All food packaging could be glass, paper, metal and cloth. It was just that until plastic was invented. We could go back to that and the world and people would be a bit healthier for it. We won't, though, not until we're forced to by something catastrophic.
this post was submitted on 04 Jul 2025
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I want this so badly. Ban single use plastics outside of medical
Is plastic in our brains not catastrophic enough?
The plastic in our brains made us think that indeed, it isn't, or that there isn't any plastic in our brains.
Sure, but we also need to re-define what we call/think of as plastic. When we think of plastic we think of fossil fuel based plastics right? We don't think of biodegradable, compostable, renewable plastics. Plastics made from corn starch and sugarcane exist with processes that can greatly reduce the carbon impact, while also reducing risks of micro plastics being in our water supply, blood, and well everything. Plastics can also be made from algea from what I've heard. So the idea that we need to shift what we are using I believe is 100% true, but that also means we need to do some research into what would be the least impactful, highest yield, best value (or we will never get support in this hellscape) to find replacements.
Glass can be reused near indefinite, but is heavy and uses a decent amount of energy input to remold it. That doesn't mean we shouldnt use it, it means we should, but for specific purposes. We need to get our governments and businesses to invest in research.... Somehow.
Just checked, these were invented in 2016 and didn’t take off.
I haven’t seen plastic rings in years, are they banned or are some companies just not using them?
Edit I’m in the UK btw.
I haven't seen them a long time either, but these days the six packs are completely wrapped in plastic. Another win for the packaging industry I guess.
I think the old plastic rings have been banned in some states. For cans I’ve mostly seen beer cans now coming in a thicker but more widely recyclable ring. Sometimes they come in paperboard boxes like the larger packs do and suspect that’s where the industry is moving. I’ve still seen something like the old rings come with soda in plastic bottles. Really not sure why they haven’t changed.
Wait... I see these all the time... is it maybe just a Canada thing?
Helllloooo rats in warehouses.
Exactly. This is why no food products are stored in warehouses, except in metal containers that rats can't access.
How did it take humanity this long to think of this‽
Money. Plastic is probably still cheaper.
And more resilient to weather/time/etc. for transporting in sub-optimal conditions.
There's also the possibility that since this is edible and exposed, putting this in a warehouse would invite a horde of rodents and insects.
It's a good idea, but the reason we haven't done this before is because it creates inconvenient problems for distribution centers and the logistics of transportation and storage. Which in the short and long run, costs more money to either prevent the negative outcomes, or deal with them later.
It is better for the environment, but I'd rather go after billionaires and huge corporations polluting the environment without repercussions first.
It's not like there isn't a middleground. I didn't see those awful sixpack rings in years, in Germany where I live those sixpacks are packed in cardboard (goes around the sixpack once for stability). Works perfectly fine, and given it's just paper with a little bit of printer colours (which, technically, could also be done environmentally friendly) there are little to no reasons not to do it this way except for greed. …therefore it isn't surprising plastic sixpack rings are specifically common in the US, lol.
This has been around since 2016, though only available for sale since 2018. It uses waste byproducts of the brewing process to create a biodegradable/compostable cardboard-like substance. It can be consumed by some animals like manatees/turtles/fish but it’s not really intended to be fed to them, just more that it’s safe if it ends up in the environment.
The most important thing about it is it's perfectly biodegradable in nature. You can throw them on your compost.
Let's be real here. This is Florida man we're talking about, these things are not going to, and were never intended to, be fed to anyone or anything other than Florida man himself.
Floridaman feeds edibles to animals
New And Reformed Floridaman, or Old Floridaman? Because honestly I can parse that as a good deed or a bad one depending on how you want to frame it
Floridaman is an agent of chaos whose intentions cannot be understood by mortals.
Floridaman has such an interesting story arc and I'm all for it