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https://apnews.com/article/earth-day-plastics-grocery-shopping-f112aadca284325bf0e8e5adfba65f40>
"ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Nature wraps bananas and oranges in peels. But in some
modern supermarkets, they’re bagged or wrapped in plastic too.
For Judith Enck, that’s the epitome of pointless plastic. The baby food aisle
is similarly distressing for her, with its rows and rows of blended fruits,
vegetables and meat in single-use pouches that have replaced glass jars.
Less than 10% of plastic is recycled. Most is buried, burned or dumped.
Recycling rates for glass, aluminum and cardboard are far higher. And cardboard
or paper packaging is biodegradable.
The global theme for Earth Day on Monday is planet vs. plastic. Plastic
production continues to ramp up globally and is projected to triple by 2050 if
nothing changes. Most of it is made from fossil fuels and chemicals. As the
world transitions away from using fossil fuels for electricity and
transportation, plastics offer a lifeboat for oil and gas companies as a market
that can grow.
The Earth Day environmental movement is calling for “the end of plastics for
the sake of human and planetary health.” People are increasingly breathing,
eating and drinking tiny particles of plastic, though researchers say more work
is necessary to determine its effect on human health. Millions of tons of
plastic wind up in the ocean each year.
This week, thousands of negotiators and observers representing most of the
world’s nations are gathering in Ottawa to craft a treaty to try to end the
rapidly escalating levels of plastic pollution."
Via Kenny Chaffin.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
