A Surge of New Plastic Is About to Hit the Planet | Hacker News Reader

A Surge of New Plastic Is About to Hit the Planet

wired.com

32 pointsjonbaer9 comments

This is really sad and it shows just how much power the consumer has.

As long as people are happy buying or owning stocks from ExxonMobil, Shell, and Saudi Aramco and the likes it will only get worse.

I disagree. As long as people insist on having the latest iphone, the cool new car (loaded with plastic), even nice new clothes, then there will be a market for plastic.

Somebody will meet that need. The plastic will be produced so long as consumers demand it. It doesn't make a difference if it's Saudi Arabia or Norway that's producing it-- somebody will find a way. The problem is with the consumption.

How much plastic does an iPhone really have though?

I recognize this as a legitimate response to my assertion. There's not much plastic in an iPhone, but it was an example of something that nearly everyone has and many people replace too frequently.

Good on you, nice point.

> Somebody will meet that need. The plastic will be produced so long as consumers demand it.

putting blame only on the consumer, who’s is born into a system that is designed to fuel consumption (in order to survive in society, you need to buy clothes, phones, refrigerators, toys for your kids, diapers etc etc) is not very productive imo

not to mention the effect of marketing in all of this and it’s clear we need an all-round approach from supply-side to marketing to consumer awareness

(all my opinion of course ^^)

Did you read the article?

It tells that these companies increase plastic production though people want this to stop.

People do not insist because this is what they always wanted but because of the advertisement manipulating them in a very subtle way and their missing consciousness about a lot of things that you do not learn at school.

They are presented with influencers, pictures etc. which make them feel useless and worthless just to present them with the new XYZ and the promise it will improve their sad life, help them to get along with their neighbors and stuff like that.

Another player in this game is the government which does not hold companies responsible for their actions and the harm they do.

You could still use the 1st iPad with a decent OS (e.g. some Linux) if you would be allowed to. Because companies need to make money they will brick it instead so you will have to buy a new one. Is this the fault of the customer? Certainly not.

This is not normal and it is not the expected behavior of a device like that from the point of view of someone who knows that on the inside it is just a computer. We (people in IT) know that and many ignore it or lie to themselves to feel better but the average consumer in the meantime believes this is the way things have to be.

In this case I would not support the hypothesis that the average consumer (or the majority) is at all able to act that rationally.

To blame the consumer completely is a carefully seeded thought but it is just not the (whole) truth. While many decisions will aggregate and contribute to change not all of them are the kind of free choice the industry wants governments and the global community to believe in to spare them with the necessary consequences (laws, control, taxes etc.).

Wow instead of reacting and discussing like civilized people one is voted down in silence. Very courageous and honest.

Apart from environmental impact, another major health issue is BPA like disruption of the endocrine system. Mother jones covered Tritan plastic in 2014: https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/03/tritan-certi...

They accuse Eastman of major fraud of how the research was faked.

While I’m sure these companies are trying their hardest to hedge, once their major product (fuel) disappears, they will be nowhere near the size they are today.

Imagine these companies at 10% their current size. That’s a LOT of political clout they lose.

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