I’m being hyperbolic, but TikTok just re-radicalized me and in ADHD energy mode and I know this urgency won’t last forever. I hate when things I’m around feel contaminated by toxins and I already wear a mask for the polluted air. I hate getting rid of things that might be useful, but also plastics bad so it might be useful. I do have OCD, but this isn’t about that it’s an exaggerated but rational urge. I realize this account’s lib asking you to “vote with your dollar,” but for personal health what do you think? I can afford this eventually. I’m clearly monotropism spiraling but it’s fun.
Also, should we stop recycling plastic if the product will be worse?
i think some long lasting plastics are useful. like, i don't seek out ways to use plastic instead of 'x' and generally i want the wood handle instead of the plastic one [or the metal, natural fiber, etc], but plastics and polymers are in so much and a lot of natural/organic materials have coatings and protective layers which are plastic based. and detergents and shit like fabric softener, god its crazy. but polyurethanes absolutely make a wood surface last far longer making it more resistant to wear and tear, and can give it desirable properties for certain use cases (non porous / sanitization etc).
the health aspect, in my opinion, is mostly the microplastics angle. and the environmental piece is avoiding single use plastics. single use plastics are the big disaster, not the 9 year old nalgene or the 6 year old tumbler or the $2 shades you got last year. not buying new shit until the old shit is not functional, usable or reparable is generally the move. stretching the life cycle another year or two always pencils out better than buying the latest new and improved greenwashed thing today.
the plastic problem is where all this crap goes (and how it doesn't so much stay there as it does find its way back into us), so use the hell out of it while considering what form its ideal replacement will take. if you have a bunch of personal energy and the material security to try and unwind a problem, figure out how to routinely provision food and clothing for yourself without single use plastics for packaging/tags etc. as far as i can tell, decreasing that consumptive use of plastics by like 50% will turn you into the crunchiest and most granola freak at most any farmers market (logistic difficulty: severe) and cut way the hell back on the volume of plastics moving through your household. and probably through your body. plastic packaging is the cutting edge for material sciences because they are always trying to find ways to make durable packaging out of less physical material. that is the recipe for long lasting, but totally unrecyclable trash and novel xenobiotics.