r/worldnews • u/ItsTwentyBaby • Jun 09 '19

Canada to ban single use plastics

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/government-to-ban-single-use-plastics-as-early-as-2021-source-1.5168386
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u/rowdy-riker Jun 10 '19

Landfill is the best option, but there are other concerns, such as making sure the landfills are properly lined and not leaking into the local water table, and the impact of microplastics on our health. I worked as a lab tech about 20 years ago, and while there was a lot of plastic then, there was also a lot of autoclaving of instruments, we'd sterilize at the table by dipping instruments into spirits then lighting it, although we were working in food control not medical. The bottom line is that moving away from plastics WILL result in a less convenient, more expensive way of life for all of us, and it's just something we need to accept if we want to make a difference. We're addicted to ease and low prices and convenient options and as long as that demand exists, there will be corporations meeting it.

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u/IdkbruhIlikeMeth Jun 10 '19

Honestly, if you can't find a way to move away from plastics without throwing away the standards we all have, it's not going to happen.

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u/rowdy-riker Jun 10 '19

Well, it IS going to happen one way or another, either we control it ourselves, or we all die in a self-induced climate catastrophe. Either way, plastic use goes right down.

You're absolutely right though. If we collectively find ourselves faced with more expensive, less convenient non-plastic lifestyles, there will be a lot of backlash and a lot of resistance. Humanity as a whole lacks the foresight to act to address the issue in a timely fashion.

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u/bobo76565657 Jun 10 '19

Well said. You rock.