Plastic

[twirlgrrl]

We use 2 million barrels of oil every day to make plastic. That represents about 10 percent of the nation's total oil consumption. Even so, 72 percent of Americans don't know that plastic is made from oil and 40 percent believe that plastic tossed into the trash will eventually biodegrade in a landfill (it won't.) The average American believes (mistakenly) that about 40 percent of plastic is eventually recycled. The actual figure is less than 6 percent.

--From Southwest Airlines' Spirit magazine

Comments

[crayonbeam.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to teach Heath that all the plastic that was ever made and will ever be made will always be around forever. That there is a glob of plastic floating in the ocean and it is the size of Texas.

I actually believe a technology to make that not true could be discovered in my lifetime, but meantime it's a sobering thought that has kept me from buying some junk.

[twirlgrrl.livejournal.com]

That stuff made out of corn works pretty well! I'm not sure how it holds up for wet things, though. We used biodegradable corn-based utensils and ecogroovy plates and cups for our wedding. It's expensive but cool.