>E.g. You can’t buy asbestos insulation anymore.

This is a really good example, because asbestos insulation was directly linked to a huge number of deaths and chronic debilitating ilnesses.

We were able to get a rough quantification of the damage done to people's lives, and we decided to (mostly) get rid of asbestos because that damage was very high.

So I'm asking - what level of damage is being caused by plastics used within this country (the ones that can be controlled by legislation) - how much harm/damage is caused.

If it's a lot, we should get rid of it. If it's not, then we shouldn't be banning it.

>I disagree with ‘we aren’t running out of landfill space for sporks.’ Its not about having space for sporks now, it’s about the impact plastics have in the future.

What impact do you believe plastics disposed of in a landfill (or incinerator) will have on you in the future?

>there's plenty of research that needs to be done still in this field

Doesn't appear to be any kind of quantification of damage, however. The size of the problem appears to be unknown, but we can conclude it's relatively small, otherwise it would be easier to detect and quantify.

>On that note, show me a fish, and I'll show you plastic.

Plastic that didn't make it to a landfill or incinerator, sure. But when properly disposed of, that's not an issue.

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Maybe one day we can "train" the vision area by stimulating it with electric impulses, who knows

I reckon that the majority of plastic cutlery can't be washed in the dishwasher as they release dangerous microplastics. not even accounting the fact that they bend easily

Is the business model proven? Like for example do people not end up piling them despite the deposit and eventually throw them out?

This is super cool for people who have gone blind after being able to see. But if someone has always been blind, their brain doesn’t know how to process visual input. If they are a kid they can probably develop the ability to do so. But an adult who was born blind may never see “normally” even if their retinas are functioning “normally”.

I agree that various options should be available, but there’s always going to be a line. E.g. You can’t buy asbestos insulation anymore.

I disagree with ‘we aren’t running out of landfill space for sporks.’ Its not about having space for sporks now, it’s about the impact plastics have in the future. These are small steps, but when there’s a cleaner solution, it’s silly to use a more harmful option.

Yeah it's a fairly rare birth defect, my retina specialist told me he has like 5 other patients that have it.

You’re living in the last age of humanity

>That's my entire point. We don't.

Yes, we do.

knock yourself out I'd say, plenty of research on this subject.

I'll provide you with a single excerpt, again you're free to dive deeper into this.

>Plastic contains chemical additives, most of which remain unknown or understudied. Meanwhile, many of the chemicals additives for which scientific information is available are known to be toxic. A growing body of evidence points to the health risks posed by plastic additives. These include endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), which are linked to infertility, obesity, diabetes, prostate or breast cancer, among others. Other health conditions linked to additives include reproductive, growth, and cognitive impairment and neurodevelopment disorders.

there's plenty of research that needs to be done still in this field if we want an accurate picture, but what we know already is pretty damning.

And that is only the health aspect of it. Like I said in my previous comment, most plastics aren't recyclable, so that's 50 kilo per person per year that gets tossed somewhere, anywhere, you're free to do the math on how much avoidable waste that is globally.

On that note, show me a fish, and I'll show you plastic.

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But it probably will be..

That's great. Now do animal agriculture, invest in public transport, and clean energy.

Pasta straws for life

But more importantly why do we even need straws

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I've never heard of an optic collabera before but it's insane all the weird shit that can happen to your eyes!

I have a lazy eye and have had 3 retinal detachments, glaucoma, cataracts, and minor exotropia. Im basically blind in my right eye and the potential of going blind in my good eye as i get older scares me. This is some good news.

We can and do treat the two most common causes of blindness in the world:

cataracts (which everybody gets if they live long enough; treated with surgery to replace the clouded lens with an artificial lens), and

diabetes (by managing the disease so that it does significantly less damage to the body, including the eyes).

It’s awesome to know we’re making strides in retina technology too (incredibly more complicated than replacing the lens in cataract surgery!) but don’t take for granted the incredible things we already can do!

I've got an astigmatism and a Optic Nerve Coloboma which has given me dim shitty vision in one eye. I'm with you fellow redditor

Edited for spelling

>What are the potential benefits of keeping them

As the people who are buying them? Various options exist, but some people still buy the plastic option - they obviously perceive benefits - maybe price, maybe functionality, maybe hygiene.

> getting rid of something that takes 100s of years to breakdown

In landfill, that doesn't matter, we're not running out of landfill space for sporks.

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>Some googling gives me data from 2019 at around ~50kg per person per year for countries like the USA (53kg), Australia (59kg), UK (44kg). From here.
>
>That's estimated single use plastics, not other trash.

That's quantifying how much plastic is used. I asked for quantification of the damage/harm caused.

>To add to this, we know reducing plastic use is good

That's my entire point. We don't.

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