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posted by CoolHand on Wednesday May 30 2018, @02:45PM   Printer-friendly
from the taking-care-of-the-place dept.

The European Commission has proposed new rules to ban certain plastic products in order to reduce the waste filling our oceans, it announced Monday.

The EU's measures tackle the top 10 plastic products that wash up on Europe's beaches and fill its seas, including a ban on the private use of single-use plastics like plastic straws, plates and utensils and containers used for fast food or your daily takeaway coffee.

The measures would also have each country in the EU come up with a system that would collect 90 percent of plastic bottles by 2025.

"The proposed ban in the European Union of single use plastics, notably plastic straws and cotton buds, is welcome and very promising news," said Dr. Paul Harvey from Macquarie University in a press release. "Single use plastic pollution is one of the biggest environmental catastrophes of this generation."

You can see why the EU is making the proposal. Single-use plastic objects and fishing gear account for 70 percent of waste in the ocean, according to the EU. In 2017, researchers found 38 million pieces of plastic waste on an uninhabited South Pacific island. Figures from the same year showed that a million plastic bottles are bought around the world every minute, a number predicted to jump 20 percent by 2021.

Fortunately, others are tackling the plastic problem, including scientists and environmentalists who've come up with one solution involving mushrooms that can eat plastic.


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  • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday May 31 2018, @10:40AM (2 children)

    by Phoenix666 (552) on Thursday May 31 2018, @10:40AM (#686658) Journal

    My wife recently declared we should become a no-plastic household because she has become convinced it's not healthy. Before BPA I would have said balderdash! but now I say OK.

    Glass alternatives to plastic are readily available. Mason jars and the sort that use wire hinges and rubber seals are at most hardware stores and big box stores. You can get those for beverages (think those tall olive oil bottles) also. Wax paper is just as good for wrapping sandwiches, and are actually even better than ziploc bags because the sandwich doesn't get soggy.

    So doing it casually is pretty easy, but to really get close to plastic-free requires a shift in mindset that has some challenges and some unlooked for advantages. You find yourself shopping more in the produce section and almost not at all in the processed food section. You stop buying a lot of stuff in general because that comes with plastic packaging.

    One nice thing about plastic is it's light and resilient, and that is something to work around if you have to carry a lot or have small kids. On the bright side, buying less processed food saves a lot of money; is probably healthier because you're avoiding all the additives that are required to make it shelf-stable; and results in having to deal with a lot less garbage. When you live in a third-floor walk-up the way we do, you appreciate that. Buying less stuff in general is liberating also; for me having a bunch of stuff around that doesn't have regular utility has always felt like psychic dead weight.

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  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday May 31 2018, @10:53AM

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Thursday May 31 2018, @10:53AM (#686662) Journal

    Pyrex and mason jars for most food storage, larger (27+ quart) plastic containers for other uses.

    You should be able to get 6x half gallon sized mason jars for about $10. You might consider using plastic lids for some mason jars since they are easier to clean, don't rust, and you don't need the normal lids + rings unless you're canning. And they won't actually come into contact with food/beverage unless you hold the jar upside down.

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  • (Score: 2) by Nuke on Thursday May 31 2018, @01:16PM

    by Nuke (3162) on Thursday May 31 2018, @01:16PM (#686715)

    My wife recently declared we should become a no-plastic household

    Good luck with that. I expect that whatever you are typing on now will need to go for a start, and don't look inside any manufactured article you possess, even if the outside passes muster. Electric wires are insulated with the evil stuff, but you could re-wrap then all with waxed paper (don't tell your insurance company) or you will need to go back to gas and candles.

    Nevertheless, it is hard to imagine that plastic was quite rare until about 1960. Its uses were mostly confined to electrical insulation, and heat insulation like teapot handles, and even those plastics were weird composites like Bakelite. Mains wire sheathing was usually rubber. I still have (not in use) some old fuse gear and switches which were basically made from white ceramic and brass; they were really clever at making that stuff. Toys were mostly "tinplate" (thin steel actually) or a lead/tin alloy (OMG!!) as in "tin" soldiers, or wood.