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Thread: Drowning in Plastic

  1. #1
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    Drowning in Plastic

    Just watched Drowning in Plastic on BBC. Frightening viewing. I'm no greenie but this has opened my eyes. I have only eaten lobster once but shall not be doing so again.
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    I too am now very aware of the masses of plastic affecting our health. I now try to:

    - purchase groceries in non-plastic packaging
    - Avoid drinking from plastic water bottles
    - Limit intake of fish to twice per week

    I have also noticed a visible increase in countryside walkers and runners chucking their plastic rubbish and not disposing of it in a bin.

    How nice to enjoy the countryside and then litter it for somebody else to pick up.

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    Not to mention the impact of washing man made fabrics - especially fleeces - which release millions of micro-fibres into the food chain to bio-accumulate. (Up to 700,000 microfibres per wash!!!)

    Either don't use fleece or polyester (difficult!) or get a "Guppyfriend". This is a bag which reduces mechanical breakdown of the fibres and filters them. It's not heap, but it does have the benefit of making your clothes last longer.....

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    Quote Originally Posted by stumpy View Post
    Not to mention the impact of washing man made fabrics - especially fleeces - which release millions of micro-fibres into the food chain to bio-accumulate. (Up to 700,000 microfibres per wash!!!)

    Either don't use fleece or polyester (difficult!) or get a "Guppyfriend". This is a bag which reduces mechanical breakdown of the fibres and filters them. It's not heap, but it does have the benefit of making your clothes last longer.....
    I agree.

    Most modern carpets are also made from polypropylene yarn, another plastic.

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    why would it be a problem if most modern carpets were made from a type of yarn that has plastic in it?

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    Quote Originally Posted by benshep View Post
    why would it be a problem if most modern carpets were made from a type of yarn that has plastic in it?
    Because over time, fibres are released through vacuuming, wear and tear etc. They are then breathed in, get into the water supply etc.

    The end result is that more plastic gets into our bodies and food. No doubt contributing to the fall in fertility rates and possibly other conditions.

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    So where do you start? take a look around you everything is plastic, the lap top, the plastics used on cars is increasing

    https://www.plasticstoday.com/automo...63791493722019

    Vinyl flooring is plastic, vast amounts of pipe are plastic,Buckles/fasteners on your cloths and sacs are plastic your water bottles are mostly plastic your compass is plastic, your pen is plastic, your phone is plastic the window/dooor frames in your house are probably plastic and so on and so on.
    Realistically the damage is well and truly done and only nature itself can reverse the damage, hence the changing climate which is all part of evolution and will ultimately destroy the prime perpetrators that are destroying our planet and of course that really means mankind is in the process of orchestrating it own destruction.
    Last edited by JohnK; 20-11-2018 at 09:11 PM.
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    my point is that you have to identify the priority problems and focus on solving those. it doesn't help anyone to just say that if something has plastic in it it must be bad. so, ban micro-beads and pointless single-use plastics that become litter and leak out of the proper recycling and waste management system into nature. yes, put policies in place to address avoidable over-use of hard-to-recycle plastic in food packaging.
    but what are you going to do about plastic fibres in carpets and is that really one of the priority issues?

    plastic itself is not bad. it's what we as humans do with it - how much we consume and discard irresponsibly - that is causing the problem. carpets don't strike me as the worst offenders.

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    Quote Originally Posted by benshep View Post
    my point is that you have to identify the priority problems and focus on solving those. it doesn't help anyone to just say that if something has plastic in it it must be bad. so, ban micro-beads and pointless single-use plastics that become litter and leak out of the proper recycling and waste management system into nature. yes, put policies in place to address avoidable over-use of hard-to-recycle plastic in food packaging.
    but what are you going to do about plastic fibres in carpets and is that really one of the priority issues?

    plastic itself is not bad. it's what we as humans do with it - how much we consume and discard irresponsibly - that is causing the problem. carpets don't strike me as the worst offenders.
    Think of how many houses and cars have plastic fibre carpets (most of them). Vinyl is probably better as the fibres are not released very easily. Carpets on the other hand...

    Wool is available in abundance but more expensive. As always, our need for cheaper alternatives comes at the cost of our health and planet.

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