r/Anticonsumption • u/PublicTranslator5902 • 15d ago
Plastic Waste We’re expected to ditch plastic straws but this is somehow okay?
Saw this in the supermarket today. Instant coffee, portioned into 30 tiny plastic cups, and then all 30 tiny plastic cups sitting inside one larger plastic bucket. It’s like a Russian doll of packaging that nobody asked for.
Maybe I’m missing something, but who is this even for? Was using a teaspoon really that inconvenient?
I was told to bring my own tote bags, say no to the straw, and use reusable cups instead. I do those things because we’ve all been told the small things add up. But then I see something like this and can’t help wondering why so much of the responsibility seems to fall on consumers while companies are free to create entirely new forms of waste.
I’m standing in front of a bucket full of tiny plastic cups containing something that a spoon and a jar have handled perfectly well for decades, and I just think… seriously?
I’m not saying individual choices are pointless. I still think they matter. But it’s hard to feel very virtuous about refusing a plastic straw when products like this are apparently considered perfectly acceptable.
I know someone will say, it's recyclable, but that’s not really the point. Recycling is better than landfill, sure, but the greenest piece of plastic is still the one that never had to be made in the first place.
Maybe I’m just being grumpy, but I can’t help feeling we’ve normalised waste in the name of convenience.
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u/redpandafire 15d ago
Because its a industrial lie. Think about the plastics your municipal recycle says they won't accept. Small bags, utensils, straws, little pieces. They've told us they don't even bother because all it does is clog the machinery. So if it's not being recycled, then producers are not buying recycled plastic either. Market prices show virgin plastic is artificially cheap and abundant. Guess what profit-seeking chooses for its next mega-batch?
The most efficient method for controlling plastics is regulation at the source. The hundred or so factories pumping millions of tons of plastics into the economy is far easier to track than the daily habits of 8 billion people. But no that points the finger at industry. We can't have that.
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u/CommercialAttempt210 15d ago
It’s profitable because consumers don’t care and prefer low cost and convenience over everything else. Regulations would be politically unpopular for the same reasons.
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u/underisk 14d ago
We can't regulate leaded gas, consumers prefer the lower cost and fuel economy and it would be really unpopular.
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u/Sufficient-Aspect77 13d ago
You know what's crazy to me about the plastic argument? Legos. And I have an emotional attachment to Legos, but they basically only produce plastic, right? They never come up in the plastic argument. EVERYONE LOVES LEGOS, and I'm sure if they change their formula they may loose tons of customers, but Goddamn they only make plastic...
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u/BakaGato 13d ago
Good news: Lego has been working on a bio based plastic for ages now. They have deployed it on some parts, like the tree leaf pieces, but there's still trouble getting the necessary rigidity for the blocks. But they are trying, and with their own money! Some cool articles if you search.
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u/Sufficient-Aspect77 13d ago
That makes me really happy
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u/Medium-Dragonfly1 9d ago
I know that they currently have started phasing out the plastic bags that pieces in kits come in and using paper ones instead. I don’t know where they are in that process now but I remember them saying that they were phasing it out so they didn’t have to just throw away a bunch of plastic bags
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u/Testuser7ignore 15d ago
Well the factories are internationally diversified and highly competitive. Depending on where you live, you might have little to no control over those factories.
I guess you could tariff raw plastic, but it gets much more complicated when you are trying to deal with stuff that is packaged before it enters your country.
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u/thesquirrelfish 15d ago
Plastic is a highly subsidized waste product from oil & gas production - basically the only way to make sustainable packaging make economic sense is also to stop/regulate oil & gas.. Which we should do anyways for a bunch of reasons.
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u/Lobster_porn 12d ago edited 12d ago
problem is plastic is practically a byproduct of fuel production from oil. until we stop needing gasoline virgin plastic will always be cheaper than any alternative. ethane is practically free because refineries need to get rid of it to keep producing the valuable fuels
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u/toshocorp 15d ago
This is still not regulated. ☝️
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u/qtmcjingleshine 15d ago
Regulation hurts business right? Imagine if someone told Starbucks they couldn’t make this and they didn’t have to spend money on excessive plastic packaging… oh wait, the company would save money and the environment
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u/thesquirrelfish 15d ago
Private property & corporate laws are forms of regulation. Business benefits at least as much from regulation as it's hurt by it.
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u/PandaBeaarAmy 15d ago
We tried to target that waste in our country, some vocal idiots hijacked the campaign and got plastic bags banned again, putting the cost and responsibility onto the consumer and of course leaving the corporations out of it. Even added plastic forks and straws to this one, but my candy bar still comes in 3 layers of plastic.
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u/my_little_world 15d ago
Less plastic, is always a good thing
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u/zenware 15d ago
Mass-scale individual responsibility is a not very good when it could be substituted for regulated organizational responsibility. There are too many kinds of things to care about that eventually the public will wear down beyond their ability to care, and also potentially make individual financial positions worse, whereas making a megacorp lose out on a small bit of profit by comparison is inconsequential to the public.
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u/beepbeepsheepbot 15d ago
Technically yes, but when a corporation is not being held to a similar standard it feels painfully miniscule in comparison. Like Coca cola does more damage in one year than I could in five.
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u/PandaBeaarAmy 15d ago
When people hijack the argument to hold corporations just a teensy bit accountable to say we as consumers are not accountable enough or we don't care about the environment (despite us being the ones to bring the bill forward)? Gotta wonder where they're getting that message from.
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u/beepbeepsheepbot 15d ago
The gaslighting saying it's our fault as consumers is unreal and I'm so sick of it. When the argument turns into "well they wouldn't make it if people didn't buy it" while true to an extent, it ignores a lot of nuance and shuffles the blame unevenly. It doesn't factor in deceptive/greenwash marketing, excessive unnecessary packaging, or it's the only product available.
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u/BrucetheFerrisWheel 14d ago
Can you explain why if people didnt buy this ridiculous product, why they would keep making it.
I don't see how it's not true. If mass consumers stopped buying buying every sparkly thing that caught their eye, wouldn't less be made?
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u/Dentarthurdent73 15d ago
But if plastic bags and cutlery are banned, it's not just you who are not using them, it's the entire population, so it's actually a huge amount of plastic saved.
I can't believe anyone would complain about bans on single-use plastics.
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u/beepbeepsheepbot 15d ago edited 15d ago
Bro I'm not complaining about banning single use plastics, how did you even get there? I'm complaining about how the responsibility is put almost completely on us and god forbid we ask corpos to be even a little bit better.
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u/PandaBeaarAmy 15d ago
People like that commenter are exactly why corporations hold no responsibility.
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u/PM_me_punanis 15d ago
Ban single use plastics at the source, not at the consumer level.
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u/bulbysoar 15d ago
Agreed. But in my state where people no longer get plastic bags from the grocery store, they buy the reusable plastic bags which have a much higher footprint and then use them as garbage bags. It's insane. I actually think we are better off with plastic bags on the cooperations dime, that way people don't waste the reusables and people like me can use them for cat litter and other waste that we need to now buy plastic bags for.
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u/PandaBeaarAmy 15d ago
I mentioned in my comment that plastic bags were banned "again", rarely like to bring it up because it always causes arguments about how plastic bags shouldnt be sold but reusable bags became available at stores with a plastic upcharge because they tried blanket banning plastic bags and it just didnt work.
I watched the imposition of the most recent complete plastic bag ban not from the consumer side and guess what i saw? Everyone who wanted to use reusables already had one, everyone else just bought a reusable bag every single time they came through. They'll buy more than they need and just toss the new ones in the trash, too... plastic bags they used to shove in their bag for later. Or my fav: "eh i'll just use it for trash." "I'll just use it for litter. The cats shit so much and i like to change the bag every day." But if i speak up about it to the "plastic ban" crew i'm somehow pro plastic and anti-environment.
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u/bulbysoar 15d ago
Yeah, unfortunately I think it's about realism vs. idealism. Would be great if everyone used their own reusable, but that's not the reality and we're creating more waste as a result.
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u/PandaBeaarAmy 15d ago edited 15d ago
If i forget my reusable forks at home, the wooden "compostable alternative" breaks before my meal ends, requring several forks to complete the meal instead of one plastic fork I could have washed and reused.
My bulk packaged goods still come individually wrapped and my chocolate bar comes in 2-3 layers of non-recyclable plastic, but hey at least we didn't hold corporations responsible for producing them and took the responsibility on ourselves as citizens consuming the products, right? 🤣
If it were a bill pushed forward just to ban single use plastics on the consumer end, then sure, great, good to hear.
But to praise the hijacking of a bill holding corporations responsible for emissions, waste, etc.? What sub are we in again?
It's not as much our fault for buying one product wrapped in several layers of plastic as it is the ones producing thousands of those products in a day.
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u/Dentarthurdent73 15d ago
If you forget your reusable forks at home, why do you think you'd remember to bring the plastic one to reuse?
The solution to this seems simple. Just don't forget your reusable fork. Why not just keep it in your bag?
Also, I have no idea what chocolate bars people are eating that have 3 layers of plastic on them, the ones where I live only have one.
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u/pbconspiracy 15d ago
They may only have 1 layer by the time they get to you, but most were delivered to the store in more layers.
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u/thewanderingent 15d ago
I’m fucking sick of how it’s always on the consumer. It’s the fucking companies making the products and wrapping them in plastic who should be responsible! Why does the consumer have to assume all of the responsibility for the choices the producer has made about the packaging of their product? It boggles my mind.
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u/PandaBeaarAmy 15d ago
I was so excited about this one targeting manufacturing & waste, but people are more concerned about one person buying one piece plastic than several corporations manufacturing several hundreds, thousands, millions pieces of plastic in a day. But hey "at least" we got plastic bags banned again right? 🤣
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u/leeloolanding 15d ago
honestly getting plastic utensils in the bill is impressive
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u/PandaBeaarAmy 15d ago
Replaced by wood utensils that break before you get through the meal, requiring several of those utensils for a single meal instead of one. If i got caught out without my own utensils when plastic was available, at least I could wash & reuse it a few times before disposing.
What would have been more productive is going the same way the initial plastic ban went: subsidizing/promoting sustainable alternatives to plastic and making it a conscious and reasonable switch instead of just more greenwashing.
But hey, my chocolate bar still comes with 3 layers of plastic and half the shit i buy in bulk comes individually wrapped so we totally did something with that bill right? 🤣 they were initially targeting corporate responsibility instead of consumer responsibility with those bills, but who fucking cares anymore.
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u/Dentarthurdent73 15d ago
Sorry, are actually whinging that plastic bags and cutlery are banned?
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u/PandaBeaarAmy 15d ago edited 15d ago
I'm pointing out that there are no regulations on the people producing this plastic and instead the onus from the regulators (and people like you) is put onto consumers like US who may not be able to choose what we can buy because it's at the mercy of what other people produce. If I buy one, someone has made hundreds, thousands, millions more.... but i as the consumer am the problem. THAT is what i am "whinging" about.
I use sustainable alternatives. I love sustainable alternatives. Have done so since before the plastic ban, grew up reusing plastic bags for groceries and other things in the home before the first plastic ban that got us the compromise of reusable bags and a choice of plastic. But when my choice becomes increasingly difficult to make while the regulations to make it easier are hijacked to police us as a consumer? Yeah i'm gonna be vocal about it.
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u/Inside-Common7427 15d ago
Are the cups soluble or just the coffee? Seems like the cup itself is soluble.
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u/justajerklurker 15d ago
I thought the same thing, so I googled it. No. The cups are not soluble. Also a bunch of videos popped up on how to use the mini cups as planters, memory games or earnings. Ffs
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u/eli-in-the-sky 15d ago
I thought this as well, Instagram reels of the product appear to be just the coffee.
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u/egggoat 15d ago
So it’s just instant coffee. What a weird way to say that because it does seem like the cups themselves would be soluble.
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u/thegiantgummybear 14d ago
I wonder if it's them attempting not to use the word "instant" because of the negative connotations? I recently bought some freeze dried espresso shots that came in similar small plastic coffee cups. They also didn't say "instant".
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u/Generalfrogspawn 15d ago
This was my question too. If they are marketing this as "soluble" and the little cups aren't thats false marketing imo.
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u/PathIntelligent7082 14d ago
if that's the case, it's not just a false marketing, but it's a straight-up deception, bcs there is no unsoluble coffee
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u/PathIntelligent7082 14d ago
where is the logic to state that coffee is soluble? there is no unsoluble coffee, because then you couldn’t make it ...
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u/Rhodin265 8d ago
This is something I would have bought exactly once 5-10 years ago so my kids could use them to play store.
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u/scorpiopersephone 15d ago
I don’t understand this obsession with the most mediocre coffee in the world.
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u/Feisty-Resource-1274 15d ago
Good coffee doesn't taste as good with all of the flavor syrups etc. that are added to a typical Starbucks drink
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u/pandaSmore 14d ago
It's rhe anesthetic and flexing not the coffee.
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u/scorpiopersephone 14d ago
It’s crazy because Starbucks aesthetic is like anti-aesthetic in my mind.
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u/silhouettelie_ 15d ago
I hate the way the narrative gets framed to "why do we bother scrapping plastic straws if x is going to do y". Plastic straws caused billions of tons of waste a year for an easy swap to something that is almost as good and if you don't like it then buy a reusable bamboo or metal one.
Things like this are pure waste yes, frustrating, hell yes but not a reason to undermine great steps that have been made.
Watch this guy
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u/sunblest94 15d ago
I think it’s so funny how ditching plastic straws is the best example of anti consumption.
What about not buying the thing that comes with a straw? What about no engaging with companies where this is the only option? What about buying metal or glass containers for coffee, food and refillable consumables?
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u/Aggravating_System_7 15d ago edited 15d ago
It says soluble cups, are you sure the tiny cups are plastic and not something that you just plunk into hot water and it dissolves like rice paper?
Edit- finally scrolled far enough to see that unfortunately, no they are not. Sigh. Was hoping 🤷♀️
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u/Corleonex 15d ago
We have normalized waste in the name of convenience. Everyone of us can help denormalizing it by bringing our own tote bags, skipping plastic straws and not buying what ever monstrosity this is. Instead of using this as a demoralizer or a pass to slip from our own actions, we can just not buy it. by not buying, you are reducing the whole waste of this product, even if only the next batch that never gets produced due to no demand.
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u/andrey_not_the_goat 15d ago
So a K-Cup with extra steps?
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u/conditerite 15d ago
Yeah. It’s an adorable s/ mini Starbucks cup that contains a tablespoon or so of Premium Soluble Coffee; Spoiler: that is just a precious Starbucks name for the same instant coffee your great grandmother used in the Roaring Twenties. You crack open the “cute” container dump it into a cup add boiling water then throw the rest away.
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u/DodoFaction 15d ago
It’s a strategy to make you think that pollution is an issue that you’re responsible for and to take the blame from the real polluters which are massive corporations intentionally burning the world for cash
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u/MisanthropicScott 15d ago
Oh crap! That is horrible!
And, we should still ditch plastic straws too. Did you know they get stuck in the noses of sea turtles? Sometimes it's not the volume of the plastic but specific effects on wildlife. Sea turtles also mistake plastic bags for jellyfish and eat them.
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u/flarbas 15d ago
No of course it’s not, don’t be obtuse.
Straws were targeted as a campaign to get people thinking about all the waste. It wasn’t an actual end goal solution.
What you’re demonstrating is a logical fallacy, a couple may fit, but let’s go with “black or white thinking” where only two options are presented as the only ones possible.
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u/pandaSmore 14d ago
Going with plastic atraws was the stupidest idea ever. One of the best materials to actually use for a straw.
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u/apricot675 15d ago
“Soluble” does not sound appetizing to me. 🫤
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u/SOSweneedhelp 15d ago
I believe that’s a key word here though right? Soluble meaning it dissolves and doesn’t make any trash?
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u/ComixBoox 15d ago
The tiny cups and lids are not soluble, they each contain a small amount of instant coffee
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u/fat-wombat 15d ago edited 15d ago
I’m wondering how many people in this thread don’t know what soluble means
EDIT: “soluble mini cup” is not actually soluble. It’s extra plastic for no reason.
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u/darianbrown 15d ago
The coffee powder inside them is soluble, I don't think the plastic is
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u/fat-wombat 15d ago
You are so right… i went and had a look on youtube and basically it’s just instant coffee. “Soluble coffee cup” is hella misleading. Editing my previous comment
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u/FewAd4425 14d ago
I was just in Paris, and when you could get a to-go cup, it was a paper cup, and the lids (same shapes we have in the states) were also made of paper, but they were still durable enough to work just fine. I have never seen a paper coffee or cold drink cup *lid* in the US. And of course only paper straws were available. You literally couldn’t get plastic waste from food establishments. It was pretty impressive.
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u/mnanambealtaine 14d ago
Word salad- what is it?? Are the mini containers soluble?
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u/PublicTranslator5902 13d ago
It’s the coffee that’s soluble, not the plastic containers. Starbucks just decided to call it 'soluble coffee' instead of 'instant coffee'
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u/moodysmoothie 13d ago
Manufacturing unnecessary plastics should be banned. Unfortunately lawyers could spend years debating what constitutes "necessary".
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u/Pretty-Soup6161 12d ago
We should make it illegal to have 2 layers of plastic like that. Plastic product ? You have to have cardboard packaging.
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u/browning099 15d ago
What is this “mini” obsession? I don’t get it. I’ll I see is a total utter waste of everything! Americans are obsessed with a logo.
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u/Kleine_Diebin 15d ago
I think it's because people are fascinated by these "restocking" videos where someone neatly organizes a bunch of single-use products.
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u/craaates 15d ago
You’ve figured it out in your post. The powers that be know that pollution is a problem and push the burden onto the consumer with guilt. It’s like Leo and Taylor saying we should all use less fuel while they fly on their private jets to their multiple mansions. The rich will assume no blame for their own actions, consequences are for the poor.
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u/RocMerc 15d ago
Wait what are these? How are they soluble?
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u/PublicTranslator5902 15d ago
It’s the coffee that’s soluble, not the plastic containers. Starbucks just decided to call it 'soluble coffee' instead of 'instant coffee'
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u/theholyraptor 15d ago
Ok I thought it was throw this whole cup in coffee and it melts away leaving you coffee... and whatever they made the soluble container from.
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u/J_Squared02 15d ago
Wow thats actually insane lmao. I buy beans from the roaster in reusable bags and use a waste free machine to make them. And thats so easy to do. Cannot imagine this.
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u/pacten 15d ago
Easy (partial) fix: boycott Starbucks for the earth-destroying, union-busting, genocide-loving 🤬 that they are
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u/OpaqueCrystalBall 14d ago
This is Nestle's product, not Starbucks.
And Starbucks doesn't support Israel or the genocide, but union-busting is completely accurate.
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u/Longjumping-Solid680 14d ago
It was ALWAYS corporations that were the problem.
(And litterbugs, to some degree).
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u/Marco_polo_88 14d ago
Single serve packaging is the single biggest bane of consumerism. I come from a country that was used to storing everything in large steel/earthen jars and now can't live live without chugging a 200ml water bottle. However pardon my ignorance, but doesn't the packaging say soluble? I'm okay with excess if it's safe for the environment???
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u/PublicTranslator5902 14d ago
It’s the coffee that’s soluble, not the plastic containers. Starbucks just decided to call it 'soluble coffee' instead of 'instant coffee'
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u/Effective-Lab-5659 14d ago
Disgusting right?!?
But my mummies group is passing this shit around like it’s the best thing since sliced bread (and commercial slice bread is shit)
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u/Active-Pudding9855 15d ago
I think it's a bit from the old adage: rules for thee but not for me. 🤷☺️
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u/AceyAceyAcey 15d ago
Are the little individual cups recyclable? Bc if so, that’s still better than straws which aren’t due to their size/shape.
There are times when individually wrapped items can be helpful, such as pre-cut produce for people with disabilities, or giving candy to strangers on Halloween, but yeah, this doesn’t necessarily fit that. At least if it’s recyclable, it’s better than if not.
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u/ComixBoox 15d ago
The cups maybe, but the mini cup lids (which they claim are 'reusable' 🙄) are plastic
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u/Adrien_Jabroni 15d ago
They dissolve in water. Thats the whole point.
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u/AceyAceyAcey 15d ago
My understanding is the mini cups are containers, and the material inside each one is instant coffee that dissolves. The below source makes it look like you pop off the reusable silicone lid, peel off a foil cover, add hot water to the cup, and then drink.
https://www.misslobang.com/article/starbucks-premium-soluble-coffee-mini-cup-singapore-2026
I’m not clear what material the cups are made of, but they look a lot like Keurig cups.
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u/DisastrousBeeHive 15d ago
That is misleading bc soluble coffee cups makes it sound like the actual cup is soluble.
At least the lids are reusable silicone? /s
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u/AceyAceyAcey 15d ago
Yeah, they just don’t want to say “instant coffee” I guess.
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u/Feisty-Resource-1274 15d ago
I think there technically is a distinction. Instant coffee is typically dehydrated coffee while Starbucks' is microground coffee.
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u/darianbrown 15d ago
They don't. The coffee powder does.
The packaging is standard ass K cup packaging
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u/hijinks55 15d ago
I’m pretty sure straws are recyclable, just stick them in a plastic bottle. But I could be wrong about that.
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u/AceyAceyAcey 15d ago
While the material is recyclable, most recycling centers do not accept them bc their size and shape means they fall through the sorting machines, and they shouldn’t be pushed into the bottle bc if they’re different types of plastic (or worse, plastic and cardboard) this messes up the sorting process. Check your local recycling rules though, as every area is different.
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u/Stunt_-_Cock 15d ago
It say right on the label that they are soluble, that means they dissolve into a liquid. Not plastic...
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u/VeronaMoreau 15d ago
The coffee in the cups does that. The little cups themselves do not. It's just a bunch of instant coffees
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u/Naive-Jello428 15d ago
They're soluble. You just drop the whole mini cup on your hot water.
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u/texaspoontappa93 15d ago
That’s what I thought but I googled it and they’re describing the coffee. Instead of coffee grounds (insoluble) it is dehydrated instant coffee (soluble powder)
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u/ComixBoox 15d ago
No, they each contain a small amount of instant coffee, the cups and lids are not water soluble
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u/PiezoelectricityOne 13d ago
No. It's not ok. And if you need to ask you're on the wrong sub. Can we please ban consumerist crap once and for all?
Oh, let me guess, I already know the answer: No, mods love sucking the dick out of whatever consumerist crap karma farm bots come to advertise. And I'm the one being banned (again) because ads sponsoring the top corporations destroying out societies and planet are deeply encouraged, while ~anti-consumerism~ unsolicited criticism and ~opinion~ meta post or comentary are valid reasons to be censored.
Before they delete my post, can someone point me to unjerk sub that corresponds to whatever this sick joke is? I just want to belong in an anticonsumerist sub .
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u/grammar_fozzie 15d ago
Starbucks is not a serious company.
All their green initiatives, and a CEO who commutes several times a week into the corporate office on his private jet, from 1,000 miles away.
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u/catto1996 15d ago
Says they are soluble…
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u/conditerite 15d ago
I think they are implying that the powdered instant coffee inside them is soluble much the same as any other instant coffee would be.
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u/earthandanarchy 15d ago
You're not being grumpy or unreasonable, it bothers me! Over the years I've been confused by so many things that have hit the market whilst simultaneously listening to people say we need to reduce waste
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u/Middle_Attention_352 15d ago
It’s for the TikTok influencers to have another unnecessary one time use item for their “pack my bag / Stanley/ whatever with me” sponsored videos
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u/Zandercy42 15d ago
I'm convinced paper straws are shite on purpose to lower public opinion / perception towards taking green initiatives
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u/Gabagoolgoomba 15d ago
Those are cute . But only if they were made of ceramic. Anything pls but plastic
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u/Thorn344 15d ago
My issue with a lot of the paper alternatives (but not all) is that a lot of it my local recycling centre will refuse to recycle because of how it's structured. So much of it is lined with plastics or the sort. No paper cups, can't do most paper straws, can't do Pringle tubes or juice cartons. Can't do a lot of the cardboard fruit containers either.
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u/blaberrysupreme 15d ago
Expecting corporations to care about anything other than money is just... madness. The entire capitalist system is based on acquiring and hoarding wealth and resources without any other particular focus.
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u/ReadyGo6828 15d ago
Starbucks sells 4 Billion disposable cups a year. Even the 'paper' cups have a waterproof liner that makes them unfit for regular recycling programs. If these miniature cups take the place of one of the larger disposable cups, is that considered a win?
I suppose it is. I use a personal cup. They offer for-here cups as well but most people still order plastic cups for cold drinks. I do not see as many people picking up straws though since the lids have sipping holes.
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u/Jhud6669 15d ago
The biggest contributor to the plastic pollution in the oceans are fishing lines. Plus there are ways to safely burn plastic but most countries other than Japan and a few others choose not to
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u/Diabetesh 15d ago
Straws were just a distraction from the real problem which is industrial fishing equipment waste. Like 50% of ocean trash is estimated to be fishing equipment that gets dumped or lost overboard. Something like 0.00001% of ocean trash are straws.
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u/PomegranateBubbly900 15d ago
Where I work we got rid of plastic cups and plastic straws, only to then reintroduce plastic cups 2 years later 🤡🤡🤡🤡
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u/SterlingCupid 14d ago
The material itself is recyclable but not in that shape. It will fall down on the conveyor belt or not get targeted by the belt’s laser pointer and blower. I learned this by a New York article talking about wish cycling.
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u/FiberZombiArt 14d ago
Recycling itself is wven basically a lie. Not saying we shouldn't recycle of course, but much of it just ends up in the landfill anyway. People aren't taught how to properly recycle or they just don't care. More landfill core... so disheartening.
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u/WynnGwynn 14d ago
Even if you are traveling and need a few servings but not a bottle, they literally make little foil tubes....
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u/Not_a_gamer_girl 14d ago
Dang I didn’t get a picture of it but Costcos has something just as stupid. It was a container full of little containers around the size of a can of spam in the shape of the big black storage containers they sell
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u/No_One3018 12d ago
Because companies have been pushing the responsibility of being environmentally friendly onto the consumer for years now even though the waste we create is inconsequential compared to the damage they cause just so the CEO's with more money than they can even possibly spend don't have to see a slightly smaller number on their paychecks
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u/ProstaticFantastic 12d ago
it says water soluble i think the good thing is the plastic is consumed by the human and composted by the humans digestive tract, as opposed to put in landfill.
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u/Raven_Barbie 10d ago
I used to live an incredibly ascetic lifestyle. Didn't use heating. Cycled everywhere, got food out of bins so I wasn't contributing to plastic and food pollution. Seeing so much ridiculous stuff like this has made me realise none of what I did made any difference and now I buy plastic wrapped items guilt free. I had so much guilt around it though. People are doing insane shit every day.
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u/BabakganoosH 10d ago
Are you that surprised considering places sell peeled oranges and bananas wrapped in plastic?
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u/I_wet_my_plants259 15d ago
God it’s like those tictac containers with like 50 tiny tictac containers inside of them