Comments on: Plastic: What is it good for?

By: terry@Car Accident Injury Claim

terry@Car Accident Injury Claim — Mon, 17 May 2010 06:24:42 +0000

Plastic based products would have a higher carbon sequestration value than wood, which would be good because the carbon in plastic is tied up for thousands of years. And plastic does not pollute, it is a very inert substance which means it does not dissolve or react with anything in our environment.
.-= terry@Car Accident Injury Claim´s last blog ..Safety Measures on Preventing Bike Accident Injury =-.

By: Fake Plastic Fish

Fake Plastic Fish — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 05:45:56 +0000

Dear Anonymous, you have a lot to say. I'd be happy to have an actual conversation with you and answer some of your many questions. Unfortunately, I don't know who you are. I'd be happy for you to leave a way for us to contact you. I don't blog anonymously, and it would be nice if you didn't comment anonymously.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 03:48:30 +0000

What makes me nuts is the uniformed critic. Don't trust the plastics' industry, but trust any blogger who tells you that toxins are leeching out of plastic - they're not. Don't believe the plastics industry if you don't want to, but where are the lawyers filing lawsuits all over the US if plastics are so toxic? You know they would!

Everything in your life is made better with plastics. For a generation that lives in athletic shoes (heaven forbid you call them sneakers) you don’t even realize what your life would be without plastic, yet you think somehow it will be better. It won’t.

Get into a car accident without plastic laminate on the windows and see if you survive.

Think that plastic water bottles or bags are the problem? Or is irresponsible disposal of them the problem? And how does an industry solve the problem of people LITTERING with its product? Should they have to? Yes, unfortunately, there are huge floating plastic islands of garbage in our oceans. Do you think plastic industry execs are sending their employees on a rotating basis 24/7/365 to toss their products into the sea? Blame the litterbugs!

Plastic bags in the US are made with the toxic and difficult to dispose of WASTE from mining natural gas. Rather than trying to find a way to get rid of it safely, it’s safely made into bags. If you choose not to recycle them, that's on you, not the industry.

Plastic ends up in landfill and never breaks down. So what? In a properly executed landfill, NOTHING breaks down. You could dig up a 50 year old newspaper and read it. And what's wrong with landfills - what do you think should be done with mined out quarries? Fill them with water for kids to drown in?

Your favorite organic food store won't use plastic bags anymore – good for them! Oh, wait, go to their bulk foods or produce department - what kind of bags do you see on the rollers to put your bran flakes, organic fruits and veggies into? Plastic. They don't like it when you use your hemp totes to bag your bok choy - they can't scan it at the register with their plastic bar code reader!

Paper bags are made from TREES. The process of making paper utilizes huge amounts of gas to get trucks to the forest to cut down trees, then transport to a paper mill. At the mill you need WATER - lots of fresh water to turn a tree, or even old paper, into new paper. Water by the way is a precious FINITE resource - just ask anyone who doesn't have it.

Plastic bags weigh less to transport. The ratio is like 10 to 1 in weight. They're also smaller - so your favorite organic chain store can get more on fewer trucks. Good for the environment? Gee - plastic uses up toxic waste, weighs less and is more fuel efficient to transport vs. paper which uses up trees and water, weighs more and is therefore less fuel efficient to transport. Tough debate.

Because of plastic, planes, buses, motorcycles, trucks and cars weigh less, and are therefore much more fuel efficient! Good for you ozone!

Because of plastic medical science saves lives that would otherwise be lost. Period.

Hate the over-packaging of products with plastic containers? Don’t blame the plastics industry – blame the shoplifters who ruin it for everyone. SMALL things are placed in BIG containers simply to make them harder to steal. The fun of knowing it takes you hours to open them is just a bonus!

Plastic is evil because it never breaks down? Neither does concrete, which by the way creates huge problems for the ozone layer (it’s true, look it up) but no one is boycotting paved roads.

You want bio plastic that breaks down? Alternative fuels that don’t use crude oil? Great - soy or corn crops being sold to the plastics or gasoline industry, rather than for food - think that will make you grocery bill bigger or smaller?

You want the truth about plastics – do you think you can handle the truth? Visit savetheplasticbag.com or plasticmythbusters.org. The truth is, you couldn’t live the way you want to live without them. Luckily, you don’t have to.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:34:03 +0000

earlier on, i commented that plastic is too cheap and that is why it is used too much. on his blog, the plastics specialist said plastic is eco because it takes less energy to produce and that's why it's cheap; i would add that plastic is made of petroleum and that's why it's cheap!

By: Supriya Doshi

Supriya Doshi — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:28:28 +0000

I don't think that getting rid of plastic altogether would solve the problem. In the end, it seems like the issue is more waste than anything. Things like plastic bags and disposable razors aren't necessary products, rather just a creation that caters to our desire for ease. Unfortunately, these things aren't going to go away anytime soon. We are so used to the convenience of plastic products that I imagine they'll only multiply. But as long as there are people out there that care and spread the word about the negative aspects of plastic, there's always hope!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:36:35 +0000

Plastic….plastic…and more plastic, someone said we will be known as having lived in the "Plastics Age." I hope that we will be known as the innovators who developed plastics that made our live better and innovators that made plastics that didn't hurt future generations. We have come a long way with developing new applications for plastic, now we need to develop plastic that is safe.
Plastics should be designed to be sustainable, plastic products should be designed to meet a “Cradle to Cradle” criterion. I believe that all plastics can be made biodegradable. The idea is to make something, use it, reuse it, recycle it, and when its useful life is over it return to the earth as a harmless substance; biodegradable plastic can do that.
The bottom line is that plastics are entrenched in our lives…they aren't going away. But we can do something as consumers to help our environment…we need to demand safer plastics. Don't buy packages that overuse plastic, don't buy products made of plastic unless that plastic is biodegradable. Money talks and we consumers can make a difference. Manufacturers will make products we demand.

Max
http://www.ensobottles.com

By: Erin aka Conscious Shopper

Erin aka Conscious Shopper — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 04:56:24 +0000

Beth – I posted my responses to your questions on my own blog at http://consciousshopper.blogspot.com/2009/07/my-response-to-fake-plastic-fish-what.html

Love that you're engaged in this kind of conversation with a plastics professional. You're so awesome!

By: Barry

Barry — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:06:38 +0000

Greg Koski is a great guy as are most plastics industry professionals. Read Greg's blog post that Beth Terry mentions above. But also check out this blog — http://www.inthehopper.org. It features "what's it good for" posts quite a bit. Just click on the "Beneficial Uses" category. One aspect nobody has mentioned here is all the environmetal and sustainability benefits that plastics provides fron bioplastics (made from corn, potato and other bio-based materials)to the plastics that are absolutely essential to windmills, fuel-efficient automobiles, solar panels and much more.

By: Fix

Fix — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:18:21 +0000

I would like to add that I think plastic is a terrible waste of a precious resource, oil. And then we just throw it "away," where it stays forever.

That said, I think some medical and safety uses for plastic are essential. (Even though, when plastic is trash, it is unhealthy and unsafe.) Now that we've achieved so much with technology, I think we can refine our progress even more to make sure we're using the best materials for the best processes. And the decider of the "best materials" shouldn't be the industry that provides them.

Megan

By: Fake Plastic Fish

Fake Plastic Fish — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:15:24 +0000

Check it out. Greg from Plastics.com has responded to these questions with his own blog post. Keep in mind he is a plastics professional. Still, he does recognize some of the same problems that we do:

http://blogs.plastics.com/just_one_word/2009/07/plastic-what-is-it-good-for-absolutely-lots.html

why not go over there and respond to his post with your own thoughts? Or ask questions?