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? Fat and sick? Blame recycling, says new book – Canada
Posted on July 28, 2012 by DrRossH in Plastic Waste NewsFat and sick? Blame recycling, says new book | Solid Waste & Recycling Magazine.
McRobert wants to see the McGuinty government impose a combination of a tax and deposit system on soft drinks and other non-refillable containers to fight obesity, create local jobs and improve the environmental and energy performance of the systems. He says the taxes and unredeemed deposits could be used to fund clean tap water to Ontario’s Aboriginal Peoples and educate consumers about healthier diets and lifestyles.
McRobert supports the concept of recycling of paper, plastics and other materials, but stresses that public policy should focus on the 3Rs hierarchy of reduction, reuse and recycling. He says he began to fight against the shift away from reusable containers during his time at Pollution Probe when he was a waste campaigner in 1990 and 1991.
Ghadah says:
Post Author September 3, 2012 at 2:27 pmPhil,We pay our local taxes and we expect srveice. What’s the big deal here?Most of us re-cycle. We know the srveice works.We mostly all have white recycling bags so we don’t need you to show us a picture of one.Tell us and show us things that we probably don’t know about like:+ the likely size of this year’s parking tax’ a320 million perhaps?+ the Council’s CPZ policy+ the date of the upcoming LDF public consultation+ your views on the Lido Junction public consultation+ your views on the proposed massive increase in size for Fielding Primary School+ what’s happening re the Government’s Public Enquiry on the Glenkerrin Planning Application?+ what’s happening re the year-long boarded up Daniel Quarter/Lovelace House?+your views on the Dean Gardens public consultaion
DrRossH says:
Post Author September 3, 2012 at 9:48 pmIt would be wise to spend a bit more time thinking about your and your descendants future rather than just your own needs right now. The plastic waste problem is far far more serious than your parking tax costs.