I was asked that question by @flipkartdotcom in response to the feedback I gave them once I got my first set of books ordered there delivered - in really good shape and within the promised time, I must add.
The industry that introduces plastic, or any other material into the consumption cycle, MUST be made responsible to ensure they provide a collection mechanism for suchlike, as well. All tetrapack manufacturers, for instance, MUST be made to buy back a certain percentage of aluminum that is recycled from older packaging.
Question : how do we solve this plastic-derived-convenience issue ? Undeniably, the books might suffer a bit if there were no plastic wrapping (tho, of course, one wrapper for both might have used at least a little lesser). Its a question of probabilities, but the cost we, as a society, are willing to pay in our quest to be 100% on service, on convenience, etc, is not really being counted economically. Obviously, I do not expect Flipkart, a fledgling startup, to start charging consumers an additional fee for plastic wrapping - they've got to stay competitive - but somewhere, our 'needs' consumers themselves need to be redefined, and policymakers need to ensure some of these:
- The usage of plastics in packing, shipping etc, must come at a cost thats reflective of its entire lifecycle, and the indirect costs in terms of landfills, health issues, loss of agricultural land, etc, so that
- alternatives are explored
- the need is pondered upon real hard on a case by case basis. A Bangalore delivery, in winter, by courier, wrapped in a very sturdy and "minor splash resistant" cardboard box, when the forecast indicates no rain - will probably not qualify if the cost barrier is not kept artificially low like it currently is.
The sad truth is that our dependence on plastics has gone up phenomenally - so much so that we cannot even see alternatives, or alternative paths, for many of our day to day needs. Its like a smoker who's lungs are beginning to give up, yet cannot give up on the habit. As a species, we're so screwed if we keep going down this path.
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4 comments:
Plastic indeed is a problem - it seems like a bad invention that might ultimately do ourselves in. At the root of it IMO, is the long supply chains - in this particular case, the new online convenience has added a chain of delivery which needs plastic to waterproof instead of picking it up from the shop. Likewise any packaged food items. I am not sure if any technological solutions would solve this problem - it is a tarpit IMO.
Even if you go into a store, the goods come packed in plastic, sometimes the retailer adds their own packaging and finally give it to you in a plastic bag! Much worse, actually!
The industry that introduces plastic, or any other material into the consumption cycle, MUST be made responsible to ensure they provide a collection mechanism for suchlike, as well. All tetrapack manufacturers, for instance, MUST be made to buy back a certain percentage of aluminum that is recycled from older packaging.
This will work for something like aluminum which essentially remains the same even if recycled over and over. Not sure if this will work for stuff like plastic, paper etc since their quality post recycling drops drastically.
@Bigfoot While the exact soln is not what'll work for plastic (and was intended to be an example) the onus must be shifted on those injecting it into the system to enable recollection. Sure, its not a very clear case what they'll be bale to do with these, but its bound to be - or at least has a shot at being - better than what we can do with the garbage individually, or even than what the city can. Plus, it adds an economic cost to using such material in the whole cycle, and that'll force some rethink on when, where and how much is really needed. Right now the economic value of, say, using plastic, is terribly low since only the raw material/direct energy costs for production are considered. Clearly there are other bigger costs that are not always paid by the guys producing, buying or consuming this directly. The costs are merely shifted to those who pay indirectly for it, as is true for all pollution.
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