What plastic could you live without?

[BuckingFrolics]

I've been thinking that there must be a large number of things that are currently made from plastic that we - normal people so to speak - could live without. But what are they?
One person's essential being another's frivolity.

I'm pretty sure I would quickly accept:

Paper shopping bags
Wood only picture frames
Washing up, shampoo etc in cartons like milk cartons
Loose fruit and veg, all types
Cat food not in pouches, tins only
Card packed tampons

Anyone else?

What would absolutely have to stay plastic?

I thought for a few minutes about giving up shower gel, but I really don't think I want to.

I stopped using laundry detergent (soap nuts for me now) and fabric softener (I use vinegar and essential oils) - I'm not a hippie so this was a sacrifice for me.

I have a milkman now instead of plastic bottles - incredibly easy, and they're very cute.

I religiously take my reusable coffee cup out with me, and I always carry a straw.

It must be hard to cut back on plastic with toddlers, they love the stuff. My teenagers are conscious of plastic and get very enthusiastic about the entire green movement. Yay them.

I get plastic bottles refilled for laundry detergent and shampoo. I don't want glass bottles in the bath for DC to break, so refilling works. We need more places willing to do that though - I live in a city & it is easy for me to get a refill. I just keep two bottles, one as spare till I can get the other refilled.

What the hell is so essential about shower gel?

I had a shower and opened a new bar of soap today. Omg it is luscious and smells gorgeous. It's an Italian olive oil soap, bought it from TK Maxx. Will last me 2 or 3 weeks in a daily shower and cost £1.95. Wrapped in a piece of paper. What's not to like?

Plastic drinks bottles! Milk Water Fizzy Juices ....
Or we could have a similar system to the one they have in Germany. Basically you pay an extra 0.25 - 0.50 € for your bottled drink mostly glass some are plastic. Once you take the bottle back to the supermarket (any one will do) you get your 0.25- 0.50€ back.
Bottles will get washed and re filled.

I could live without any of it. Yes I'd need an adjustment period of 3 or 4 days but my dms generation managed without so I know I would too.

I agree bibbity .

I guess many could do without their flexible friends too.

To everyone saying "all of it" - your computers, phones, TVs, cars, in fact everything electrical relies on plastics - take a look at your charging cables. Your clothes and shoes last far longer due to careful use of plastics in thread and soles, let alone the minor miracles of waterproof jackets. Food wrappings, tin linings, bottles - plastic is a wonder material for them.

Target stupid stuff like individually shrinkwrapped apples, those awful heatsealed everything-proof blister packs that tools and memory cards and biros are sold in, twist ties, wrapped cakes in a plastic tray in an outer wrapper, and so on. But be aware that every one of those is there because it's cheaper to do it that way than a 'better' way, either because plastic bottles cost less than glass and are safer to transport, blister packs are extremely protective and lightweight, or because trays mean less crushed and wasted food. Nothing's totally without benefit here.

Except individually shrinkwrapped apples. Fuck whoever thought those things would be sensible.

Bloody mushrooms in s plastic tub wrapped in cling film. Not only is it unenvironmetally friendly the mushrooms sweat. I’d like to see loose mushrooms and a paper bag.
Actually, more loose vegetables and I don’t understand why the right plastic condom on a cucumber. There’s no need for it. They don’t put it on cucumbers in other countries.
They give you an option of loose broccoli or in tight plastic, there’s no actual price difference. Cauliflowers surely don’t need that bag, the checkout assistant can learn a code can’t they?
Milk could still be sold in bottles, but I’m sure supermarkets don’t like the responsibility of having them washed etc.

What the hell is so essential about shower gel?

I've been using Laura Mercier Crème Brulee shower gel for about 15 years, it's more like perfume than shower gel. Can't part with it, unless it starts coming in a bar form (which doesn't seem impossible).

Germany manages to have bottle drop-offs at supermarkets where you take in your (sturdy plastic) crate of glass beer bottles, in they go to the machine (to be washed and reused), out comes a voucher that you can then spend on the next crate of beer. It's not rocket science, other countries are doing it.

Using plastic on medical stuff that needs to be sterile, fair enough. Also, my glasses & lenses are plastic, and they last a fair time, so that seems like a reasonable use (if you have a light prescription you might be able to cope with glass lenses but shortsighted moles like myself need a lighter material.)

Wrapping mushrooms though - agree with Longdistance, it actually makes them go off quicker! And almost no local authorities seem to recycle plastic film. Or, for that matter, the black plastic boxes that supermarket pack veg in - purely because they like the look of the veg against the black background, but which can't be sorted easily by many local authorities.

A company in Scotland Barrs who make Irn Bru for over 100 years up until 2015 gave you a deposit on the glass bottles 750ml ones.
When I was a child it was 2p and it was 30p by the time they ended the scheme. It was fairly common for kids to collect the bottles and buy sweets with the cash. None of the supermarkets supported it, it was the small corner shops and petrol stations who did.

I have also seen bottle recycling schemes for cash or a voucher in France and Spain. Last year in Croatia we filled up the boot of our car with recyclables at the end of our holiday hoping to find a recycling bank in a supermarket or somewhere, but no luck. But we came across a guy going through the bins at the beach for recyclables so we gave them all to him. He was v grateful because he could obviously get money for them ... we just hadn't found the place. So if a country like Croatia can do it, why not everywhere?

@SpoonBlender my parents and grandparents and previous generations further back managed without plastic. I wouldn't mind getting rid of all the plastic in my life if I could. Including the tv, car etc
I'm not an eco 'nut job' or anything. Just sick of all the plastic junk we accumulate.