Do we need to ban plastic?
Just musing here but isn't how plastic garbage gets handled or recycled the issue not the plastic itself? How does plastic end up in the ocean in the first place? When a corporation pollutes water next to its building we don't say they should ban the corporation's product we say they need to stop polluting. I haven't researched it but living in Arizona, not close to any large bodies of water, I was curious how my plastic would get to the ocean.
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.Perhaps none of your personal plastic waste will get to the ocean; but, as long as there is plastic, plastic will make its way to the ocean. It is sort of like the death penalty, it isn't that some people don't deserve to be put to death, but as long as there is a death penalty innocent people will also be put to death.
Also, it isn't only ocean dwelling animals that are harmed by plastic waste; and plastic is just downright bad for the environment (link provided below).
That said, I don't think we can get rid of all plastic, but we can certainly cut down on it and come up with better ways to make it biodegradable. Recycling alone just won't cut it. There is just too much of it. Where I live I can only recycle number one and number two plastics. I live in Oregon where it cannot be recycled unless there is a market for it. Otherwise, a lot of that which is sent to recycling ends up in landfills, or dumped in poorer countries, or in the ocean anyway--even if we live inland.
Joanne
Level 7
Aug 30, 2019
1
Sounds like everything gets to the ocean so maybe we should ban everything? Cuz not everything is biodegradable unfortunately. I just think it would be nice if someone looked at the other side of the equation. While you're death penalty argument sounds nice in the extreme it's no different than automobiles because somebody will die in a car accident, but no one's calling for them to be banned.
Until you put a high enough fence around the whole Grand Canyon someone's going to fall in it. Unless you put a murderer in solitary confinement 24 hours a day (some innocent person might wish they were dead) they can kill a guard with impunity and just get another life sentence. I'm pretty sure the guards won't be happy with that. There are no perfect systems unfortunately but that doesn't mean that both sides of the equation shouldn't be looked at.
@lerlo Well, I know that we cannot eradicate all threats to our environment, or to ourselves. But, we do take measures to protect ourselves. We wear seat belts, we have speed limits, etc. And, we need measures to protect our environment and other creatures. As I said, we will not do away with all plastics, but we certainly can do a better job of making sure that the impact they have is as minimal as possible.
Just read through the comments. Sounds like you want to keep using plastics and have everyone else make sure it stays in the dump after you throw it away. Are you willing to pay more for your trash service to assure this? Or possibly be charged a plastic tax so that govt resources can be used to assure the trash pipeline doesn’t leak? Some states charge extra tax on certain plastic items so consumer costs go up. My state has a nasty plastic bag tax so the store has to charge 10 cents for each bag. Upside to this is that the bags are way more robust than in states that have “free” bags. Also a great many more of us use the reusable shopping bags than in other states. Point being is that things are the way they are because of costs. Are YOU willing to pay more to make things right?
JacobMeyers
Level 6
Aug 24, 2019
0
Well I'm not sure why it costs more for the garbage collectors to keep track of their garbage. Why does it cost more to keep the garbage in the dump? Fencing? Drain guards? Help me understand how it gets to the ocean or rivers or streams please. Just don't see how only dealing with one side of the problem makes any sense. I'm pretty sure the "more robust " bags are a worse problem. But the bottom line is yes, I'm willing to pay more if it saves the environment. Just like I'm willing to pay more taxes to fix infrastructure...and even give police and firemen raises 
No ,we need to ban people ,there are to dam many of them using this crap
godlessguy
Level 7
Aug 24, 2019
1
I think, in small towns at least, if you don't put the do not pass lines around curves that will take out some of them...
Plenty of plastic washes up on the beach by my house on lake Erie it comes down the river it gets thrown overboard by boats it gets left on the beach by careless people even though there are trash cans right at the top of the path how did plastic bottles wind up at the top of Multnomah falls in Oregon, ban, no, heavily regulated yes place a deposit on plastic bottles.
oldFloyd
Level 8
Aug 24, 2019
2
Guessing a few plastic bottles from careless people isnt the problem, need to regulate the big polluters I'm thinking.
Not all plastics. Just ban the plastics that can't be recycled.
snytiger6
Level 9
Aug 24, 2019
0
Why can't we just keep them out of the ocean? We don't call for banning oil when there's an oil spill. Last I checked the water bottles people are complaining about being in the ocean can be recycled
Perhaps you are asking should we invent bio-degradable substitutes for plastic?
davknight
Level 8
Aug 24, 2019
1
No I'm asking what I asked, how do we keep plastic out of the ocean, how did it get there in the first place, who's not controlling the waste? why isn't the problem where the garbage company takes my plastic in my garbage bag?
There must not be any US cities or municipalities dumping garbage into the oceans… I suspect it’s coming from the less enlightened nations. We need to keep in mind, the US is not the source of all world problems..
Varn
Level 8
Aug 24, 2019
1
Varn:
@NoPlanetB, @StarvingArtist ...I didn’t think so.. But didn’t think I’d have to search it:
“The Ocean Dumping Ban Act of 1988 amended the MPRSA and now prohibits the ocean dumping of municipal sewage sludge and industrial wastes, such as wastes from plastics and pharmaceutical manufacturing plants and from petrochemical refineries. The 1998 amendment also banned the ocean disposal of “medical waste.” Mar 12, 2018”
Varn:
@NoPlanetB Guess it’s the Atheism in me ..where facts are facts … with no negotiation or dialog necessary. Speaking of which; here they are again:
“The Ocean Dumping Ban Act of 1988 amended the MPRSA and now prohibits the ocean dumping of municipal sewage sludge and industrial wastes, such as wastes from plastics and pharmaceutical manufacturing plants and from petrochemical refineries. The 1998 amendment also banned the ocean disposal of “medical waste.” Mar 12, 2018”
Now we’re done? ..that’s cute
All Rivers eventually end up in the ocean. All Creeks eventually end up in rivers. I am sure landlubbers like you in Arizona and people in Oklahoma and Kansas are responsible for less of the plastic in the ocean but some of ours probably makes it as well. What does it make it takes hundreds of years to decompose unlike paper and wood products. That's why we now have plastic water pipes. Speaking of plastic water pipes I do not want to ban all plastic. I do want to ban all single-use plastic.
Lorajay
Level 9
Aug 24, 2019
0
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