• Obelix@feddit.org
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    1 year ago

    Just FYI:

    Single-use plastic products are used once, or for a short period of time, before being thrown away. Under the EU’s rules on single-use plastics, the EU is tackling the 10 single-use plastic items most commonly found on Europe’s beaches and is promoting sustainable alternatives. The 10 items are

    Cotton bud sticks 
    Cutlery, plates, straws and stirrers 
    Balloons and sticks for balloons 
    Food containers 
    Cups for beverages 
    Beverage containers 
    Cigarette butts 
    Plastic bags 
    Packets and wrappers 
    Wet wipes and sanitary items 
    

    https://commission.europa.eu/news/less-plastic-waste-means-cleaner-beaches-2024-08-14_en

    So yeah, nets are bad, but straws, plastic bags, cigarettes and packages are also a problem.

    • Fredthefishlord@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      1 year ago

      People want to pretend just the things that are convenient to them are an issue. They say government and companies need to take action, then complain about actions taken. It’s really wild to see.

  • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.zip
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    1 year ago

    Plastic Recycling is Largely A Myth.

    The world produces an average of 430 million metric tons of plastic each year. The United States alone produces tens of millions of tons of plastic waste annually. Yet on average, only about 5 to 6 percent of plastic in the U.S. is recycled.

    Basically, the vast majority of plastic either literally cannot be recycled, at all, or would be astoundingly expensive to properly seperate according to it’s different types and run through the recycling process.

    … So, in most cases, it isn’t, and just ends up in a landfill or being directly dumped into nature.

    Oil companies have known this for decades, and, as with other issues surrounding pollution … they’ve promoted anything that makes an individual feel guilty when they know that even if all individuals followed the suggested course of action, it would have a negligible impact.

    • Ultraviolet@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      My conspiracy theory is it was chosen to deliberately harm the optics of environmentalists. Something with minimal useful impact and maximum inconvenience would turn people against the whole idea of environmentally friendly alternatives.