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Comment by everdrive | Hacker News Reader

They're everywhere. But people keep buying and using, and discarding plastics simply out of convenience. It's the lead of our generation, and we'll all hostage to the broader decisions of the majority. I'm not anti-car, but it's easy to feel this way about people who are -- entire cities, communities, and mortality statistics upended by the convenience of automobiles. So it is for plastics, and any other majority preference.

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> But people keep buying and using, and discarding plastics simply out of convenience.

You say that as if it's easy.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to suggest that people had easy other options. I didn't mean "preferences" in the individual choice sense of the word, but in the network effects sense of the word. In other words, even if people generally didn't want to buy food that comes in plastic containers, there are vanishingly few alternatives, and this is driven by market forces that individuals have no control over.

How do you avoid using plastics?

You can't 100% avoid its use but you can certainly mitigate it somewhat, hopeful that the density plays a role and having fewer microplastics is better than having more. But it's not too hard, just don't buy food that's covered in plastic packages (most junk food), use glassware and silverware more often, avoid plastic bottled drinks as much as possible whenever possible and so on.

> just don't buy food that's covered in plastic packages (most junk food),

That's "most food" period. Yes, people should look for alternatives where they exist, but don't expect to find many and don't expect them to be affordable to most people. Plastic is everywhere and the idea that we can solve this by voting with our wallets is a joke.

People can't even be expected to know when their stuff is plastic. Most people have no idea that basically all of their clothes are made of plastics. I once asked someone if they wanted their coke in a bottle or a can and they said they wanted a can because they go out of their way to "never drink out of plastic". They were very upset to learn that plastic lines the inside of aluminum cans and they've still been drinking out of plastic containers the entire time. Less plastic is better than more plastic at least.

I never said you can avoid it altogether, just mitigate exposure. Re-read my comment please

> just don't buy food that's covered in plastic packages.

Canned food/ingredients are also in contact with the inner lining:

"According to the Can Manufacturers Institute, today about 95 percent of food cans are made without BPA-based linings, using a variety of other coatings, or polymers. The trade group says linings are now typically made from non-BPA acrylic or polyester epoxies, or olefin polymers. But it’s unclear whether this vague list includes all alternatives in use – and more importantly, whether they’re safer than BPA."

https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/bpa-update-tracking-c...

They won't answer you because they wouldn't get to feel smugly superior if they did, because they should know that it is literally impossible to not use plastics right now, and has been since the 90's.

Realistically, we should lobby for a total ban of single use non-biodegradable plastics worldwide, a tax on single use biodegradable plastics, and a superfund funded by that tax to clean up the world of plastics in every form possible.

If we can get 80% of it dealt with then the rest would take care of itself.

I'm sorry -- given the responses it's clear my comment didn't come across very well. What I was trying to convey is just what you're saying -- that wholly avoiding plastics is more or less impossible on the individual level, and broad societal preferences (cheap goods, easy manufacturing processes, high profits, etc) hold us hostage.

There are some steps you can take to improve things, but avoiding them altogether seems impossible. I certainly didn't mean to imply that individuals could do much here. That is sort of the point: we're trapped by the bulk preferences of society. If no one made polyester clothing, no one would be able to buy any. It's the consumer preference for cheaper fabrics which have contributed in this case. Anyhow, no one can wholesale avoid plastic usage. (for instance, I'm typing this on a computer. Trying finding a computer without any plastics.) But, there are things you can do to at least improve things.

Recycling:

- Never, ever recycle plastics. Plastic recycling strongly contributes to microplastics due to the cleansing process. Plastic is also not like glass or metal, either. It's getting one more go-around before entering the landfill in any case.

Clothing:

- Avoid polyester fleece at all costs.

- Avoid polyester as much as possible.

- If you own polyester fabrics, wash them as little as possible.

- Prioritize cotton, linen, or wool for all fabric purchases.

Food:

- Avoid anything heated or prepared in plastic, such as microwave meals, microwave popcorn, street food, etc.

- Local farm share is an option for some.

Driving:

- Tire particles are the biggest contributor most don't think about. So, drive less, if you can.

Promote a return to the use of paper and cardboard packaging. They are/were manufactured from natural fibres (cellulose) which broke down naturally in water. Difference between plastic and paper? You could eat the latter and survive!

Or, better yet, glass containers! (So you don't have to rely on PFAS-riddled or plastic-based coatings on cardboard packaging).

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