Plastic-Less Lent

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There seem to be all sorts of rules around the disposal of sewage. Are we to assume that dog poo is 'safe' in the regular garbage, with or without a bag? Or does it belong in the compost bin?
 
There seem to be all sorts of rules around the disposal of sewage. Are we to assume that dog poo is 'safe' in the regular garbage, with or without a bag? Or does it belong in the compost bin?
We're not allowed to put "pet waste" in the city compost bins. I think it's safer in the garbage - what harm is that? And, down the toilet in places with good sewage treatment. Animal waste from all sorts of critters, goes into the soil all the time and it's just natural. I'm not sure why the rule about city compost. The workers can deal with rotting food but not poo, I assume.
 
Side note: we knew a garbage pickup man who dreaded the spring thaw/freeze, as people would go out & pick up all the dog poop and fill their garbage cans. Said it was gross for a few weeks.
 
I like the plastic-less idea too. Some of the points on their fb page made me really pause to think. So - where could we get lotions and potions and shampoos etc that are NOT in plastic containers? That hadn't occured to me. And make-up - most packaging is plastic.
I have replaced my favorite bodywash with the same one in a bar of soap. Ten pack for the same price. Only plastic to hold it together. I don’t know about shampoo- but I think people used to use soap for that as well.
 
Rocky Mountain Soap Company has a shampoo bar. I have a sample, it's scented but not bad enough where I felt the need to toss it out. Scented enough where I'm not going to try it (I may have considered out of desperation, I was having trouble with reactions.

I don't think it's as simple to say that all single use plastics should be biodegradable though - different plastics serve different purposes so it can't all be swapped.
 
Rocky Mountain Soap Company has a shampoo bar. I have a sample, it's scented but not bad enough where I felt the need to toss it out. Scented enough where I'm not going to try it (I may have considered out of desperation, I was having trouble with reactions.

I don't think it's as simple to say that all single use plastics should be biodegradable though - different plastics serve different purposes so it can't all be swapped.
I'm sure there's a way to make that happen, even if it's not here yet. It has to happen.
 
I don't think it's as simple to say that all single use plastics should be biodegradable though - different plastics serve different purposes so it can't all be swapped.

I'm not sure what is unique about the carbon atoms in petroleum that plant-based carbon atoms couldn't be manipulated in the same ways.

Keenly aware that medicine is an enormous user of single use plastics.
 
I'm not sure what is unique about the carbon atoms in petroleum that plant-based carbon atoms couldn't be manipulated in the same ways.

Same stuff. Petroleum and coal come from remains of ancient plants and animals. The problem with using plants for plastics will be the same as we ran into with corn for fuel a few years ago. We will end up tying up agricultural land with plants grown for the plastics industry instead of for food and push food prices up.
 
Oh, so badly. We now use single use wipes instead of basins with water and the commodes have plastic bags in them instead of being dumped and cleaned.

I often feel I should apologize to the Earth for Matthew. Disposable diapers, syringes, feeding tube supplies, wipes, tetra packs of g-tube feed. The list is long.
 
I'm not sure what is unique about the carbon atoms in petroleum that plant-based carbon atoms couldn't be manipulated in the same ways.

Keenly aware that medicine is an enormous user of single use plastics.
If they are chemically the same though, how would they degrade differently?
 
If they are chemically the same though, how would they degrade differently?

The carbon atoms would be the same, but the compounds would be different in petrol and coal due to millions of years of decay and other processes.
 
There is absolutely nowhere I can look without plastic being used....unless Im in the forest or a desert. Its a daunting task and I suppose those cutting back on plastic use , are probably factored into a company's profit margin. Probably need some monetary incentive to get people to stop using oil products en masse.
 
There is absolutely nowhere I can look without plastic being used....unless Im in the forest or a desert. Its a daunting task and I suppose those cutting back on plastic use , are probably factored into a company's profit margin. Probably need some monetary incentive to get people to stop using oil products en masse.

The problem is going to be the replacement. Most possible replacements we have now are biologicals that will have to be grown so the problem of whether we can afford to use agricultural land or cut down forests comes up. I would bet that someday, there will be a way, perhaps using nano-tech, of producing plastic that is not petroleum-based and that will likely be the eventual replacement. In fact, it's probably a necessity given that petroleum is a finite resource. No new petroleum is being produced on a time scale that is useful for us.
 
There is absolutely nowhere I can look without plastic being used....unless Im in the forest or a desert. Its a daunting task and I suppose those cutting back on plastic use , are probably factored into a company's profit margin. Probably need some monetary incentive to get people to stop using oil products en masse.
But you are programmed by super green lobby groups that plastic is bad. It’s not bad when used for it’s purpose. It’s cheap and sanitary and safe. It makes you live longer. A little roll of cling wrap can be pulled out more than two football fields.

Yes, if you throw it in the ocean it becomes harmful, or if you wrap it a few times around your head it will kill you. But plastic is just one material(petroleum) converted by knowledge into another material.
 
But you are programmed by super green lobby groups that plastic is bad. It’s not bad when used for it’s purpose. It’s cheap and sanitary and safe. It makes you live longer. A little roll of cling wrap can be pulled out more than two football fields.

Yes, if you throw it in the ocean it becomes harmful, or if you wrap it a few times around your head it will kill you. But plastic is just one material(petroleum) converted by knowledge into another material.

And if we can find a way to break it down and reuse the chemical components, perhaps to make new plastics per my last post, we can probably deal with a lot of the problems while also reducing the need for it to be petroleum-based.
 
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