Stopping the waste first

Totally agree. I try to avoid as much plastic as possible when I shop but it's SO hard. EVERYTHING has bl**dy plastic on it. And as for homewares etc, it is hard too to find non plastic stuff. What is wrong with a wooden spoon etc, for goodness sake?

It’s called relative deprivation Peasblossom. When all the other kids are getting so many toys etc if you don’t get the same for yours they are deprived. However, when you look at the Owen Children on ou Yorkshire Farm it brings home what a nice bunch of kids they are without all the toys etc.

Well, I can’t help thinking that saying no to to children’s expectations when shopping (and otherwise) ma get be a good place to start. Most of this plastic rubbish is aimed at children and its adults that buy it, along with mountain of. stuffed toys.

Come on, how many of you have bought a little (unnecessary) present for the grandchildren?

Obviously that should be ingesting ?

How long will it be before it’s proven that somebody has a serious condition through injecting plastic.

www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/you-eat-thousands-of-bits-of-plastic-every-year

I have said this in several posts. We all have too many gadgets - this includes me - we are all getting to materialistic. Must have the latest phone, a new car etc. We need to think about these things. And we will save money as well. I am not very good about putting my thoughts down in writing, but sometimes I think that a lot of us feel we are banging our heads on a brick wall.

Think back 60 years. We had dusters, dish cloths, floor cloths, nappies, handkerchiefs, etc all of which were washable and reusable. Now it’s all disposables with their cost to the environment. So many things we are wasteful on when we only have one earth, although according to William Shatner we are exploring space to move manufacturing there. That is if there is room amongst all the junk man has left floating around up there. Modern man does not live in harmony with the world whereas early man who we like to call primitive did.

I agree with you Alegrias. But so long as this rubbish is sold it will be produced. Most of the Hallowe’en etc ‘novelty’ stuff comes from China or Taiwan I suspect so in addition to the huge amount of plastic there is the huge distance it has travelled. The only answer can be to refuse to buy it, which might be difficult if you take a child too young to understand the problem when you go shopping. And to refuse to buy any goods with unnecessary packaging. This is where the traditional greengrocer or market stall and the butcher and fishmonger come into their own. We need to vote with our feet. Not always easy I know especially if you have little time.
As regards shop lights being on all night, this is to deter thieves and may possibly be an insurance requirement. Street lights are turned off after midnight in some areas, which has raised safety concerns and is not in my opinion something to be encouraged.

Its not about stopping the waste first, its about stopping the waste as well.

The scale of this is bigger that most of us realise.

I agree wholeheartedly with everything you say, except the streetlights. Women feel venerable enough without giving councils license to switch off all the light.
We would probably be told to just stay in after a certain time if we didn’t like it. A defecto curfew.

You are so right Scones, I've been of this opinion for years. Of course we need to produce this stuff to keep our ever increasing population in work!