I am thinking about my contribution to the Utopia action group, specifically what to do about plastics – probably influenced by the Albatross film. This morning I’ve had 2 revelations: Nearly everything in the bathroom is made of plastic! Towel rack, toothbrush, shower curtain, even the toilet seat. The other insight is that, growing up, I actually lived in a world before plastic. Imagine that. Plastics were beginning to appear mid 20th century as cheap and easily breakable artifacts. We made fun of them. I don’t suppose anyone watches the film “The Graduate” and more – it has a scene around “plastics” that you can view on youtube, depicting plastic as an aspect of the falsity of the decaying elder generation.
So, could I envision a 21st century utopia without plastic – could we return to a world reliant on ceramics, rubber, metal, wood, and paper for containers and tools. Maybe not. But perhaps chemists among us can devise nonpoisonous compounds that will make plastic degrade at certain timelines.Such as six months, or a couple of years. And what if those compounds can be made from recycled existing plastic?
However, the basis for plastics is oil or natural gas. This speculation is for naught. We’ll want neither if we’re to slow climate change. So, a world without plastics will need something sustainable to replace the ubiquitous commodity that presents such danger in the anthropocene.
Hi Henry, I really enjoyed reading your thoughts here. I agree that plastics cannot be part of a sustainable future, or they will at least need to play an extremely small role. But, I wonder in how many uses plastic can be replaced with existing materials? Certainly for some uses we’d have to find new materials, or give up those luxuries. I worry especially about the impact of removing plastics from the medical field.
I also wonder when we started to realize that plastics wouldn’t biodegrade, and that our demand for them had gotten out of hand.
(This is not a critique, just genuine curiosity.) What are your thoughts on how we can incentivize the development and use of plastic alternatives? It’s hard for new small businesses that create alternatives to plastic products–like dissolvable “plastic” bags–to compete with larger established firms that produce plastics. New, small businesses have higher marginal costs, including costs of initial investment and more expensive materials, and frankly, a lot of their products just aren’t quite as “good” as plastics yet. What could be done to lower the prices, both on the supply and the consumer side, for those small businesses? What could be done to convince consumers to settle for less convenient products?
When I envision my utopic world, I certainly envision far less plastic, more renewable and biodegradable resources, reduced consumption, and more reuse.
Thanks for responding Hannah. Good question. It makes me think of prohibitory laws. Legislation got rid of toxic substances and even plastic bags, But, you know what? I just was offered a plastic bag at Safeway. (Covid exception?) And, it turns out that some bad stuff that’s unlawful in the U.S. is still manufactured but sent to other countries.
Maybe something like the subsidies paid to firms that make solar panels vs fossil fuels. Meantime, I struggle removing the hated plastic wrap from my cheese stick.