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Plastic waste gonemad - everybody do one thing now,!

2

Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,319 ✭✭✭emo72


    Every Apple I eat comes with a sticker on it. Pink Lady, I know what you are, it says it on the other plastic ****e you come wrapped in. I don't need or want a sticker on every Apple. What spawn of Satan marketing prick came up with that idea? Your going to hell.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 32,634 ✭✭✭✭Graces7


    The worst example of the nonsense is a hotel café supplying individually-wrapped sugar cubes with a cup of tea or coffee. Madness.

    Safe hygiene. If loose in a bowl can be breathed over etc. And surely paper?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 32,634 ✭✭✭✭Graces7


    re milk; I keep the plastic cartons, cut the top off just over the handle, use the bottom part as plantpots and the top part makes it a mini greenhouse .

    Tins( cat food etc) get crushed and to the bottle/tin bank

    Cardboard goes atop grassy places I need to use for vegetables as mulch.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,479 ✭✭✭✭Thelonious Monk


    Some fella was on rte tues nite saying the malaysia stuff wasnt ours, we are recycling the vast majority of our plastic, some here, most in other European facilities.

    We should still cut back a lot of course.

    I'm pretty sure we've never recycled any domestic plastic waste here in Ireland.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,693 ✭✭✭Day Lewin


    People tend to have an issue with 'single use' plastics, rather than plastic in general.


    Ikea making their tills out of plastic seems fine with me, as the till will probably last 10 years of regular use before being binned. The same amount of plastic to make the til is probably being put into the bin beside the till every 20 minutes.

    Better, but it still does get binned.
    "Binned" is not "disappeared forever" - it's just gone someplace else.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,693 ✭✭✭Day Lewin


    I'm pretty sure we've never recycled any domestic plastic waste here in Ireland.

    As far as I know, some plastic waste does: (not a whole lot).

    I've heard that Thorntons granulate it and re-form; into, eg, posts, sewer pipes (a guess)
    (most who collect "recycling" do NOT re-cycle, but use the material as fuel or hardcore, etc.

    But always into poorer quality, a process that cannot be repeated indefinitely.

    BTW, I'm open to correction on these facts, my knowledge is not technical though I'm very committed to these issues.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,239 ✭✭✭Lurching


    But you won't throw it on the ground but you'll put it in a bin and it will likely be landfilled.

    There are a lot of these 'compostable' materials on the market aren't as great as they make out...the time taken to fully decompose. If they end up a composting facility, yeah they can decompose in 3 months. If you drop then on the ground or throw them on a compost heap at home, it will take more than a year.

    Biodegradable is largely meaningless.

    :confused: Fantastic if this stuff does go to landfill, even if it takes a year to decompose.

    You say biodegradable is meaningless - if a landfill was full of normal plastic, none would have biodegraded within the first 25 years, whereas if the same landfill had been filled with the biodegradable alternative, there would be very little left.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 24,656 ✭✭✭✭Alf Veedersane


    Day Lewin wrote: »
    As far as I know, some plastic waste does: (not a whole lot).

    I've heard that Thorntons granulate it and re-form; into, eg, posts, sewer pipes (a guess)
    (most who collect "recycling" do NOT re-cycle, but use the material as fuel or hardcore, etc.

    But always into poorer quality, a process that cannot be repeated indefinitely.

    BTW, I'm open to correction on these facts, my knowledge is not technical though I'm very committed to these issues.

    I don't know that they granulate plastics and re-form it but they do take a lot of material and use it to produce a high quality fuel (well, meets moisture content and calorific value specifications...possibly others) for use in cement kilns.

    The EPA had a study into the actual recycling of different materials in Ireland and there didn't appear to be the economies of scale for a sustainable business. But that was maybe 15 years ago


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 24,656 ✭✭✭✭Alf Veedersane


    Lurching wrote: »
    :confused: Fantastic if this stuff does go to landfill, even if it takes a year to decompose.

    You say biodegradable is meaningless - if a landfill was full of normal plastic, none would have biodegraded within the first 25 years, whereas if the same landfill had been filled with the biodegradable alternative, there would be very little left.

    In the context of what can be said to be biodegradable, it can be a lot longer than 25 years.

    And after 25 years, the landfill cell will have been closed/capped. There won't be a void or empty cell.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,092 ✭✭✭fineso.mom


    Graces7 wrote: »
    re milk; I keep the plastic cartons, cut the top off just over the handle, use the bottom part as plantpots and the top part makes it a mini greenhouse .

    Tins( cat food etc) get crushed and to the bottle/tin bank

    Cardboard goes atop grassy places I need to use for vegetables as mulch.

    Does the island have a bottle bank? Or does somebody collect it from you? I've wondered this before about smaller islands and waste management.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,105 ✭✭✭Kivaro


    As I drive around the country, plastic bottles are the most common item discarded on the side of the road. That is truly appalling.
    What I've done for years, is use a filter jug to filter tap water, and regularly fill a re-usable drinking container, which can be taken everywhere with you. I'm sure there are a lot of people doing this, but looking at the bottles discarded on the streets and countryside, we need a lot more doing it.

    I also stopped using plastic soap dispensers, which I know are convenient, and we are told that they recyclable. But what about the spring structure? And many still end up in dumps intact anyway. The alternative is simple. Buy multi-packs of bar soap, preferably wrapped in paper, which is biodegradable.
    And, public service announcement: people need to wash their hands (with soap) more often; we would be a much healthier nation if we did this.


  • Registered Users Posts: 10,943 ✭✭✭✭the purple tin


    One thing that parents can do is stop buying happy meals for the kids.



    Those crappy plastic toys that are being pumped out of China in enormous quantities get played with for about 5 minutes and then chucked out.
    Also they are not recylable despite what McDonalds say, they end up at the landfill.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,479 ✭✭✭✭Thelonious Monk


    Kivaro wrote: »
    I also stopped using plastic soap dispensers, which I know are convenient, and we are told that they recyclable. But what about the spring structure? And many still end up in dumps intact anyway. The alternative is simple. Buy multi-packs of bar soap, preferably wrapped in paper, which is biodegradable.
    And, public service announcement: people need to wash their hands (with soap) more often; we would be a much healthier nation if we did this.

    You can buy these vegan bars of soap in boots, just in cardboard little box, that doesn't seem to have any dodgy ingredients. They do me for showering, hand soap, etc. Compare that to my gf who has about 200 plastic bottles of god knows what in her shower and bathroom. All this crap we don't need is pushed on us.


  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    The plastics on the shelf wrapping products is the tip of the iceberg..
    The amount of energy and traffic to keep just one large supermarket stocked is massive but people only see the plastic on there bananas or multipacks
    It’s the consumer that’s demands products availability (regardless of season or where it’s shipped from)
    Products are fresh and ripe as possible
    Long shelf life’s
    But most of all cheap..

    One example is milk...there are alternatives to plastic cartons but people still want them because it’s handy to carry...it’s simple as that..they also want a 2L carton milk with 3 weeks shelf life because it’s fresher...even though the probably consume that milk in 3/4 day...if there’s milk on shelf with less than 5 days people just will not buy it and will go somewhere else..

    Another is Xmas decorations..every year where I work we get literally artic lorry loads of plastic decorations and every year the all sell..where are they all going?

    When youve worked in retail you realise how incredibly wasteful we are as a consumer..it’s astonishing


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,479 ✭✭✭✭Thelonious Monk


    aaronc182 wrote: »
    Another is Xmas decorations..every year where I work we get literally artic lorry loads of plastic decorations and every year the all sell..where are they all going?

    When youve worked in retail you realise how incredibly wasteful we are as a consumer..it’s astonishing

    Unfortunately I am of a disposition where I do think about these things. Christmas for me is a nightmare seeing all this crap produced that no one needs, which ends up seeping chemicals into the ground or floating around the sea for the next few centuries. Nothing but a complete overhaul of our lifestyles and societies could fix this mess we are in.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 40,061 ✭✭✭✭Harry Palmr


    Some wit and imagination can go a long way

    https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/world/new-factory-opens-to-turn-plastic-waste-into-road-surfacing-908825.html
    Toby McCartney, CEO, said: “The opening of our first ever factory is an important milestone in our mission to tackle two issues – plastic waste and potholed roads.

    “Our technology means that we can not only help solve the problem of plastic waste but also produce roads that cope better with changes in the weather, reducing cracks and potholes.

    “That’s because our roads are more flexible thanks to the properties of the plastic used in them, so although a MacRebur road looks the same as any other, it has improved strength and durability.

    “Our technology also means there are no plastic microbeads present in the mix and we can even recycle the road at the end of its lifespan, creating a circular economy that is sustainable and cost effective.”


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 478 ✭✭Millicently


    Switching from glass bottles to plastic and paper packaging to plastic has been a disaster. We were told it would be much better for the planet but it's made things much worse. We produce far more plastic than it's possible or practical to recycle and the market for recycled plastic is drying up.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,942 ✭✭✭topper75


    risteard7 wrote: »
    It's just the cool Hipster trend atm, it'll go away shortly. The same with Veganism

    It is merely the brown and orange curtains of our time, or the pine wall panelling, or the framed confirmation pictures.

    One of them anyway.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,479 ✭✭✭✭Thelonious Monk


    topper75 wrote: »
    It is merely the brown and orange curtains of our time, or the pine wall panelling, or the framed confirmation pictures.

    One of them anyway.

    Not sure if you're serious, but you think rampant destructive consumerism and pollution is some kind of trend that will go away sooner or later?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,942 ✭✭✭topper75


    Not sure if you're serious, but you think rampant destructive consumerism and pollution is some kind of trend that will go away sooner or later?

    The trendy veganism shytehawkery and its accompanying existence guilt cult will not be around in a few years. People will move on. Like they did from leather jackets with loads of zippers, towelling headbands, and keytars.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,479 ✭✭✭✭Thelonious Monk


    topper75 wrote: »
    The trendy veganism shytehawkery and its accompanying existence guilt cult will not be around in a few years. People will move on. Like they did from leather jackets with loads of zippers, towelling headbands, and keytars.

    Right. Words fail me.


  • Registered Users Posts: 968 ✭✭✭railer201


    Switching from glass bottles to plastic and paper packaging to plastic has been a disaster. We were told it would be much better for the planet but it's made things much worse. We produce far more plastic than it's possible or practical to recycle and the market for recycled plastic is drying up.

    Taking milk for example, is there any reason why we couldn't bring our 'handy to carry' washed empty 3 litre milk bottles back to supermarket and refill them from a bulk supply - which would have to be installed of course.

    So why don't supermarkets look into this type of arrangement and so make a substantial improvement that everyone will in turn comply with ?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,479 ✭✭✭✭Thelonious Monk


    railer201 wrote: »
    Taking milk for example, is there any reason why we couldn't bring our 'handy to carry' washed empty 3 litre milk bottles back to supermarket and refill them from a bulk supply - which would have to be installed of course.

    So why don't supermarkets look into this type of arrangement and so make a substantial improvement that everyone will in turn comply with ?

    In fairness why would they bother upsetting the status quo?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 478 ✭✭Millicently


    Take a look at all the plastic tat for St Patrick's Day in the shops now, then factor in the tat that was there for Valentine's Day and the plastic tat that will be around for Easter. There is no need for it and most of it is shipped in from thousands of miles away. It's all there because there's a huge market for it and the only way to stop it is if people stop buying it.


  • Registered Users Posts: 968 ✭✭✭railer201


    In fairness why would they bother upsetting the status quo?

    Good point but why hang it all on the end user ? - more of a case of them acknowledging their role in cutting down on facilitating plastic waste and doing something about it.

    I use a 3 litre bottle of milk perhaps once a week, but they supply thousands of new plastic bottles daily. The supermarkets along with the dairy suppliers are in a position to implement substantial change in one fell swoop.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,543 ✭✭✭dublinman1990


    A few things about reusing/replacing products being made from/with plastic should give you an education on the subject.

    A retail business which buys new cash registers for it's business can make good use of it's resources once it reaches it's end of life. Frequent software/firmware updates which are provided free of charge or by subscription from a software provider should allow the business to use the cash registers for longer than expected once it stops working completely i.e. no longer able to function. A lot of the software provided for these cash registers is by Microsoft Windows business software products. They should last for a good long while.

    If you use pens for work, school or college. Use a cartridge pen with ink cartridges which can last for an adequate amount of time until the tip of the pens break on you. Ink cartridges should have separate cartridges for black ink & red ink if you need it for that purpose. Get an adhesive label maker to label your individual cartridge pens with blue ink, black ink & red inks respectively. Give up using plastic biros as they cannot be refilled once they go empty. The ink inside them can have the ability to dry up quickly when the biros are not used frequently. The only option for them is they have to be thrown away into a bin.

    If you work in a school canteen or kitchen. Kitchen or school staff can use drinking glasses more often than having soft drinks in plastic cups. Drinking glasses can be used by people to soft drinks for staff students & parents throughout the school week. Once the glasses are completely finished; they can be returned, washed & dried and re-used again for more drinking by more people. I think the government have implemented a rule a few years ago that single-use plastics like plastic cups are banned for use in the Irish public service buildings. I wonder though does that ban officially extend itself to within schools & colleges around the country?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,479 ✭✭✭✭Thelonious Monk


    Take a look at all the plastic tat for St Patrick's Day in the shops now, then factor in the tat that was there for Valentine's Day and the plastic tat that will be around for Easter. There is no need for it and most of it is shipped in from thousands of miles away. It's all there because there's a huge market for it and the only way to stop it is if people stop buying it.

    This is why we need some kind of regulatory body that decides if this rubbish can be sold in the first place


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 20,633 ✭✭✭✭Buford T. Justice XIX


    railer201 wrote: »
    Taking milk for example, is there any reason why we couldn't bring our 'handy to carry' washed empty 3 litre milk bottles back to supermarket and refill them from a bulk supply - which would have to be installed of course.

    So why don't supermarkets look into this type of arrangement and so make a substantial improvement that everyone will in turn comply with ?

    Quite a few reasons, actually. Who's going to take responsibility for washing the dispenser in the shop/supermarket? It will require a detergent wash every 3 days at least and a descale at least once a week before one of the detergent washes. Are retailers able to dispose of any washes safely?

    Who is responsible for the milk remaining in the dispenser if it has to be dumped prior to washing? Who has responsibility if a power outage occurs and the milk sours before sale? How do the dispensers get refilled? Who is responsible for ensuring no tampering is done to the milk stored in the dispenser? How is that dispenser rendered tamper proof?

    Milk in sealed, single use containers is favoured by both the public and retailers as it's a fresh, relatively long life product and any tampering is easily visible on inspection by both the retailer and consumer.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 553 ✭✭✭sbs2010


    Get some of these:

    beenaturalireland.com

    No more cling film.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 553 ✭✭✭sbs2010


    The overall problem will eventually be sorted (in the EU anyway) by legislation.

    Everyone knew plastic bags caused awful litter problems but how many stopped using them before the tax came in?
    Once it was legislated for everyone just adjusted and got on with it.

    Will be the same with single use plastic. Bring in the legislation and make it happen. People will complain for a while but quite soon we'll adjust and get on with things.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 968 ✭✭✭railer201


    Quite a few reasons, actually. Who's going to take responsibility for washing the dispenser in the shop/supermarket? It will require a detergent wash every 3 days at least and a descale at least once a week before one of the detergent washes. Are retailers able to dispose of any washes safely?

    Who is responsible for the milk remaining in the dispenser if it has to be dumped prior to washing? Who has responsibility if a power outage occurs and the milk sours before sale? How do the dispensers get refilled? Who is responsible for ensuring no tampering is done to the milk stored in the dispenser? How is that dispenser rendered tamper proof?

    Milk in sealed, single use containers is favoured by both the public and retailers as it's a fresh, relatively long life product and any tampering is easily visible on inspection by both the retailer and consumer.


    Bulk distribution of milk, direct to households was a feature of Dublin life up to the 1950's as I remember it, so, if it could be done then it can be done now.

    This was the system before the bottled milk deliveries arrived and basically consisted of each house having a stainless steel container which was filled from a large container/churn in the van or cart.

    No reason at all, why supermarkets could not return to such a system and add the required enhancements such as chilling. The modern equivalent would be a pallet size sealed and chilled container.

    There would be no dispensing equipment to clean as each pallet sized milk container would have its own tap and sit in a chilled cabinet.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,105 ✭✭✭Kivaro


    aaronc182 wrote: »
    When youve worked in retail you realise how incredibly wasteful we are as a consumer..it’s astonishing

    That's it in a nutshell.
    As consumers (collectively), we can influence how retailers, supermarkets, and other businesses address the use of single-use plastics. They will only respond to this issue when there is a financial consequence not to.
    Education is a major component on how society can change their habits. And we should start educating the consumer at a very early age.


  • Site Banned Posts: 38 Premeditated Joke


    Whenever I've bought something in a store, and if I see that the cashier is about to give me a bag that I didn't ask for, I will stop them. I everybody did this one thing it would be very good.

    But no, I'll continue to buy milk.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,217 ✭✭✭moonshadow


    Crock Rock wrote: »
    Why don't we have a return system for plastic and glass like on most of the mainland?

    20c a bottle adds up.

    I agree with your thoughts , but where is this mainland you speak of ?
    We are an island... a republic ...we are our mainland.


  • Registered Users Posts: 638 ✭✭✭gary550


    Kivaro wrote: »
    That's it in a nutshell.
    As consumers (collectively), we can influence how retailers, supermarkets, and other businesses address the use of single-use plastics. They will only respond to this issue when there is a financial consequence not to.
    Education is a major component on how society can change their habits. And we should start educating the consumer at a very early age.

    I think it would be more efficient to start incentivising businesses to use less plastics sooner rather than the customer having to call it out. Also any smart business will cop on that using and advertising the use of ecofriendly packing as a marketing tool will be quite effective going into the future (to those who care of course)

    We have started ourselves by replacing bubblewrap with a paper packing alternate and only use recycled boxes but still use plastic tape because the paper alternate is much more expensive but its next on the list.

    In all honesty we have had zero complaints from customers when using bubblewrap, maybe some were bothered by it but obviously not enough to tell us.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 755 ✭✭✭Timistry


    This issue shows how lax we are when it comes to tackling environmental damage. Should aim to phase out all single use plastics globally within 2 years. It would make a huge difference. Will never happen though, the oil lobby is too powerful


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,995 ✭✭✭Ipso


    sbs2010 wrote: »
    The overall problem will eventually be sorted (in the EU anyway) by legislation.

    Everyone knew plastic bags caused awful litter problems but how many stopped using them before the tax came in?
    Once it was legislated for everyone just adjusted and got on with it.

    Will be the same with single use plastic. Bring in the legislation and make it happen. People will complain for a while but quite soon we'll adjust and get on with things.

    The plastic bag ban may not solve all problems.
    https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4711


  • Posts: 14,344 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Day Lewin wrote: »
    Better, but it still does get binned.
    "Binned" is not "disappeared forever" - it's just gone someplace else.




    Everything gets binned eventually. The point I'm making is that you're aiming your shakey fist in the wrong direction if you're starting with long-life plastics like cash registers.




    Why isn't everyone annoyed at Hollywood? Why aren't people out protesting everytime an action film comes out? They literally create and destroy, set fire to, blow up, etc. full building sets, cars, etc. and no one bats an eyelid.


    In Terminator 3, if i recall correctly, they built a full, massive, big long street, and then they smashed it in bits a few days later by driving a crane through it. Nobody cared. People thought it was amazing the level of creativity required.


    I appreciate CGI is used a lot more nowadays, but the point is still valid. People pick and choose the wrong things to get upset about.


    Long life, re-usable plastic bottles would be fine with me. I wouldn't have an issue with that at all. Shops should all just have those drinks dispensers like restaurants use, and you pay by inserting a coin/tapping your card. Everyone's a winner.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 478 ✭✭Millicently


    Lidl have introduced very handy net bags a pack of 2 is under a euro and they are large enough to get as much fruit/veg/rolls etc as you'd like into them. I buy a good few things loose and would easily have used at least 6 little plastic bags each time I went shopping but apart from the fact that these are reusable they are much stronger than the flimsy plastic ones in supermarkets.

    1 thing that isn't helpful is that it's cheaper in supermarkets to buy a large bag of vegetables in plastic packaging than it is to buy just the small amount that you need loose. That's just making the problem worse, if I want 3 or 4 carrots and a couple of onions it would cost me at least 3 times as much as buying a bag of about 12 carrots and 6 onions. I don't need them and they'll only get binned but people want the cheap option.


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  • Posts: 0 CMod ✭✭✭✭ Brooke Sour Viewer


    Whatever about packaging, i hate paper straws
    So manky


  • Registered Users Posts: 10,943 ✭✭✭✭the purple tin


    bluewolf wrote: »
    Whatever about packaging, i hate paper straws
    So manky
    Suck it up Bluewolf :pac:


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,524 ✭✭✭the_pen_turner


    Suck it up Bluewolf :pac:

    thats the problem . all suck but your outa luck


  • Posts: 31,118 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Day Lewin wrote: »
    Bottles and packets are small.

    Look around at the amount of plastic that is BIG:
    every bit of furniture on a train or bus or aeroplane.
    All the flooring.
    All the foam and fabric on all those sofas. All the fittings in kitchens and schools.

    Look along the shelves at a large hardware store, W00deez or Ykeyea. Look at the cash registers and displays.
    The clothing and footwear on every member of every crowd, with only a few scraps of wool, cotton and leather holding out for the sake of renewable and bio-degradable.

    We're all doomed.
    I've stopped buying stuff. Clothing all second-hand. But I can't stop buying food - not being a farmer, and we have to eat.
    And shoes are a problem.

    Rally round, boys, this is about to get very serious very soon.


    PS I'm not ignoring the small stuff either, though.
    When I think of ...
    every toothbrush I've ever used.
    Every biro and marker and fountain pen.
    Every comb, every cigarette lighter....every roll-on deodorant bottle...
    all still lying in the dump for centuries to come. Multiply that by the number of citizens in Dublin...
    I just shudder.
    Much of your rant is really against the twin evils of planned & perceived obsolescence.

    These are areas where consumers really have to "man up" and stand up against manufacturers & service providers who tell them that "it's now obsolete" and will refuse to allow it to be used/supported, they deliberately make the newer models incompatible, so you're forced to throw it out. That is assuming it hasn't already died because of a "countdown to death" chip or some inbuilt weakness that limits the products life.

    A well designed plastic product can last for decades, but that is not what we are getting, we're getting plastic products that are not UV protected, so they look old and ugly in a fairly short time. No one wants an old looking ugly plastic thing, they'll be seduced into buying a replacement that is new & shiny, for no other reason that it looks better.

    Working in IT, I am in the process of replacing lots of (plastic cased) equipment simply because the manufacturers have deemed them "too old" and have stopped providing support, no business can be seen to take the risk of operating with obsolete infrastructure, so they're being replaced, despite the fact that they could easily work for many more years.

    Economists and their business paymasters are the real culprits behind this meaningless waste, recycling is their answer as it is yet another pocket for money to flow via, on its way to the top.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 616 ✭✭✭Crock Rock


    moonshadow wrote: »
    I agree with your thoughts , but where is this mainland you speak of ?
    We are an island... a republic ...we are our mainland.
    Germany and the Netherlands to name two.


    Continental Europe IS our mainland.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,524 ✭✭✭the_pen_turner


    while this isnt plastic waste it is a pure disgrace


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  • Posts: 31,118 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    while this isn't plastic waste it is a pure disgrace
    Unfortunately, big box/container/bottle with more air than product is extremely common.


    some silly ones in there but you get the point

    Another sign of the wasteful way business is conducted, just think of all those extra lorries vans etc that are needed just to transport all that "filler" air. :mad:


    As many have said, it isn't the plastic that is the issue, it is the wasteful ways we use it and cavalier attitude to its disposal/reuse.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 58 ✭✭H.20v3


    Somebody needs to ban all these refrigerated drinks

    It's madness


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,477 ✭✭✭greasepalm


    All waste in my general waste bin is plastic now,i would love alternatives to use and not buy just buying bags.Local Greengrocer i can buy loose fresh veg and fruit.I would like to see small reusable bags say for mushrooms which dont need to be big to a range of sizes to suit what you need to put into it and heavier builds.I had pork ribs for tea in plastic bag and sauce included.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,524 ✭✭✭the_pen_turner


    Unfortunately, big box/container/bottle with more air than product is extremely common.


    some silly ones in there but you get the point

    Another sign of the wasteful way business is conducted, just think of all those extra lorries vans etc that are needed just to transport all that "filler" air. :mad:


    As many have said, it isn't the plastic that is the issue, it is the wasteful ways we use it and cavalier attitude to its disposal/reuse.

    some of them are pure criminal. something needs to be done. shipping a pallet on a pallet. and wrapping bublewrap in bublewrap.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,082 ✭✭✭Firblog


    Quite a few reasons, actually. Who's going to take responsibility for washing the dispenser in the shop/supermarket? It will require a detergent wash every 3 days at least and a descale at least once a week before one of the detergent washes. Are retailers able to dispose of any washes safely?

    Who is responsible for the milk remaining in the dispenser if it has to be dumped prior to washing? Who has responsibility if a power outage occurs and the milk sours before sale? How do the dispensers get refilled? Who is responsible for ensuring no tampering is done to the milk stored in the dispenser? How is that dispenser rendered tamper proof?

    Milk in sealed, single use containers is favoured by both the public and retailers as it's a fresh, relatively long life product and any tampering is easily visible on inspection by both the retailer and consumer.


    Never mind that, what I can never get over is the likes of Costa Coffee, they use 2 or 3 litre containers of milk for their coffee, FFS the amount of waste they must generate every day... could they not get bulk deliveries, on a daily basis? 50 / 100 litre containers? Tanks refilled daily?


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