Comment on Call for UK ban on single-use vapes as more than 5m discarded each week

• HeartyBeast@kbin.social ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  they chose the smallest thing they could do

  They initially chose a thing that would have marginal impact on consumers' behaviour, yes. Starting in October 2023, people will no longer be able to buy plastic cutlery, plates, bowls, trays, balloon sticks, and other items.

  Which items would you nominate for an immediate ban in addition?

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  • FredericChopin_@feddit.uk ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    I would shift the onus on the people buying the shit (consumers) to the people making it (producers).

    Maybe we could look at fishing nets, plastic bottles etc.

    To be clear I am all for doing more for the planet but I take issue with the blame being misplaced on consumers when the producers are polluting orders of magnitude more than we are.

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    • HeartyBeast@kbin.social ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Stopping a producer selling it in a country is putting the onus on the producer.

      I don't think the narrative of producer v consumer is particularly helpful. Any regulation that hits the producer will also hit the consumer.

      I'd be all for a ban on plastic bottles, but you need proper glass bottle deposit schemes in place first

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      • FredericChopin_@feddit.uk ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        I think it is helpful.

        Consumers can only buy what’s on the shelves. If we limit production then the former isn’t an issue.

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    • ParsnipWitch@feddit.de ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      How much less talking about the consumers responsible is appropriate? Or do you think people shouldn’t talk about it at all?

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• aeternum@kbin.social ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  why do you think the producers are producing these things? Because consumer demand. If we stopped purchasing these things, they wouldn't produce them. They only produce them because that's where the money is.

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  • FredericChopin_@feddit.uk ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Which is more likely.

    The majority of consumers giving a shit about anything that doesn’t affect them.

    Stopping the production of things we actually don’t want people to buy anymore.

    It’s much easier to regulate a handful of companies than it is to educate several billion people and try and get them to change buying habits.

    That’s like excusing a serial killer because victims are plentiful. You wouldn’t blame the victims and tell them to stay away from serial killers. You would punish the serial killer no?

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