Why can't we just stop manufacturing and using plastics ? Invention for the sake of invention ? Curious. The damage is already done, why keep insisting on using plastics ?
A lot? Thats why we cant "just stop manufacturing and using plastics".
So, instead of letting things continue the way they are (unsustainable) or just "stop manufacturing" (impossible considering how ubiquitous plastic is), we instead work on making the situation better (e.g., making them endlessly recyclable) while working towards phasing out plastics all-together in the long run.
It's not a switch that can be flipped. The road to a no-plastic world is through steps like this.