How can we get rid of plastic waste?

There were plastic straws in a Scottish branch of John Lewis last week and also in other cafes.

They're also still for sale in Scottish shops.

I saw some paper straws for sale in Lidl the other week - however, I'm sure they said they were 'coated' - with what I don't know.
They were very expensive too.

unless you have a disability- why would anyone need a straw?

I've bought 150 paper straws for use at home. I expect them to last about 25 years.

Norway's plastic bottle recycling scheme (and Lithuania, Germany, and some states in the US and Canada).
www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-42953038

Here in Sweden there have been plastic bottle, tin can and glass soft recycling for decades. The glass bottles are sterilized and refilled

It is the law that shops must participate in the recycling scheme and a deposit is taken on the bottles/cans that are refunded when you put it back through the machine. It is also the law that the shops must take any bottle regardless of where you buy them.

Our milk and yogurt also comes in cardboard cartons that are recyclable (I don't know what they coat them with)

I also notice that there are fewer single use plastics here. Ready meals are not a huge thing but those that are tend to come in recyclable cardboard trays. Also national free school meals means that there are fewer "lunchbox" plastic items such as water/fruit shoot bottles or small plastic boxes of cheese, biscuits, fruit etc.

I have come across two useful websites for anyone contemplating a campaign about recycling plastic waste.

One is www.recoup.org/p/4/our-aims-and-vision

The other, partners.wrap.org.uk/ , has lots of photos, posters, etc.

Not just plastics, but a website which might be useful for your council's recycling practices.

www.mysociety.org/2018/02/12/where-theres-muck-theres-brass/

Does this look promising? Making building blocks from plastic waste:

twitter.com/PrecisionHomes_/status/966919424811741185

That's interesting, Maizie.
Did you used to have one of those pre-lego house construction sets where you slid bricks between metal posts?

I did! And very frustrating it was, too...

But I liked the look of this idea. If, as is claimed, we can almost never get rid of plastic why not put it to good use? With all the recent publicity about nasties leaking from some plastics I would imagine that a wall made from those 'bricks' would have to be properly sealed to prevent leakage but I would think that it wouldn't be a problem.

www.marmax-products.uk/index.php?route=common/home

This is a Durham company, Maizie. It stops me feeling so guilty about plastic milk bottles. Actually, I only use one or two a week, pint ones, as I don't have dairy any more.

That's interesting! I wonder if they're lighter than normal building bricks? They'd be safer to use in earthquake zones, if they are.

I read just this week about plastic waste being made into insulation for houses, the kind of stuff you put in your loft.

My loft insulation is made from recycled plastic bottles.
It's been in since 2010, bought from Homebase.
Because it's not made from fibreglass, there is no problem of lung irritation. Put down by our two sons in a couple of hours.

Brilliant!

I've no idea what ours is made from. It was put it by the Scottish government when they had a home insulation drive a few years ago. The mice like to make nests from it.

www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/lego-begins-selling-plant-based-blocks-no-more-pla/

Well done, lego.

Our loft insulation was (apparently) made from recycled glass bottles - how they made nice soft fluffy stuff from glass is amazing:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JH6kkzZ8so

If you carry on watching then there is a video on recycling glass bottles.

sorry - PLASTIC bottles!!

www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/taiwan-ban-on-plastic-bags-straws-utensils-contain/