I think the #1 concern about plastic waste are single-use plastics. For instance you might get takeout food in a polystyrene clamshell, foamed or not. Lately I noticed this product line
https://www.healthychoice.com/cafe-steamers
which are some of the tastiest frozen meals on the market, but they not only come in a plastic bowl, but there are two layers of the plastic bowl, one of which is perforated to separate the sauce from the food so that the food gets steamed. Boy is there a lot of plastic.
Thing is, these are all thermoplastics
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic#Classifications
unlike the thermoset plastic that this article is about. I mean, if you make a plastic bowl out of this thermoset
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melamine_resin
and use it thousands of times the amount of waste generated is dramatically less than is generated by those steamers. The environmental risk people are most concerned out now is that some fraction of plastics are not recycled, burned, or landfilled and wind up in the environment where they get ground into microplastics. As much as people blame industry on blaming the consumer, it's a lot better to chuck plastic in the trash than to chuck it outdoors and a good idea to pick it up on the side of the road whenever you can. That black agricultural plastic is a disaster. (See also the risk of plastic car tires!)
https://www.healthychoice.com/cafe-steamers
which are some of the tastiest frozen meals on the market, but they not only come in a plastic bowl, but there are two layers of the plastic bowl, one of which is perforated to separate the sauce from the food so that the food gets steamed. Boy is there a lot of plastic.
Thing is, these are all thermoplastics
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic#Classifications
unlike the thermoset plastic that this article is about. I mean, if you make a plastic bowl out of this thermoset
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melamine_resin
and use it thousands of times the amount of waste generated is dramatically less than is generated by those steamers. The environmental risk people are most concerned out now is that some fraction of plastics are not recycled, burned, or landfilled and wind up in the environment where they get ground into microplastics. As much as people blame industry on blaming the consumer, it's a lot better to chuck plastic in the trash than to chuck it outdoors and a good idea to pick it up on the side of the road whenever you can. That black agricultural plastic is a disaster. (See also the risk of plastic car tires!)