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? What’s the least biodegradable form of packaging?
Posted on March 14, 2012 by DrRossH in Plastic Waste NewsColewood Internet – What’s the least biodegradable form of packaging?.
As stated in the article;
In the event that plastic products are simply sent to the landfill, they will still take years and years to completely degrade and become a part of the earth. This is why it is much better to recycle and ensure the plastic is being put to good use, rather than dumped in a landfill for years. Paper and cardboard packaging supplies are much more biodegradable and eco-friendly regardless of how they are handled. If you are truly in need of plastic or other chemical-based packing materials for your shipments, you should ensure that you use them sparingly and recycle them accordingly to get the most out of your packing and shipping.
With so many different packaging materials out there to choose from, it isn’t difficult for you to find materials that will suit your needs. Whether you need a lot of materials to protect your items or just something unique that allows your items to stand out, you can find plenty of solutions that are eco-friendly and biodegradable. If you are going to use plastic, make sure that it can be discarded accordingly or that it has a high biodegradability so that you aren’t using materials that are harmful to the environment.
Burak says:
Post Author April 3, 2012 at 5:30 pmI’d use paper, but you have to kill trees to make paper. You can recycle paper bags just so many times. You know, they ought to plant trees scileficaply to be used for making paper. Just think, thousands and thousands of acres of trees growing to make make paper products. Cut them down every few years and replant them like crops. That would save the rain forests, sequester carbon and be a renewable resource. As fast as loblolly pines grow, they might be good for this in some areas. [/sarcasm]
Ayan says:
Post Author April 7, 2012 at 3:45 amPlastic bags were encouraged back in the 60 s and 70 s bcuseae using paper killed trees. Somehow, if a plant has wood, the greenies don’t consider it a renewable’ resource. We who live in Virginia know better, as I have to cull my backyard forest every year to control the undergrowth and remove the fire hazard (biomass) created each fall. I would love to find a commercial use for bulk leaves from hardwoods, even if it was just to make single-use shopping bags.