EU declares war on plastic waste - here's a war I can support

[malaise]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jan/16/eu-declares-war-on-plastic-waste-2030
<snip>

The EU is waging war against plastic waste as part of an urgent plan to clean up Europe’s act and ensure that every piece of packaging on the continent is reusable or recyclable by 2030.

Following China’s decision to ban imports of foreign recyclable material, Brussels on Tuesday launched a plastics strategy designed to change minds in Europe, potentially tax damaging behaviour, and modernise plastics production and collection by investing €350m (£310m) in research.
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Speaking to the Guardian and four other European newspapers, the vice-president of the commission, Frans Timmermans, said Brussels’ priority was to clamp down on “single-use plastics that take five seconds to produce, you use it for five minutes and it takes 500 years to break down again”.

In the EU’s sights, Timmermans said, were throw-away items such as drinking straws, “lively coloured” bottles that do not degrade, coffee cups, lids and stirrers, cutlery and takeaway packaging.

[OnDoutside]

1. It's ridiculous that soft drinks companies can produce those throwaway bottles and governments are

slow to crack down on them. I was working in Stockholm a decade ago and they had extra hard plastic bottles where you paid a refundable deposit for the bottles.

[BigmanPigman]

3. I saw that people in Nordic countries

have tons of recycling bags in all their homes, even tiny apartments. They have been years ahead of us in many areas.....Health Care, Women's Rights, the environment, senior care, etc. We are still living in denial in this country by comparison with other developed countries.

[canetoad]

2. What offends me most

Are the balloon skins, still attached to their plastic ribbon/tape. We find them on the beach everyday and they're a danger to birds and marine life.

[malaise]

4. Yep and lots of the plastic crap folks wave at cricket and other sports

events. Great Ashes!

[canetoad]

5. Exactly

If people only knew that the delight they feel when thousands of balloons are released results in strangled penguins, choked baby seals....
Hell, I saw a kookaburra hanging from his neck in a tree once, throttled by balloon ribbon. His mate sat nearby for a fortnight.

Ya know, I stopped following the cricket closely when Merv Hughes and Boonie retired

[malaise]

6. I was a big Boonie fan - D.C. Boon

That's ages ago man

Hell, I saw a kookaburra hanging from his neck in a tree once, throttled by balloon ribbon. His mate sat nearby for a fortnight. Many humans are thoughtless scumbags.

[canetoad]

7. Broke lots of records

Best one being 52 cans of beer on the way to test match in England. Doug Walters and Rod Marsh could only manage 44

[malaise]

8. Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

Great fielder