How many people today grab a takeaway coffee cup from the local cafe to drink on the go? We don’t know, but the number must be enormous.. Most every one of the above have a plastic top that will last 100s of years. Some cafes still use plastic cups that last a similar time. Is 10 minutes of coffee worth 100s of years of trash?
These items can be seen littering our gutters and on our streets all over the place. If they were all cardboard, they would still be littered, but they would, at least, be gone in a short time.
They do not need to be made of plastic.
On the way home from the gym last week, a distance of about 1 km (1/2 mile), I counted the items of plastic litter on the curb as I walked. In that short distance I counted 63 pieces of plastic litter. Plastic drink bottles, bottle tops, candy wrappers, plastic film, polystyrene fragments etc. That seemed to be a lot to me. I guess it is a generational thing. Our parents would have been horrified to see that amount, whereas it seems to go unnoticed by our youth of today. In another 20 years how many pieces will there be on this stretch, -- 200? What will today’s youth think of that new amount then when they are older? Will their children be so readily accepting of a higher amount of litter? Empowering Guatemalan Villagers Plagued by Plastic
Posted on August 23, 2026 by DrRossH in Plastic Recycling, Plastic Waste NewsSource: Empowering Guatemalan Villagers Plagued by Plastic – Inside Climate News
The breathing problems children experience near wood stoves get worse when plastic is added to the fire, Hernandez said. She hopes one day her community can breathe clean air and people stop dumping their plastic trash near local springs. But they need more education and support, said Hernandez, who stopped speaking for a moment when the distinctive smell of burning plastic reached her home.
Katerine Ramírez, a mother of two who also lives in Los Izotes, does what she can to recycle plastic containers. But she typically burns trash, including plastic, at least once a week.
“Since the garbage truck doesn’t come by here, everyone has to figure out what to do with their own waste,” Ramírez said.
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