• TrackinDaKraken@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    All food packaging could be glass, paper, metal and cloth. It was just that until plastic was invented. We could go back to that and the world and people would be a bit healthier for it. We won’t, though, not until we’re forced to by something catastrophic.

    • anomnom@sh.itjust.works
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      1 day ago

      Total CO2 will go up if we tried that. If we were smarter about reuse, like say, washing processing and resealing glass containers instead of crushing and remelting them (at best) we might be better. But plastics are much lighter, space efficient and durable. Which makes them less carbon intensive in many cases.

      Really we need less one time use or single serving containers of any material. Which isn’t likely unless society collapses and we have to live in local communes to survive.

    • LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Sure, but we also need to re-define what we call/think of as plastic. When we think of plastic we think of fossil fuel based plastics right? We don’t think of biodegradable, compostable, renewable plastics. Plastics made from corn starch and sugarcane exist with processes that can greatly reduce the carbon impact, while also reducing risks of micro plastics being in our water supply, blood, and well everything. Plastics can also be made from algea from what I’ve heard. So the idea that we need to shift what we are using I believe is 100% true, but that also means we need to do some research into what would be the least impactful, highest yield, best value (or we will never get support in this hellscape) to find replacements.

      Glass can be reused near indefinite, but is heavy and uses a decent amount of energy input to remold it. That doesn’t mean we shouldnt use it, it means we should, but for specific purposes. We need to get our governments and businesses to invest in research… Somehow.

  • twinnie@feddit.uk
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    2 days ago

    Just checked, these were invented in 2016 and didn’t take off.

    I haven’t seen plastic rings in years, are they banned or are some companies just not using them?

    Edit I’m in the UK btw.

    • jqubed@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      I think the old plastic rings have been banned in some states. For cans I’ve mostly seen beer cans now coming in a thicker but more widely recyclable ring. Sometimes they come in paperboard boxes like the larger packs do and suspect that’s where the industry is moving. I’ve still seen something like the old rings come with soda in plastic bottles. Really not sure why they haven’t changed.

    • surewhynotlem@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Exactly. This is why no food products are stored in warehouses, except in metal containers that rats can’t access.

    • jqubed@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      This has been around since 2016, though only available for sale since 2018. It uses waste byproducts of the brewing process to create a biodegradable/compostable cardboard-like substance. It can be consumed by some animals like manatees/turtles/fish but it’s not really intended to be fed to them, just more that it’s safe if it ends up in the environment.

      • ZeffSyde@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        They stink like over-ripe mushrooms in my experience. They also easily break and you have to reinforce them with plastic packing tape. It’s a nice idea, but a regular paper box is the better option.

  • Test_Tickles@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    Let’s be real here. This is Florida man we’re talking about, these things are not going to, and were never intended to, be fed to anyone or anything other than Florida man himself.