Poll of the Day > Do you ever feel concerned about how wasteful society is?

(+) Yeah! (+)

There's just so many things. I buy different vitamins and supplements for health. they all come in plastic. Protein powder pisses me off. these huge plastic tubs that are really sturdy, filled up partway. I have yet to find protein powder in something like, say, a bag so I could refill the plastic container. Why do i need a giant plastic drum any time i buy protein powder? I don't need it but if I want that product i have no choice.

Condiment bottles? plastic ahoy

Toiletries too... either in plastic bottles or covered in plastic before it gets to you.
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http://www.clickhole.com/article/genius-marketing-poland-spring-putting-apple-juice-6985
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Questionmarktarius posted...

mooreandrew58 posted...

I wish they'd hurry up and get around to this type of plastic I heard about that degrades in 6 months.

Cellophane already exists. It's just that the fabrication isn't exactly eco-friendly.

only draw back is some things stay in warehouses longer than that

Most "degradable" plastics photo-degrade, which won't affect an item in a cardboard box inside a badly-lit warehouse. Once the robots take over warehousing, there won't even be a need for lighting at all

I think (not positive though) the plastic I was speaking of was made from something marijuana. related, hemp or something.

problem with plastics that degrade from light, is shit gets buried in a landfill. at least I assume that would be a problem. where I live recycling isn't forced on anyone. so big surprise here, nobody does it.
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We don't farm petroleum to make plastic. Plastic is made from the by-products of the petroleum industry (natural gas, oil, coal). If you want less plastic, we also need to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels.

I had a lady come into the bar and bitch about straws while wearing a smartwatch. The manufacturing of electronics (especially those designed for planned obsolescence) produce much more waste and toxic by-products.
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Rockies posted...

XlaxJynx007 posted...

I don't see how trees or fireworks are wasteful. I also don't have an issue with trucks since people can buy what they want with their money. What I don't like is how little recycling we do. I know we've come a long way, but there's still plenty more to go.

I think adjl covered Christmas trees pretty well. As for fireworks... pollution, litter from the scraps leftover, using fuel and explosives that could have more practical applications, causing pets to freak out. Maybe not all things that are "waste" in the most literal sense, but wasteful as in I question if the benefits are worth the cost.

People can buy what they want with their money? Wow, great argument. Isn't that kind of a tacit admission that it's wasteful? You're basically claiming people buy it "Just because", not for any actual practical reason.

I don't care why people buy big trucks. It's none of my business nor yours.
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XlaxJynx007 posted...

I don't care why people buy big trucks. It's none of my business nor yours.

Why are big trucks produced and marketed to people who don't need them?
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Here's another one: Grocery store refrigerators/freezers. I think those open refrigerated displays are stupid. You can hear the compressor running every time you walk by them since they are terrible at retaining coldness.

Even some of the covered displays are bad because they'll be open on the back-end for stocking. The only good ones, I find, are in the middle aisles where they are actually sealed everywhere.

SunWuKung420 posted...

We don't farm petroleum to make plastic. Plastic is made from the by-products of the petroleum industry (natural gas, oil, coal). If you want less plastic, we also need to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels.

no shit we majorly need to do that, we have for a long time

SunWuKung420 posted...

I had a lady come into the bar and bitch about straws while wearing a smartwatch. The manufacturing of electronics (especially those designed for planned obsolescence) produce much more waste and toxic by-products.

just because X pollutes more than Y does not mean Y should be ignored

you're gonna toss hundreds, if not thousands of straws before you toss a smart watch
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Rockies posted...

Here's another one: Grocery store refrigerators/freezers. I think those open refrigerated displays are stupid. You can hear the compressor running every time you walk by them since they are terrible at retaining coldness.

I haven't seen one of those for at least a decade, possibly two, probably because they too much to run. All of of them I've seen anymore have been retrofitted with some sort of glass or plastic cover.

Really? I'm not sure I've seen a single grocery store that doesn't have them. Are you American? If not, maybe that would explain it. Even the alternative/natural/organic grocers (or whatever you want to call them) do that.

I've also seen plenty of restaurants use those kind of displays for their bottled beverages

Rockies posted...

Really? I'm not sure I've seen a single grocery store that doesn't have them. Are you American? If not, maybe that would explain it. Even the alternative/natural/organic grocers (or whatever you want to call them) do that.

I've also seen plenty of restaurants use those kind of displays for their bottled beverages

yeah every meat section here is like that and there are several open freezer cases too, at every grocery store.
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Rockies posted...

Really? I'm not sure I've seen a single grocery store that doesn't have them.

Must just be the flyover bits that abandoned them.
I think the older walmarts may still have them, maybe.

Doctor Foxx posted...

you're gonna toss hundreds, if not thousands of straws before you toss a smart watch

Except the amount of waste produced to make one smart watch is more than that produced to make 100k straws especially since the materials used to make straws are toxic byproducts of another industry, keeping those byproducts from ending up in landfills and/or waterways.
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SunWuKung420 posted...

Except the amount of waste produced to make one smart watch is more than that produced to make 100k straws especially since the materials used to make straws are toxic byproducts of another industry, keeping those byproducts from ending up in landfills and/or waterways.

and?

Those straws end up in landfills or in the ocean causing their own sets of harm.

I'm not ignoring the dangers of electronics manufacturing--don't ignore the health and environmental risks from plastic pollution.
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SunWuKung420 posted...

Dikitain posted...

No, because I want society to be burnt to the ground, and the quickest way to do that is to evaporate all of our natural resources so that we can no longer survive.

How about we learn from our mistakes and improve ourselves instead? It's not that difficult.

Well it is when some wealthy person stands to lose a lot of money if things changed for the better.

Roachmeat posted...

SunWuKung420 posted...

Dikitain posted...

No, because I want society to be burnt to the ground, and the quickest way to do that is to evaporate all of our natural resources so that we can no longer survive.

How about we learn from our mistakes and improve ourselves instead? It's not that difficult.

Well it is when some wealthy person stands to lose a lot of money if things changed for the better.

I guess cause i'm not rich I don't understand, but I never understood why they couldn't just invest money into the newer eco-friendlier solutions. they'd still be making money, just selling a different product.
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Rockies posted...

Even some of the covered displays are bad because they'll be open on the back-end for stocking.

Wow, you're clueless. The open back-end of those coolers is the walk-in cooler where stock is kept.

mooreandrew58 posted...

I guess cause i'm not rich I don't understand, but I never understood why they couldn't just invest money into the newer eco-friendlier solutions. they'd still be making money, just selling a different product.

Exactly my point, especially when I drive along and I actually see a solar panel on someone's property and the sun is just pouring light on it. We 'civilians' have to be happy with the small steps we get. At least somebody back then thought about utilizing the sun's energy. There are times in the summer when you wish the thing would go behind a cloud.

HillChange posted...

Rockies posted...

Even some of the covered displays are bad because they'll be open on the back-end for stocking.

Wow, you're clueless. The open back-end of those coolers is the walk-in cooler where stock is kept.

Okay, I didn't think about that, but no need to be rude about it

You can't win either way, I know large chain shops and supermarkets used to donate food that was on its sale by date until homeless people started suing them, heard the same thing for why they lock the bins.

I know a store that come 5pm (it closed at 5.30) chucked all the sandwiches in the bin but for similar reasons instead had a trainee go to shelves with a bin bag, and open every packet, take sandwich out, squash it and then put bags out, this time there was about 40 sandwiches that were destroyed.

(at same time found it stupid as they used to reduce the sandwiches to near nothing, surely it would be better to sell them for about 10p and sell most of them rather than make nothing)

On waste, noticed increasing since the 90s especially is not electronics cost little people chuck things instead of repair though at same time technology is designed to not last long, when I moved to my last apartment the previous tenants had a washing machine which was under 10 years old, it worked but wasn't the best and found the pump/waste pipe full of stones from beach and a babies sock, after that it worked ok for a few months then stopped pumping, I found a official replacement part for 12, took side off (2 screws) tipped it on side to access the pump, used some pliers to remove old one, and to put new one on, and almost 3 years later works to a pretty much new standard!

The times I do go past the dump, or I often see dumped next to communal bins is big things like fridge freezers, working crts, old (working) computers even furniture.
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silvergokuZ posted...

You can't win either way, I know large chain shops and supermarkets used to donate food that was on its sale by date until homeless people started suing them, heard the same thing for why they lock the bins.

myth. http://www.businessinsider.com/why-dont-some-grocery-stores-donate-food-to-poor-people-2014-10

http://www.foodtodonate.com/Fdcmain/LegalLiabilities.aspx

The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act protects people and corporations donating foodstuffs to the needy.

The locking of dumpsters is to prevent dumpster diving as many foods tossed by markets are perfectly edible. Some markets do things like pour bleach on the food to deter people from taking it. It's bullshit.
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I've felt like this for years and that feeling is only getting stronger. lol

But I like it this way. Obviously I'm not perfect and I also do things that others would consider wasteful. But I don't care.

I'm not particularly happy with the way society and the world has become and it's only getting worse and worse in my opinion. I just have to make the best out of it.
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Doctor Foxx posted...

silvergokuZ posted...

You can't win either way, I know large chain shops and supermarkets used to donate food that was on its sale by date until homeless people started suing them, heard the same thing for why they lock the bins.

myth. http://www.businessinsider.com/why-dont-some-grocery-stores-donate-food-to-poor-people-2014-10

http://www.foodtodonate.com/Fdcmain/LegalLiabilities.aspx

The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act protects people and corporations donating foodstuffs to the needy.

The locking of dumpsters is to prevent dumpster diving as many foods tossed by markets are perfectly edible. Some markets do things like pour bleach on the food to deter people from taking it. It's bullshit.

For one I live in the UK, and second I have worked in stores where we were told to do this, it should of been clear when I mentioned and p for money.

I have also witnessed tramps coming in claiming they became ill from eating a stores food and wanting "refunds" despite having nothing but a receipt that they could easily of found in the car park.
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SunWuKung420 posted...

XlaxJynx007 posted...

I don't care why people buy big trucks. It's none of my business nor yours.

Why are big trucks produced and marketed to people who don't need them?

Because they're trying to sell trucks?
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