To ask what one thing you would ban to help the environment?

[AngryBirdsNoMore]

Following on from @GADday’s well meaning thread about disposable sanitary products being an option to phase out to help the environment - what one thing would you ban to help the environment?

Let’s not get into sanitary products again. That thread makes clear that disposable sanitary products are probably here to stay for a range of reasons…

Ill go first:

Private planes. I’m struggling to think of any reason why they’re necessary especially for short flights.

Nothing. There’s no need to ban anything 🙄

Hot tubs

Plastic. From all major companies. How can I choose plastic - free packing when it's not actually available?
Change needs to start on a capitalist industry level, not an individual consumer level

A minor one but that excess packaging companies use to make products seem like a better deal. 10% product 90% plastic and cardboard.

Those of you who would seek to ban humans, would you start with yourselves, your families and your friends? Or is it only other humans that are the problem?

Ironing.

Plastic grass
Able bodied people driving less than 1 mile to the shops. (Walk and get more exercise and vit D).
Weed killer and insecticide.

wet wipes (of all descriptions), chewing gum, energy drinks, cigarettes. Could go on.

Cows

Plastic grass.

Disposable wet wipes of any kind. Cleaning- use a cloth and product. Make up- use a reusable wipe and remover. Baby- reusable terry wipes. I use them and honestly it’s not that gross. For poop I wipe the worst off with loo roll then the resusable wipe. Into the nappy bin and then wash every few days. I do a rinse with just the wipes then add other clothes etc for a full wash.

Flowering plants are not a luxury

There's going to be global population collapse in the next few decades, so that will fix a lot of the problem on its own. It will cause a lot of problems for human society though, of course.

Is plastic grass such a huge problem across the country? I only know one person with it and it replaced concrete yard so it wasn’t as if it was a real grass or plastic grass environmental conundrum. I’m looking across my real grass lawn at my plastic rattan garden furniture - surely that’s a much bigger issue than plastic grass but like a PP alluded to we only want to ban the things we don’t want ourselves.

Excess plastic packaging would be on my list. I just got a delivery of school uniform from Perry’s. Nice eco friendly brown paper bag. Shirts proudly made with up to 3.5 recycled bottles… shrouded in a non-recyclable plastic bag. Washable shirts don’t need to be bagged in plastic imho. They don’t need to be made of plastic either but that’s the school uniform!

Balloons
all single use wrapping products

Those Flash floor wipes. Can't believe they're still produced and advertised.

I'd forgotten about balloons. I hate them!

I’d be up for flight rationing, at least until planes are 100% electric/fuel cell or whatever else they could be.

Why isn't it the answer? Banning or making things expensive (like plastic bags, disposable cutlery etc) is the only untying that works because people won't stop using them voluntarily

Meat.

Having more than 2 children.

In a population collapse?

And how would you do this, enforced abortions?

The worst are people who have fake plants outside.

Private car use in cities

This has worked pretty well in Germany. Most soft drinks in plastic bottles have a 25 cent deposit and the seller is obliged to take the bottle back when empty. Lots of people now use multiple-use bottles or refill plastic bottles several times, and there are no plastic bottles lying around because homeless people make good money from collecting and returning them. Glass beer bottles have always had a deposit on them because the beer companies can recycle them easily. The system isn’t perfect (some drinks like water are exempt) but it’s a good start.

Cars. Before anyone jumps on me this needs to go hand-in-hand with robust public transport especially for the disabled, and walkable/accessible communities. But cars create such huge direct & indirect damage they have to go

And mass-farmed meat. I love meat but it can't keep going like this.