While it might not appear much to you,
All those prezzies you ordered online?
I’m a millionaire now, through and through,
‘Cos the plant that makes cardboard, is mine.
Remember plastic bags? I’d like to see a Cardboard Tax.
Rich
Mister Bump
My "bump" was in 2016 when, aged 48, I suffered a stroke. This blog charts my recovery. (Header clipart licensed by pngguru.com.)
Mister Bump 
It’s not all bad news. 😁Cardboard can be recycled multiple times, and uses minimal energy to remanufacture because the fiber has already been processed.
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But is it?
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It is certainly greener than plastic. I hate the stuff.
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but overused still.
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Snazzy. Cardboard tax? Works for me. Plastic bags outlawed in Jolly Old, Jolly Old? Kewl. That’s a tough one. Cello bags first, then fast-compostable paper. Changing the (convenience-driven) marketplace, especially fresh produce is a real challenge here in Usoffa.
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I think the tax on single-use plastic bags applied basically across the EU. Around 2015? It was only 5p (less than a nickel) each time but it caused people to drastically rethink.
Unfortunately, the tax wasn’t thought through properly, and some people, for whom money is not really an issue, opted instead to buy so-called bags for life, which of course uses a lot more plastic!
But it shows that if you’re the willpower and the nouse, you can change people’s habits.
For a cardboard tax, I’ve not given it much thought, but maybe if anything is manufactured will less than 90% recycled material, you slap a $10k tarrif on it as it leaves the mill? But silly me, that would hit the economy. Never mind the trees.
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Unfortunately, but there are real costs to consider: loss/realignment of jobs, ill-conceived alternative choices, continued (as you suggest here) unbalanced shouldering of economic impact, bratwurst shortages, tremendous inconvenience, inequitable acceptance of fiscal responsibility (one country or region as opposed to another), crossing county lines to avoid penalty (Usoffa – one county has deposit fees, another less or none so folk BURN $1 petrol to save 20 cents bottle recycle tax [it is after all, the principle – don’t violate MY rights!]). [bratwurst shortage a non sequitur for effect.] Paper v plastic: personally, I consider trees renewable, plastic (petrocarbon) not, trees (paper/cardboard) decomposing beneficially in 20-40 years, plastic takes 1,000 years. So much to consider. We’re gonna make mistakes. Bigger mistake, I suggest, to stuff thumbs up asses and wait for someone else to do something. Feels better knowing more folks are listening to Ewell Gibbons of late.
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Definitely get rid of the plastic bags, the cardboard definitely recycle
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but even recycling uses energy. Reuse is better.
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Trick is, to accurately assess comparatively what and how many resources are used and where a breakpoint might be. It remains a “tough nut.”
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Recently it’s been revealed that much of our recycled plastic actually goes to the landfill. I prefer cardboard and paper there are markets for it. Single-use plastic kike bags and films really bother me most.
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Is it wrong I reuse plastic bags for my pups poop?
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Reuse is best every time, I think. I mean, what’s the alternative? A fresh, composting bag each time? Which someone has to make?
I suspect there will always be a need for plastics in some degree. If we truly lived zero-carbon, we’d all be back in caves. But there should be a “sustainable” level…
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Agree with you but what level is sustainable? 🤔
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One suggestion is about 5 tonnes CO2E each, per year. But that’s vrry frugal. A couple of long haul flights will gobble that up. Also, the “cost” of things, in terms of CO2, is still very fuzzy. Yoiu can generally get in the right ballpark, but beyond that, everything is a “best guess”.
I’m reading literature on it at the moment, so it is becoming better-defined. The next thing to get rid of for me will be cheese.
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Ohhh I love cheese but it’s rough on my digestive tract
Fingers crossed for you
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