AIBU to think to most people don't care about the amount of plastic we use?

[Flippetydip]

Just that really. It depresses me to see everyone buying sandwiches in plastic containers at lunch time, thousands of bottles of water bought every day, thousands and thousands of cups of coffee bought every day with plastic lids.

It will be on the planet for hundreds of years. I carry a cup with me for coffee and a bottle for water but it feels totally futile.

What is the answer?

Sorry that should obviously read "that most people don't care" not "to most people...."

Yanbu . I have become the sustainability bore recently .

I don't know what the answer is but
(a) it ness to become socially unacceptable
(B) business needs to be incentivized against it
(C) it's really does need to be government led

It will change we have no choice. It I think it will be in my grandchildrens generation and will be
Maybe Ťok late ?

Phone

I care. But life gets in the way - sometimes I'm really hungry and / or thirsty and on the move and have to buy food or drink in plastic.
I'd choose a cardboard or paper option if there was one but there isn't always.
I'd be happy for legislation to make all packaging non-plastic.

I do worry about this. My company has a committee for reducing our environmental footprint. As a result plastic disposable cups were removed and everyone received their own mug and dopper (refillable drinking water bottle).

Raise awareness of the Marine Conservation Society's plastic challenge for June - to try to go a month without using single use plastic.
Really makes you think how much we use for a moment to throw away forever

I think a lot of people do care at least as much as you do.
We are surrounded by plastic that we don't need but are not offered alternatives.

It has to come from higher up. There need to be laws to force manufacturers into doing things differently.

Take those bloody microbeads for example. I was merrily flushing thousands of the bastards into the water system without knowing.
When I became aware it was still difficult to be sure I wasn't using them because they are not explicitly listed on packaging.

conversely look at how successful legislation has been in reducing the use of plastic bags. There were no riots and people have generally welcomed it.

YANBU. But it can be quite hard to avoid.
And our council only recycles the bare minimum of plastic products. Councils should be given money to invest in better recycling facilities.

I know - the plastic bag thing was a revolution on a very quiet scale. No-one kicked off, we all just accepted it. I so want the same thing to happen with the fruit packaging and sandwich packaging - it can't be that hard to go to cardboard or something?

Greyponcho it was the Marine Conservation thing that got me thinking more and more about it. It's not happy thoughts though....

But thank you for showing me it's not just me that frets about it. :)

I do make a conscious effort to minimise my plastic use, I work away a lot so I am constantly on the road. I accumulate so many bottles, I refuse to bin them in hotels and will wait until I'm home or near supermarket with recycling to dispose of them.

Bought a reusable bottle now, to try and reduce the amount of bottles lurking in my car!
I also recycle religiously, I can't bin anything if it can go in the recycling box!

I find it really hard. I care hugely, but when everything is packaged in plastic (tomatoes, sausages, baking potatoes even) I find it really hard not to inadvertently acquire a lot of plastic recycling every week. I'd much rather this wasn't the case but in all honesty don't have a game plan to change it. The disposable coffee cup use is daunting - there really needs to be better pushes to use reuseable e.g. wash-up facilities in every starbux - because who wants to put a dirty cup back in their bag? The Marine Challenge sounds like a great step.

People laugh at my love of recycling. But i always think if we don't do something now it will be our children's children's children and so on that will be affected.
It scares me how much we as humans abuse the planet.

'We are surrounded by plastic that we don't need but are not offered alternatives'

Yes and no

I don't use Starbucks anymore
I always take packed lunch
We have started cycling

There are so many things we can all do

But yes - a day will
Come when people visit supermarkets and fill their re usable bottles up with fabric conditioner and milk - we are a far way away

Allthe

When we visit abroad all the food is either wrapper in paper (meat ) or recycled Paper bags (vege ) its such a difference !

Then again they only drink bottled water so ....