What SUP

Ahhh, single use plastics. I’ll call them SUP. Most of us are busy and preoccupied, so we don’t notice how much SUP we use. SUP, which are petroleum based, go to landfills or float in our oceans. I’ve heard they don’t break down for multiple numbers of years. Heck, even getting the petroleum out of the ground makes a mess. It would be better for the planet if there were much, much less SUP made and discarded.

The problem is, we’re used to SUP making our lives easier.  What would our existence be like without it?

It’s been weeks since my last blog posting (I simply can’t get to the computer), so it frustrates me that I can do so little research on all this. I’m not current on what’s new on the environmental front or in the R&D front with regards to SUP. I’ll just share a few random reflections and of course welcome non-troll comments.

I respectfully ask the troll population to step away from the computer/put down the phone (made of plastic, surprise, surprise) and pick up the SUP floating your way so the fishies don’t eat them.  That will justify your hiding under bridges.  Kindly throw the SUP into the garbage since I’d wager your local recycler can’t do much with these little bits and pieces.

At the time of this writing, drinking straws are the SUP scapegoat. I’m not a fan of the cardboard substitutes which disintegrate after a few sips, but I’m not a fan of SUP either. Why were straws chosen for such an “honor”? Are they the biggest offenders? I simply don’t know.

Let’s look at some of the conveniences we enjoy because SUP are part of our lives.

The plastic spout on your carton keeps the carton’s opening from disintegrating and looking like this:

Cartons now have spouts, caps, and pull-tabs:

What about all the packaging from whatever it is that you use to feed yourself?

What becomes of all this SUP stuff?  It’s like fingerprints, or like email or anything you put online – it’s permanent and you’ll never, ever get rid of it, even if you personally never see that particular bit again.

And what about every day objects upon which we legitimately depend?

I say, I’m not keen on giving up dental floss and toothpaste. But oral hygiene comes at a price. Who is willing to endure gingivitis and tooth loss because the tools upon which we depend are SUP?  If you store dental floss in a cardboard box it’ll disintegrate when stored in a steamy bathroom.

I wish I had some words of wisdom. I simply don’t.  And the idea of losing my dental supplies makes me cranky.

 

That movie The Graduate (1967) with its famous quote about “plastics” sure can take on multiple meanings, right?

SUP must be mating and making babies.  They’re simply everywhere.  Yes, my kid built that. Isn’t he clever?

 

So what about this cute little piece of SUP?

I did get a bit of hope after reading what KwikLok has to say about itself. Yeah, I know, a legitimate comparison can be made between what a company posts on its website VS what a loverboy says about himself on a dating app. Assuming you can believe what a supplier has to say for itself, there are two hopeful ideas here.

First, our KwikLok friends in Australia have some arrangement where they are willing to take back via snail mail their used baggie ties.  I’m a bit annoyed because I emailed them to ask if they’d ever consider doing here what they do Down Under…. I’d be more than happy to set up a program where our school / parish can collect and mail old baggie ties to their facility. KwikLok didn’t respond. Oh well.

Secondly, KwikLok tells us that they’ll be using a new plant based resin. Am I to assume that this resin will biodegrade harmlessly into the environment?  They claim it makes less of a “footprint” to produce.  Hope springs eternal, I suppose.

😛

I know of no solutions.  I have no words of wisdom.  Perhaps blogging about a problem without proposing a new solution is a waste of time.  I just don’t like the SUP tsunami so I’ll kvetch from my corner of cyberspace.

Maybe more SUP will get banned, except bans arouse public anger. People dig in their heels when told what they can and can’t have. I can’t blame them.  I do like my smart phone, even though I cringe when I read what an environmental devil’s hoofprint this lil ole devil toy made.

Should we appeal to people’s good will before passing bans?  What do I know.  IRL I’m an introvert and introverts tend not to be influential.  I haven’t the foggiest clue how to influence anybody.  To this date I’ve been unsuccessful in getting my kids to put dirty laundry in the hamper instead of the floor.  And yes, by golly, that hamper is made of plastic.

I hope that, somewhere out there, clever scientists are developing food-grade materials that are biodegradable (without breaking down into a toxic soup) or easily recycled.

We can always tighten our belts and consume less.  Temperance is a virtue, right?  (Scroll to #1809 for anybody who has bothered to read this blah all the way to the end.)

Other than that I know of no other solutions.

p.s. It can be said that I don’t have enough to think about if I get so worked up about SUP that I write up a blog posting, complete with pictures. But I do think about these things. We’re dependent on SUP.  Will this ever catch up to us, and what will happen then?