Why have we built a world where plastics are used for a few minutes (think plastic-lined coffee cups, grocery bags, granola bar wrappers etc.) before being discarded into ineffective recycling and waste streams where this packaging is rarely ever turned back into something useful?
I value a healthy environment — one that is not riddled with micro-plastics. I value a world where consumers do not fall prey to the false claims of recycling plastered on plastic packaging. Unfortunately, these values are not compatible with our current addiction to efficiency and profits.
I envision a world where our collective concern for human health and environmental health trump the idea of efficiency that businesses sell us. To achieve this future, governments need to force companies to take their products back when consumers throw them out. Governments also need to fine businesses who put false recycling claims on their packaging/products.