Living without plastic

I read the article and i'm tired of people who want to live with out plastic.
Did the author give up her car, her dish washer, refrigerator, shoes, close, toothbrush?
I could go on for quite a while listing items that contain plastics.
I do agree we as an industry need to do more about recycling.

I would like to see the 100% wood, metal, and glass computer that Beth Terry uses to post articles on her blog. The wiring must be interesting too--conductors insulated with spun yarn. Ah, for a return to the wonderful world where things were made from gutta percha, shellac, tree gum, and elephant tusks! You can also make some wonderful things from carved bone.

Further to Mr. Bellisle's points: how many activities, not merely packaging, in Ms. Terry's life are dependent upon polymeric materials?

All great points! Living without plastic makes about as much sense as trying to live without metal, glass, ceramics, paper or any other manufactured material

It is always amazing to me how well intended individuals get it all wrong. Being a plastics industry veteran for almost 40 years, I have always felt that it was the responsibility of those of us in the industry, to promote the positive aspects of plastics through our local and social groups. Instead, we always seem to get a black eye through the efforts of some individuals with an agenda, but armed with very little else.

To add to Leo Bellisles' thoughts above, even things that are not thought of as having plastics content really do. Just alone in the medical industry, cutting back on "Plastics" would set things back so far that nobody would ever want to go back there. I for one am sick and tired of our entire industry being given negative press over items that are within control of the consumer to use wisely, yet the very people complaining, are the ones failing to use "throw away" items properly, or to recycle those which they claim they can't live without.

It would be interesting to learn what her carbon foot print is as a result of eliminating some plastics from her life. I would guess that it is higher.

Don --

To the point you make at the end of your post....It is also somewhat of an indication of the impact of social media (blogs, etc.) in today's world. An individual like Beth Terry can gain traction and attention on her own via a blog. You don't have to neccessarily be an NGO or organization. The traditional media (like the ABC affiliate in SF) view her as some kind of expert.

The problem is not using plastics but what we do with those plastics after we use them. We don't need to focus on using less plastic but making plastic safe and recyclable, and making those recycling practices more of a priority. People (and companies) are not going to start doing something about this problem until their actions push them into a corner (like making electric and hybrid cars AFTER gas hits 4 dollars a gallon). Then maybe our trash companies will start sorting and recycling trash for those who don't care about (or do not have the time for) recycling it. It’s all about MONEY and unless there's a dire need to do something about the problem (like not being able to breathe or live healthily) then entities will do what makes them the most PROFIT. My family and friends wonder why I pull their trash out of the garbage can and stick it in the recycle bin (right next to the garbage can). Well, this is the reason why.

I am certainly not an expert; however, as a student of environmental studies with a few classes in waste management, I am not completely uninformed either. Yes, plastic is wonderful - as Andrew articulated - the medical industry alone shows just how many great uses plastic has. That being said, plastics cause a great deal of problems as well. One of the major problems comes from a miseducation of how plastics should be disposed. Many plastics wind up in the environment, incinerators or landfills when they should not; however plastics are not as economically valuable in recycling as aluminum cans and thus many plastics are not recycled by the local facilities - even when well-intentioned people make the effort. However, the reuse/disposal of plastics only represent one part of the problem they cause. Some chemicals in plastics can leech into foods and be harmful to health. The recent BPA craze is a perfect example of this. Should we get rid of plastics altogether? Absolutely not, but it is virtuous to try to reduce the use of plastics that isn't necessary. We need to use plastics in vehicles, electronics, medical systems and certain safety systems. However, some of those plastic pieces can be safely and efficiently replaced with glass or aluminum parts. Maybe we should all be trying to live with LESS plastic. Do you really NEED to use disposable water bottles, plates and utensils, or will the permanent equivalents work? When it is safe and efficient to use non-plastic items, perhaps we should make the effort to do so.