One thought on “Jeremy Irons’ War Against Plastic”
There’s a lot of plastic “wasted” — or at least used — in consumer packaging. A good deal of that seems to be to reduce the risk of theft — when a thumb drive comes in a plastic case that measures six inches each way, it’s not because the drive needs a box that big. And the clamshell cases are danged hard to open at that.
I doubt that’s what Mr. Irons means, though. Plastics are among the miracle materials of the industrial age and the petroleum age. Some are cheap, and look like it and are used for low-value applications like party toys. Others are highly sophisticated, like IV fluid containers and components in electronics. Plastics have made desirable items much less costly and so much more available to people like me. Why do people with a lot of money get so annoyed at people like me for wanting nice stuff?
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There’s a lot of plastic “wasted” — or at least used — in consumer packaging. A good deal of that seems to be to reduce the risk of theft — when a thumb drive comes in a plastic case that measures six inches each way, it’s not because the drive needs a box that big. And the clamshell cases are danged hard to open at that.
I doubt that’s what Mr. Irons means, though. Plastics are among the miracle materials of the industrial age and the petroleum age. Some are cheap, and look like it and are used for low-value applications like party toys. Others are highly sophisticated, like IV fluid containers and components in electronics. Plastics have made desirable items much less costly and so much more available to people like me. Why do people with a lot of money get so annoyed at people like me for wanting nice stuff?