[andymc]

I've seen information about bioplastics being produced from the likes of seaweed and cactus - it remains to be seen whether these can be scaled up to meet "demand". NB I put that last word in inverted commas because of the difference between plastics which are more necessary for health reasons, e.g. medical use or prevention of food contamination with raw meat/fish etc, and those which are more obviously and frivolously wasteful such as Easter egg packaging.

As an individual, I do my utmost to avoid the unnecessary acquisition of plastics. For example, when I buy groceries, I get my loose fruit & veg in a paper bag - these get reused as often as possible while they retain their physical integrity before getting a final use as the lining for my kitchen composter. They do break down in my own compost bin, unlike the so-called "biodegradable" composting bags supermarkets sell. When I buy meat or fish, I try to remember to have a reusable sealable container with me like a tupperware box, and I've refused to buy certain items from my local butcher when they came double-wrapped in plastic, making a point of explaining why he was losing my business in this particular instance. Another example is that we've changed from buying shower gel in a bottle to soap bars wrapped in paper, and my wife has now sourced shampoo bars as well.

In short, we do our best to prioritise the "reduce" and "reuse" approach before we even get as far as "recycle". In a household of two, our recycling bin only really needs to go out every 4-6 weeks, and that mainly because we often end up grabbing a used cardboard box if we're in the supermarket and have once again forgotten to bring a reusable bag with us. If I stopped drinking and didn't have all those wine and beer bottles to process, it would go out even less often!

All that said, the onus should not be on us as individuals to try and fight back against the proliferation of plastic in our lives. It's insane to see bunches of bananas being sold in a plastic bag when the skin is so robust. Why the hell does every cup of takeaway coffee need a lid made of black plastic that's so hard to recycle? Why aren't there greater incentives for people to bring their own containers for cereal, milk, beer, wine etc? If everything cost 5% cheaper so long as you brought your own containers, you can be sure that the vast majority of customers would jump onboard. Ditto if there were deposits payable on returning clean, undamaged plastic containers like bottles etc.

I get the point about cleaner alternatives having a higher price, but there's a response to that issue which is often missed out - the real cost of these materials is not reflected in the price paid. This is because the producers of plastic (especially single-use plastic) are not being made to contribute to the cost of recovering and cleaning up the mess their product ultimately creates. Nor is the cost to our own health and the planet's health factored into the price of these materials. Were the cost of cleanup covered by a substantial tax on plastic packaging and other single-use products, this would substantially equalise the price differential between plastic and biodegradable alternatives. It would also raise some much needed funds towards removing plastics from the oceans and waterways. We can't simply throw up our hands and surrender to the notion that phenomena like the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" are just an accepted or inevitable consequence of our existence. This has to be addressed, and the cost of the cleanup has to be paid one way or another.

Of course, as soon as the notion of using taxation to change behaviours is mentioned, there are inevitable cries of how the gubberment is using the environment as an excuse to hike taxes. The change of mindset required to resolve this issue will be vehemently resisted by those who are too lazy, selfish and/or greedy to care.