Which choice is better wrt the planet?

[KatyMac]

Whilst pondering how green I can be I have some questions

If I am out is a canned drink better than one is a plastic bottle? Leaving aside the waste issue (assumping I recycle both) does the can 'cost' more due to it's mining and creation than the bottle?

Is meat from a small holding which is not intensively farmed and generally well looked after worse than heavily processed Quorn/TVP/tofu etc?

I'm sure the rest of you have questions like this? What are they can we share info?

Plus I recently saw a sort of hugh flying saucer on FB powered by fireworks and thought goodness me what would David Attenborough think of that - so I am developing the WWDATT acronym to add to the discussions and wanton waste and silly resource use

[Cynderella]

I get this. I gave up carrier bags and plastic bags for veg years ago. But then, some people say paper bags are just as bad. I use cotton bags, anyway ... although, cotton is also to be avoided. You just can't win.

I try to buy drinks in glass bottles if I'm out, but I really don't know if that's any better than a can. I don't buy many 'take away' drinks, so it's not a big deal for me, but there are other things I buy where I just hope I'm doing the right thing.

I don't buy meat, but I don't buy substitutes. Well, not often. Just the ingredients put me off let alone the packaging.

[KatyMac]

Yep
& DD had reusable nappies long before they were fashionable! but the issue then was about the energy used to wash them and make them!

It's so confusing

[KatyMac]

No-one wants to talk about this Cynderella!

[Wildernesstips]

I know. I think glass is better but then think it must cost more in fuel to transport as it's heavier. 😩😩

[Thisismyusernamefornow]

Oh goodness. I do ask myself every day! It's always nibbling at my conscience.

[DameFanny]

I'm taking the approach of anything but plastic - so there's a cost to paper, cotton, glass and tin, but at least those things are either fully recyclable or fully biodegradable.

I'm applying this to fabric and yarn too - no more cheap acrylic, no more peachskin poly :-( But I don't want any great great grandchildren fishing my mistakes out of the sea.

For your specific question on drinks, an aluminium can isn't going to weigh much more than a plastic bottle, so I'd go with that - unless you can sit in a cafe and drink from a proper glass or china cup.

[rivierliedje]

I think the main thing is to reuse things as much as possible.
If you used a cloth nappy just once, like you do a disposable, that would be a ridiculous waste of production. If you use cloth bags rather than plastic, you would need to reuse them more before the benefit starts, but you know that at the end of it's life cycle it won't just sit around for centuries. So I think it is making sure there is minimal waste and that we use things as long as possible, so that less is produced.

[Fucksandflowers]

I try hard to avoid plastic and try to opt for natural cosmetic/beauty products and don't use any chemicals in the garden but honestly, I don't think you can win really.

Anything metal like tins, jewellery etc will have been mined and frequently involves child labour and other human rights violations.

Anything wool or leather requires huge volumes of water and some of the chemicals used can be carcinogenic, neurotoxic etc, not to mention the obvious moral issue of taking the lives of others without their consent.

Healing crystals and crystals used in technology are have the same issues as metal, plus a dose of funding terrorism as well with certain stones like lapis lazuli.

Paper requires the destruction of trees, you can replant sure but they are surely quite slow growing.

Cotton is usually heavily pesticide laden and requires huge amounts of water.

'Eco friendly' plants like yucca, hemp etc are still grown in a monoculture system which requires the destruction of existing plant life and causes additional problems.

It's something I really struggle with because most, if not all of the options out there are damaging in some way, to someone