Plastics: problematic.
We have a huge problem with plastics. We used to have things like butcher paper, paper containers coated with beeswax.. glass syringes, IV bottles, rubber tubing….
But because we need to be eating/drinking every moment of every day…. we went to plastic cutlery, plastic “glasses”, plastic straws….
Our food needs to not drip! So everything gets double-bagged in plastic! (fish, meat, etc)
Kid toys, food storage, balloons (everywhere..open houses, parties, flowers, water balloons..)
Yes plastics can be amazing, but when my cupboard is filled with plastic containers from the local yogurt I buy (and I can’t refill them because of food safety laws) or my trash is plastic wrappings inside a plastic trash bag..
And so much medical waste is plastic. And we had a prime opportunity to start fixing that when repairing the damage to Puerto Rico, for example. We could have looked at it, looked at what has worked in the past, before we had so much plastic….
It isn’t just straws, it isn’t just bags, it is a mindset. Its overly wrapped things, it is bottled water and drinks, it is “buy new instead of refilling” It is buying liquid soap in new dispensers all the time, spray cleaners, (both of those have the little “straw” in the bottle)
When I was in Paris, about eight years ago, I went to the farmer’s market. I got creme fraîche poured into a little paper tub. The cheese was sliced and wrapped in paper. The yogurt came in a little glass container. I bought fruit walking around Paris, and it came in a little paper boat. There was so much less “safety” packaging.
We need to start thinking outside the box. Outside the plastic.. We need to include disabled and low-income folks in these discussions too. Because of course there are advantages to plastic. It is light, it is malleable, it is sturdy. So someone with a disability maybe does need a straw, or a plastic syringe. Or the plastic bag that the low-income person uses to bring home food from the bodega or the food pantry is then used again and again and again.
But then we also need better recycling options. We need to be able to recycle those plastic bags. To recycle the food packaging. To recycle the balloons. How many of the “seasonal” balloons out there are deflated and thrown out every year after that holiday? Maybe ask your florists to not use balloons. Instead of a straw ban, or a bag ban, a balloon ban. And of course, bring your own bags. And no straw for me, thanks.
