There is nothing wrong with making plastics and continuing to use them. The current problem comes from the careless discard of one use plastics, especially plastic bags

Totally agree with you M0nica . There are situations (as in hospitals etc) where plastic is essential . I also have 2 plastic jugs at home that I have had forever, likewise some mixing bowls and a few other things too. Can’t see the problem and I don’t know why everyone is suddenly going crazy avoiding all kinds of plastic .

I've never frozen meals in bags, although I have frozen fruit that way, then dispose of the bags in the recycling.
Multiple use plastic, yes, and square Pyrex dishes with plastic (!) lids.
Are tinfoil dishes any better?
Does anyone know?

M0nica There is nothing wrong with making plastics and continuing to use them. The current problem comes from the careless discard of one use plastics, especially plastic bags.
In an ideal world everyone would dispose of their plastics correctly. This is not an ideal world. A huge number of people simply don't care and will throw them anywhere. I know a woman who doesn't bother recycling anything, it all goes in the black bin. She just doesn't bother with any of it. Others will throw their rubbish anywhere. You have to allow for people like this and make things biodegradable.

I know for a fact that the single use plastic in hospital is incinerated .

I agree SueDonim! I worked briefly in a hospital as an administrator and would regularly collect up all the 'one use' scissors, clean them and keep them. Came in very handing when I went back into teaching! They stocked my classroom for scissors for about 3 years!

I realise that infection is an issue in hospitals but for goodness sake, can't these items be sterilised and used again? That is what they did in the past. It's ridiculous to throw out things like scissors.

Hi, I find this interesting, when I am catering outside my home I use re-usable plastic containers(mainly ice cream ones) or foil containers.
I get lots of sarky comments about both.
Ok can someone please advise me how to transport a hot buffet for 150 people without using such containers.
Boston baked beans in a paper bag, I don't think so !!!
I re-use all plastic containers and also the foil ones unless some idiot re-cycler has crushed them up and thrown them in the bin,
As you can gather catering has become a bit of a minefield now.
I love a challenge, I just wish people were not so rude when they are explaining their opinions without listening to mine.

Good recycling, GagaJo!

My dd tells me that when surgeons write on your body with a felt tip pen prior to surgery, the pen also gets binned as it’s single use. I hadn’t thought of that.

Gillybob I’ve just put some sugar into a plastic container. It’s a Tupperware one that I bought as part of a set circa 1975. They’re all still in regular use.