It used to be milk came in a glass bottle. You didn't chuck the bottle in the trash or recycle when empty, you gave it back to the dairy who washed and reused it. There was a bottle deposit fee to encourage returns.
We could easily do this now with a lot of plastic packaging. Low effort way to cut down on microplastics.
Grocery stores could act as central collection points for all kinds of containers.
Too far to ship them back to manufacturers? Buy local.
I'm sure someone come along to tell me that won't solve the entire problem (you go solve another part of it then) and how it costs more (what does cleaning up all the plastic properly cost?)
It’s more that you can’t “clean up” plastic. It’s starts degrading almost immediately.
This also what recycling is for (though recycling doesn’t actually exist).
The biggest problem is brown/yellow/jewish third worlders are not connected to the earth and they do not care if it’s destroyed.
So, they throw everything into the ocean.
This is how beer works in latin Americ. they charge a deposit for the bottle, and they pay it back to you when you bring the bottle back, or when you buy another beer you bring the bottle back and they don't charge the deposit fee
This is easy and sensible, and the fact that we don't do it, IMO, is proof that environmentalism is captured by industry.
Also just had a thought... Maybe getting sunlight helps break down microplastics in your blood or sweat. Every one of us has pounds of plastic inside us.
I remember using returnable plastic milk jugs in Wisconsin in the late 80's/early 90's. They were 1 gallon, square and made of thick plastic with a sturdy folding handle on top. We also had returnable, brown glass beer bottles up until '05. There's no technical challenges preventing this. It's mostly just consumer preference.
We all thought disposable plastic was easier and cheaper. Now we know it costs us more and requires more work than we thought.
Mistakes happen, but once you figure them out you have to change. We did it with lead and asbestos. We can do it again.
I'm guessing the convenience of throwing away the plastic milk bottle is what made it replace glass bottles. Too bad I could hardly ever find someone to deliver raw milk to my home.
Just a heads up, these models are back/still exist--you can even get it delivered to your door. Plastic is for the convenience shoppers.
On the west coast, we do have a brand (Strauss) that uses glass bottles! You pay a $3 deposit for the bottle and get it back when you bring the bottle to the store. Much less wasteful, no plastic in your drink, and more delicious :)
