People want to pretend just the things that are convenient to them are an issue. They say government and companies need to take action, then complain about actions taken. It's really wild to see.

This is a list of end-consumer items put together by a government body beholden to fishing and other industries. And it’s not even about pollution levels, it’s specifically about beach pollution. Plastic lids on cartons of heavy cream are “also a problem” if we focus only on reducing plastic waste in the kitchen, but implying it’s even relevant compared to industrial plastic waste is disingenuous

Single use plastic items laying on the beach is what bothers people the most, but this doesn't mean it is the biggest problems. There is much more plastic in the oceans that we do not see.

Hmm. Perhaps the beaches shouldn't be the prioritized focus for developing alternatives to plastic.

If it's on the beach, it can be picked up. Today, tomorrow or eventually.

I think the plastic that can't be as easily be collected ought to be replaced by alternatives first.

No, someone else is doing something worse than me so I'm absolved. I can do what I want.

Yeah, I simultaneously want to comment that the left panels are a wild fantasy, as I've never seen an actual human say that we should focus on plastic straws. As far as I can tell, that's propaganda put into the world by companies trying to discredit genuine efforts.

But at the same time, it's not even like you have to focus on straws. You can simply not use them, because it is just a stupid concept to produce something that's immediately trash, and then also go and do other things in life. Believe it or not, most activities in life don't involve straws.

Oil companies have known this for decades,

fun fact: BP created the carbon footprint to turn the guilt onto the end consumers, and away from them.

It requires lifting fishermen out of poverty

Bruh. These aren't 1 dude in a boat with a long line. These are billion dollar corporations running fleets. And yes, we need international cooperation to bring them to heel. Like with farmers, however, make no mistake that the people doing this kind of pollution are at all ignorant or unaware of what they are doing.

the average person has very little way to reduce the number of plastic nets in the water

Besides the obvious and 100% viable option of just not eating fish.

Or organise a boycott on eating fish.

You could go the rest of your life without eating another fish and you would be fine.

Car tyres are also significant contributors to terrestial microplastics and particulate matter!

And bad news: electric cars, being heavier, emit more microplastics.

What if dispenser machines had a pay by volume model? You bring your own thing, they fill it, and charge you by how much you use. Would probably need something added to measure flow and set prices, but it's not like a McDonalds built in the 70s is still using exactly the same machines they were back then.

stop eating all animals tbh.

No, that would inconvenience me. I would prefer to virtue signal. /s

My conspiracy theory is it was chosen to deliberately harm the optics of environmentalists. Something with minimal useful impact and maximum inconvenience would turn people against the whole idea of environmentally friendly alternatives.

I think it's also a product of the guy on the left likely has never used and will never use a fishing net. It's kind of like the tarrifs on Canada. America wasn't ever complaining that drugs were being trafficked over the the Canadian border but that is the reason they are giving for the tarrifs. The truth I see is one of the highest imports from Canada to the U.S. is Aluminum. Coke already stated if Aluminum costs go up, they will simply make more of their products in plastic bottles instead to keep their costs down. Those plastic bottles are made from petroleum which funds much of the GOP's campaigns. He is simply paying back oil executives by ensuring aluminum prices rise. Cokes profits stay the same, Oil companies profits go up. Where does the money come from? Working class Americans

Getting rid of plastic straws, but not cups and lids was such a stupid thing. There are substitutes for cups, but they cost more, so they weren't a good option for greenwashing.

If you're already minimizing seafood intake because of the lead content, you're already minimizing your personal impact of fishing net use. What we need to do is legislate the use of hemp nets. Hemp was the primary net maternal before the oil industry put their weight behind making hemp illegal under the guise of "The War On Drugs!" and made plastic/nylon nets the default.

That would be ideal, but each person has limited time and attention. Advocate for both, but put your efforts into figuring out how to change the thing with the larger impact.

Majority literally means the subset making up more than half of the set.