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0 pointsnick2386mo ago0 comments

"Your" behavior??? The second you try to put this on individuals, you lose the plot and it turns into another "personal carbon footprint" scam like what BP pulled in 2004[1]. The only way out of this is public policy and international cooperation.

I don't know what the most common sources of microplastic particles are, but the messaging needs to be such that people know we aren't getting rid of all plastics, just the stupid ones that are most responsible for potentially harming us. I think straws were banned because there was a video of a plastic straw stuck in sea turtle's nose, not because they're one of the top sources.

[1]: https://mashable.com/feature/carbon-footprint-pr-campaign-sh...

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sixtyj6mo ago

In micro and nano scale things can behave differently so it is quite hard to decide what to ban.

Plastic straws and caps attached to bottles - reason was that there are too many of them and people don’t behave properly and don't throw things in the trash and throw them on the ground where they are eaten by animals. At some British beach they counted >100 caps per 100 m (or something similar, it was a surprising number).

suncemoje6mo ago

In contrast to “personal carbon footprint”, micro plastics do affect _your_ long-term health. Still, there’s a limit to how much you can avoid it.

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sixtyj6mo ago

In micro and nano scale things can behave differently so it is quite hard to decide what to ban.

suncemoje6mo ago

In contrast to “personal carbon footprint”, micro plastics do affect _your_ long-term health. Still, there’s a limit to how much you can avoid it.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse