AIBU to think that our environmental awareness seems to go by the board

[helloclitty]

where children's toys are concerned.

I am guilty myself so I am not being judgemental but I am thinking that we should collectively be more responsible. I use my recycling bag when I shop and I cycle or walk my children to school, I try to reduce water and energy waste in the home BUT my house is full of plastic crap toys.

Aibu to think that we should totally stop buying plastic toys and stick to environmentally friendly ones even if it means our kids will have far less of them. And should we ask grandparents etc to stop too.

no, I'm saying OP doesn't. I agree with bejeezus, its like OP looked around her house at a load of plasticy gubbins and decided to tell everyone else to get rid of theirs!

No-its very often not that straight forward. And it isnt only 'energy input' which needs to be considered

I said it's indicative, which it is. Energy is behind nearly every cost in a product makeup.

WMW 'sustainability' is a very chargable characteristic

also...renewable and sustainable energy inputs are often more expensive than grid supplied electricity; so even if you are basing your EIA on cost as an indication of enery use total only- that would skew it

bejezzus

Of course it's not a revelation. I respect the fact that many people do think about these things like yourself but many don't. It's not that I have only just realised that my child has too many plastic toys it's that nearly all the children I know have tons of plastic toys most of which are hardly ever played with. These children have parents who are environmentally aware and do things to reduce waste in other areas of their lives. But there seems to be a complete gap of awareness where children's toys are concerned.
In regards to talking about plastic crap, my DC's have never received anything in a party bag that isn't made of either sugar or plastic, same as the Macdonalds style goodie bags etc (as another poster pointed out). 100% these sorts of kids gifts are crap. They happened to all be made of plastic hence me pairing the two words together. It's certainly not a snobbery thing. It's because the cheap throw away stuff generally tends to be made of plastic.

MickyDodger, do you not understand my post? Why the lofty tone? How can my expressing concern about the amount of plastic waste in the world possibly lay my open to accusations that I don't know what I am talking about? It is undeniable! You appear to be living embodiment of the type of person I had in mind - someone who dismiesses those who express concern about an environmental issue as deluded and ignorant. It is not as though I was arguing that everyone should reduce their carbon emissions because climate change is definitely caused by people's oil use. That is a theory. I am talking about plastic being littered around the the land and sea and wondering how we can reduce the problem. How can you possibly deny that it's a problem? It's not a theory - it's there in front of you. Here <a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=seal+plastic+litter&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=LEc&sa=X&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&biw=1024&bih=629&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=BKtXuU625f_5WM:&imgrefurl=www.wdcs.org/stop/killing_trade/plastic.php&docid=_nXv2isL90nM7M&imgurl=www.wdcs.org/graphics_bin/dolphin_plastic_entanglement.jpg&w=300&h=204&ei=8TSET76JFIiJ0AXbvYGvBw&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=339&sig=107866419283596868689&page=1&tbnh=137&tbnw=194&start=0&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0,i:69&tx=98&ty=61" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">look. Look at <a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=seal+plastic+litter&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=LEc&sa=X&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&biw=1024&bih=629&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=_bwQwnIiK1-1AM:&imgrefurl=www.marine-knowledge.com/maritime-pollution/organic-micro-pollutants-in-marine-and-increased-plastic-litter.html/attachment/entangledfurseal&docid=z1oAQWP2QDnt1M&imgurl=www.marine-knowledge.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/entangledfurseal.jpg&w=270&h=244&ei=8TSET76JFIiJ0AXbvYGvBw&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=401&sig=107866419283596868689&page=1&tbnh=134&tbnw=148&start=0&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:0,i:80&tx=61&ty=67" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this. And <a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=plastic+toys+beach+litter&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=tuw&sa=X&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&biw=1024&bih=629&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=SKaHf7Fm3SaimM:&imgrefurl=www.sealordphotography.net/Environment/Beach-Cleans/11001600_dpvGpH/162510240_j3xaa&docid=xBzXyD8t6GnFkM&itg=1&imgurl=www.sealordphotography.net/Environment/Beach-Cleans/beach-litter-Joseph-Adams/162510240_j3xaa-L-2.jpg&w=800&h=539&ei=PjWET_r6IYKl0QXesLm3Bw&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=363&sig=107866419283596868689&page=1&tbnh=136&tbnw=175&start=0&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:9,s:0,i:86&tx=92&ty=98" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this. <a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=albatrosses+litter&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=Mvw&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&biw=1024&bih=629&tbm=isch&tbnid=9xlQBC-B15heBM:&imgrefurl=www.sanrafaelclean.org/clean/why_litter_hurts.htm&docid=F6vbUAV5gtpKWM&imgurl=www.sanrafaelclean.org/clean/litter_hurts_big_albatross.jpg&w=1854&h=1397&ei=WzWET_neHcPO0QXX8rS9Bw&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=309&sig=107866419283596868689&page=1&tbnh=141&tbnw=178&start=0&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:65&tx=75&ty=97" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Look

These are not necessarily toys I know, before someone tells me.

AS I have already said, I was referring to the OP. Try reading before ranting, it does help.

and try to reign in the hyperbole, nobody likes a frothing zealot.

I thought you were talking to Ariel. I think it was the way you said 'What on earth are you talking about Ariel?', up there.

I think worrying about the amount of biodegradeable plastic around in the world is NBU, but worrying about the relatively tiny amount used in kids toys is BU - it's a relative piss in a plastic ocean, and is vair MC if the preferred alternative is expensive wooden toys.

Yes, she talked ABOUT the OP, and I contradicted her points ABOUT the OP. Do I need to supply a map?

The OP was a little simplistic. But I understand the frustration. The amount of tiny litle bits of plastic crap that I ahve to sort through and throw away that isn't recyclable and isn't played with is immense and it seems fucking unstoppable. McDonalds, party bags, bit's of extra lego blah blah blah.

And then you watch a short film like Midway and see birds with stomachs full of lighters and bottle tops and it makes you think, 'I need to be responsible'. And surely there is nothing wrong with that?

However you can, of course, beat me to a virtual pulp because of that stray apostrophe up there. Damn IT.

Mcdonalds has an appalling environmental and social responsibility history. Tiny bits of plastic (which you ate not obliged to take home with you) is the very least of their sins. And probably by extension, also the customers?

I forgave McDonalds slightly after working for a charity where I met parents who used Ronald McDonald houses when their kids were in hospital. But I agree with you.

I appreciate that my post made it sound like I visit McDonalds every week but I've got beyond trying to defend myself in AIBU to people who don't know me elsewhere - suffice to say that most of the McDonalds crap int his house is given to us by well meaning other people.

My point was, McDonalds notwithstanding, that:

It's not unreasonable to question one's own behaviour and adjust it. Ever.

It's not unreasonable to question one's own behaviour and adjust it. Ever.

No...but I do think that when it comes to Saving The Planet, people get sidetracked by fripperies. Energy saving lightbulbs, switching computers off at night and no plastic toys are just not going to do it.

No house heating in winter, no cars, no flights...and no industry. Now that would make a difference - if it was the US and China, the UK being a tiny contributor..

Everywhere else its just noise in the system.

Frankly Micky I don't give a rat's ass whether you like me.

Try and reign in the lofty patronising tone - no one likes a twat, especially one who dismisses clear evidence i.e. pictures and film as "frothing hyperbole" from a "zealot" . Have you never felt passionately about something?

Worryme
I agree with you about the being sidetracked. I suppose in a way that's what I think is so ridiculous and I was trying to express but not very well. Why the hype over plastic bags when many people have swathes of useless plastics being bought into the house in so many other forms.

TBF I understand the viewpoint that trying to save the planet by (say) turning things off at the plug is like trying to bail out the Titanic with a thimble. And it is hugely unfair that so much guilt is poured onto normal people when massive companies get away with [ecological] murder

That said, there is nothing wrong with still doing the little things. Even if it makes a tiny difference, it's still a difference, and that's better than nothing. I thought that is what OP and others were getting at - just suggesting something else we can do.

Ariel whatme bejez madamebo et al

Thanks for being informative on this thread and I appreciate the links and incite

I think the thing about plastic bags is that that they are so light and so disposable. I forget the exact figure, but a huge percentage of plastic bags have a usable life of minutes or hours before being discarded. That's how so many of them find their way into the sea, for example, especially in this country where we are surrounded by the stuff.

Regarding the OP,

I think that it is a good thing to buy less of everything when it comes to gear, clothes and toys for children.

I think most of us recognise that our kids have too much and have loads of toys that they never play with. There are clothes that they hardly ever wear, and we have bought countless fairly useless parenting gadgets.

Looking back, I wish I had kept the money and had more free space in my house.

As for the plastic toys we have bought, I would say that most of them have lasted very well. My DS1 is 20 and we still have the stockpile bought for him - Little Tykes toys in the garden (car, sandpit, climbing frame, house). The Duplo and Lego have lasted well too. One full set of plastic toys for five children is not too bad, and we've donated a fair bit to toddler group as well.

No one seems to be picking up on my notion that the use of plastics is not particularly bad for the environment. Polymers have transformed lives - they should be celebrated :)

The thread, to me, has been hijacked with the plight of fish in the Pacific - something caused by irresponsible disposal by Pacific countries. I don't really want to be accused of irresponsible disposal, or like to believe that my County Council and their contractors are irresponsible.

Oh hello Claire.

I think you have misunderstood a few things. Have you not watched the clip yet? It was about birds specifically rather than fish, and albatrosses in particular. Their foraging range can stretch right round the world you know. And also, ocean currents travel quite widely as well, taking their litter with them.

Don't let it bother you though. After all, it's somewhere else.

Have you got the message yet that I am not interested in sensationalism.

Your pet project is not the fault of plastics, but the fault of human behaviour. Tackle that, if you please.

Claire, please can you tell me exactly how I am sensationalising just because I haved linked to a few photos and some footage. And can you explain why you feel that the production and the disposal of plastics are two such entirely separate issues? And why you are so utterly determined to dismiss concern about a genuine and real issue (as opposed to a theory) as a total irrelevance. The exact location of the Pacific trash gyre is really, really not an issue. There is one in the Atlantic you know - is that close enough to home for you? Entire areas of our own country are covered in plastic too, like <a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=cornish+beach+plastic+litter&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=rqK&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&biw=1024&bih=629&tbm=isch&tbnid=-vtR00Kud0OfxM:&imgrefurl=www.carvemag.com/2012/02/7816/&docid=8DDVXZYl_UVPDM&imgurl=www.carvemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Marine-Litter-Cornwall.jpg&w=2592&h=1944&ei=TmaET7XMGKmw0QWgxqzNBw&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=296&sig=107866419283596868689&page=3&tbnh=138&tbnw=184&start=35&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:35,i:152&tx=100&ty=123" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this one - is that close enough for you?

I am sorry if this is considered to be a thread hijack, but you were so bizarrely dismissive and patronising on the other thread, that I'd quite like to know your motives, given that you poured scorn over mine.