Plastic is the past and banning its use is an effective step towards a sustainable future.
The News Lens
Date: 2018/09/03
By: Nate Maynard
In a perfect world, you would not eat that entire box of donuts, or finish off the bottle of
Photo Credit: Reuters / TPG
wine because “it was almost out.” Sadly, we do not live in that world and often do things against our best interest. To preserve our health we commonly set boundaries, abstain, or “ban” certain substances from our lives.
Much like sugar or alcohol, plastic is cheap, widespread, and socially ingrained. While some hang on for technological innovations to save us, others realize they we must self-impose creative limits to steer our world towards greater sustainability.
Why ban?
Through a combination of subsidies and technical innovation humans have made plastic very cheap. Global fossil fuel subsidies reached US$5.3 trillion in 2015 (including undercharging for carbon and air pollution.)
Given that 99 percent of plastics use fossil fuels as the base for production, these subsides help to drive down the true cost of plastic manufacturing. Global governments give producers trillions in “free” support. [FULL STORY]