1 00:00:01,440 --> 00:00:04,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you should Know, a production of I 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:13,400 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Jos 3 00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:15,840 Speaker 1: and there's Chock and we're just a couple of dudes 4 00:00:16,040 --> 00:00:19,560 Speaker 1: yacking it up about packaging waste because this is stuff 5 00:00:19,560 --> 00:00:25,439 Speaker 1: you should know. Let's go. Yeah. Uh, it's always fun, 6 00:00:25,440 --> 00:00:27,680 Speaker 1: even after all these years, to just sort of not 7 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:29,160 Speaker 1: know what's going to come out of your mouth at 8 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:32,680 Speaker 1: the beginning of an episode. Same here, Um, oh like 9 00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:36,440 Speaker 1: as yourself. Yeah, I think this is a nice little 10 00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:39,839 Speaker 1: addendum or not addendum, but just in the same bucket 11 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:44,360 Speaker 1: as our recent bottled water episode, and um, we did 12 00:00:44,400 --> 00:00:47,760 Speaker 1: when I'm Littering and the Ultra Processed Foods episode all 13 00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:50,480 Speaker 1: touched on this too. Yeah, and also of course recycling 14 00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:53,519 Speaker 1: in landfills. And I just I love at the end 15 00:00:53,560 --> 00:00:57,080 Speaker 1: of our whole career, we're gonna have these lovely buckets 16 00:00:57,120 --> 00:00:59,640 Speaker 1: of content, and this is one I'm most proud of, 17 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:02,560 Speaker 1: our sort of environmental bucket. Yeah, it's good stuff. What 18 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:06,640 Speaker 1: about our civics lessons bucket? Sure those are great, like 19 00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:09,440 Speaker 1: how to do a will and stuff like that. No, no, 20 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:13,120 Speaker 1: like why jerrymandering is horrible? Oh sure, yeah those are 21 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:16,440 Speaker 1: great too. Um, yeah, but these are recycling ones are 22 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:20,280 Speaker 1: great and true crime forget about it, because you know 23 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:25,680 Speaker 1: we're basically a true crime podcast. That So we're talking 24 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:28,880 Speaker 1: today about packaging waste. And if you are alive today 25 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:32,840 Speaker 1: in or the future, if you're listening to this in 26 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:37,920 Speaker 1: the future, hello future, um, you are probably pretty well 27 00:01:37,959 --> 00:01:41,760 Speaker 1: aware that we have a lot of packaging. We use 28 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:45,560 Speaker 1: a lot of packaging to put stuff in. Like I 29 00:01:45,640 --> 00:01:49,880 Speaker 1: remember buying a bottle of Crown Royal years and years 30 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:52,720 Speaker 1: ago at the liquor store and they put it in 31 00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:55,880 Speaker 1: a paper bag when he thought it was the fanciest 32 00:01:55,880 --> 00:02:00,360 Speaker 1: liquor totally and you and you would leave with paper 33 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:02,280 Speaker 1: bag and take it home and you would pull the 34 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:04,920 Speaker 1: box of Crown Royal out of the paper bag, you'd 35 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:08,560 Speaker 1: pull the velvet bag that the Crown Royal was an 36 00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:11,520 Speaker 1: out of the box, and then you'd pull the bottle 37 00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:14,680 Speaker 1: out of the velvet bag. And then finally, after you 38 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:16,560 Speaker 1: unscrewed the cap, you could get to what you were 39 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:19,919 Speaker 1: after all along, which was the delicious Crown Royal. Right, 40 00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:21,440 Speaker 1: and you would put your bag of weed and the 41 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:25,239 Speaker 1: velvet bag and you would go to the Motley Crew concert. 42 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:29,000 Speaker 1: That's right with your little nineties bowl, the little brass bowl, 43 00:02:29,160 --> 00:02:31,519 Speaker 1: that's right. And hey, this is not to disparage Crown 44 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:35,200 Speaker 1: Royal because they have been friendly enough to send us 45 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:38,680 Speaker 1: their delicious ryeh over and over again. They really took 46 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:41,320 Speaker 1: care of Remember they gave us those bags that were monogrammed. 47 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:45,760 Speaker 1: So yeah, no, not not anything to disparage on Crown Royal. 48 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:48,920 Speaker 1: But it's it always struck me even back then, like 49 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:51,919 Speaker 1: this is a lot of packaging, and how necessary is this? 50 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:55,080 Speaker 1: And we finally reached the point where the rest of 51 00:02:55,200 --> 00:02:58,160 Speaker 1: society is caught up to me and are asking these 52 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:01,120 Speaker 1: questions now. And the answer that we seem to be 53 00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:03,400 Speaker 1: coming up with is a lot of this stuff is 54 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:06,720 Speaker 1: totally unnecessary, and the stuff that is necessary we have 55 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:10,040 Speaker 1: to learn to make better and reuse better because we 56 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:13,919 Speaker 1: are awash in garbage. And here in America it's kind 57 00:03:13,919 --> 00:03:16,160 Speaker 1: of tough to see unless you drive past the landfill 58 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:19,360 Speaker 1: because we don't literally we used to. But what we 59 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:21,920 Speaker 1: do is we dump our stuff either in landfills or 60 00:03:21,919 --> 00:03:25,959 Speaker 1: else we exported to other less developed countries to use 61 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:30,920 Speaker 1: them as our landfills, which is really morally uncool, you know, oh, 62 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:35,480 Speaker 1: absolutely uh, And it's funny I just noticed the other day. Uh, 63 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:41,360 Speaker 1: the very popular by knacks now COVID at home COVID tests. Uh, 64 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:43,840 Speaker 1: COVID came through our house again. We all got out everybody, 65 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:46,840 Speaker 1: We're all great, We're all fine, but p s A 66 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:50,200 Speaker 1: still out there. Be careful. But long and long and 67 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:51,600 Speaker 1: short of it is, we're taking a lot of these 68 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:54,880 Speaker 1: tests over the course of the two weeks, and they 69 00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:57,720 Speaker 1: are smaller now. I had to order some more, and 70 00:03:57,720 --> 00:03:59,400 Speaker 1: they are now. I don't know if you've used these. 71 00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:02,560 Speaker 1: They're not in the giant long box. And I thought, oh, 72 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:04,480 Speaker 1: is there only one in there now? And no, they 73 00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:07,080 Speaker 1: just didn't need that big box. It's like the old 74 00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:10,400 Speaker 1: CED long box, the same. Yeah. And they came in 75 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:11,920 Speaker 1: the mail. I was like, oh, well good, this thing 76 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:15,240 Speaker 1: is probably not half the size, but probably close to it, 77 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:18,440 Speaker 1: because there was no reason for those two COVID tests 78 00:04:18,480 --> 00:04:21,440 Speaker 1: just to be flopping around with all that real estate. Yeah, 79 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:23,800 Speaker 1: so good for them, Yeah, good for you. By an X. 80 00:04:24,080 --> 00:04:25,880 Speaker 1: Did you get him in the mail because Joe Biden 81 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:30,920 Speaker 1: sent him to you? Joe Biden, I did, uh send 82 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:34,080 Speaker 1: off for the free one from the government. But I 83 00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:35,800 Speaker 1: also had to you know, we we just keep a 84 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:38,360 Speaker 1: stock in the house because we like to just make 85 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:41,760 Speaker 1: sure we're keeping everyone safe. Definitely. And you have a 86 00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:46,960 Speaker 1: bowl full of condoms by your front door too, exactly 87 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:50,080 Speaker 1: except ours is like, uh, give a penny, take a penny, 88 00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:53,000 Speaker 1: You take a condom, you gotta leave it, the condom 89 00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:56,760 Speaker 1: of equal or lesser size? What they? What am I 90 00:04:56,800 --> 00:05:00,640 Speaker 1: doing to call them? Like Coney Island whitefishes? That's right, 91 00:05:00,760 --> 00:05:04,279 Speaker 1: he's in New York. Oh God, and you need to 92 00:05:04,279 --> 00:05:07,320 Speaker 1: clean that bowl out, chuck. Oh. Can we talk about 93 00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:10,760 Speaker 1: packaging waste? Yes, let's talk about this because give this. 94 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:15,120 Speaker 1: In the United States, of municipal solid waste, that's everything 95 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:19,680 Speaker 1: that includes old washing machines for Pete's sake. Of municipal 96 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:24,240 Speaker 1: solid waste is packaging containers, stuff that the stuff we're 97 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:27,400 Speaker 1: actually buying comes in, or is shipped in, or is 98 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:32,200 Speaker 1: transported to the story in right, So if we can 99 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:34,640 Speaker 1: do something about that, if we can reduce the amount 100 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:37,680 Speaker 1: of packaging or make the packaging we use more recyclable, 101 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:41,760 Speaker 1: that would have an enormous impact on our landfill footprint 102 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:45,440 Speaker 1: just out of the gate. Uh, and we do a 103 00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:48,640 Speaker 1: decent you know, I don't even know. Decent is such 104 00:05:48,680 --> 00:05:52,520 Speaker 1: a term that it's all over the place according to 105 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:54,000 Speaker 1: who you are. So I don't even want to use it. 106 00:05:54,640 --> 00:05:57,360 Speaker 1: But we have put a dent in this packaging waste 107 00:05:57,400 --> 00:06:00,560 Speaker 1: with our recycling, at least compared to the past. Maybe 108 00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:02,559 Speaker 1: that's the safest way to say it. Yeah, we've definitely 109 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:06,320 Speaker 1: gotten better because in nineteen sixty about a tenth of 110 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:11,280 Speaker 1: packaging waste was recycled. Uhen was the most recent year 111 00:06:11,320 --> 00:06:15,479 Speaker 1: we have. We're up to packaging waste being recycled, but 112 00:06:16,320 --> 00:06:20,640 Speaker 1: that still means that they're uh, let me see here. 113 00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:25,360 Speaker 1: Plastic ten million what is this tons? Yes, ten million 114 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:28,320 Speaker 1: tons of plastic still end up in the landfills out 115 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:32,000 Speaker 1: of million total. Yeah, seven million out of twelve million 116 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:36,200 Speaker 1: of wood aluminium. You would think that's the easiest thing 117 00:06:36,200 --> 00:06:40,680 Speaker 1: to recycle. Everyone throws their aluminum cans recycling, right, Not true? 118 00:06:41,240 --> 00:06:45,200 Speaker 1: About half one million aluminum cans end up in landfills 119 00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:51,560 Speaker 1: with two million total. Yeah, that's unconscionable. Yeah, aluminum is 120 00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:54,680 Speaker 1: I've seen it described as infinitely recyclable. You can just 121 00:06:54,760 --> 00:06:57,360 Speaker 1: keep making the same aluminum can over and over again, 122 00:06:57,400 --> 00:06:59,880 Speaker 1: if you'll just recycle it rather than diverted to land 123 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:04,320 Speaker 1: all that's pretty bad. Two million or one million landfilled 124 00:07:04,320 --> 00:07:07,760 Speaker 1: out of two million. On the other end, cardboard, we're 125 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:11,920 Speaker 1: really really good that recycling cardboard. People recycle it. It's 126 00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:15,120 Speaker 1: also easy to recycle, so it gets recycled. Out of 127 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:18,560 Speaker 1: forty two million tons of paper and cardboard that was 128 00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:22,560 Speaker 1: generated for packaging alone, just packaging everybody, I'm not including 129 00:07:22,600 --> 00:07:26,440 Speaker 1: like you know, um uh, construction paper from elementary schools, 130 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:28,640 Speaker 1: none of that. This is all just packaging. In two 131 00:07:28,640 --> 00:07:30,840 Speaker 1: thousand and eighteen in the U S alone, out of 132 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:33,960 Speaker 1: forty two million, only five million of that five million 133 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:37,040 Speaker 1: tons ended up in the landfill. So that's really really good. 134 00:07:37,480 --> 00:07:40,440 Speaker 1: So cardboards not the problem as far as like packaging 135 00:07:40,480 --> 00:07:42,800 Speaker 1: and shipping and all of that stuff goes because a 136 00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:45,559 Speaker 1: lot of it, most of it gets recycled. The big 137 00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:50,800 Speaker 1: problem isn't even aluminum cans. The problem, chuck is polastic. Yeah, 138 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:54,120 Speaker 1: plastics a big problem, and a lot of this again 139 00:07:54,160 --> 00:07:58,720 Speaker 1: overlaps with our bottled water up. But and we'll talk 140 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:01,600 Speaker 1: about plastic all throughout this episode. Yeah, and when when 141 00:08:01,640 --> 00:08:04,239 Speaker 1: you think plastic, that's usually especially when you're talking about 142 00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:08,200 Speaker 1: plastic packaging waste, you think bottled waters or something like that, 143 00:08:08,360 --> 00:08:11,240 Speaker 1: or water bottles. Um but it can be any kind 144 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:14,200 Speaker 1: of single use plastic where it can be like a 145 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:18,520 Speaker 1: derrito wrapper that's made of plastic, styrofoam packing peanuts, that's 146 00:08:18,520 --> 00:08:22,000 Speaker 1: a kind of plastic too, it's a polystyrene um. Plastic 147 00:08:22,040 --> 00:08:25,520 Speaker 1: shows up in all sorts of other ways in other places, 148 00:08:25,640 --> 00:08:29,040 Speaker 1: especially with plaques or packaging. And the other thing that 149 00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:32,520 Speaker 1: you have to remember is this, think about how light 150 00:08:32,679 --> 00:08:39,720 Speaker 1: plastic is. Okay, ten ten million tons of plastic. That 151 00:08:39,920 --> 00:08:43,120 Speaker 1: is so much plastic in real terms, in real life 152 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:46,079 Speaker 1: terms out there in landfills are in the environment even 153 00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:50,960 Speaker 1: worse that we're throwing away every year, every single year. Yeah, 154 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:54,160 Speaker 1: it's really unnerving when you get a product that is 155 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:58,920 Speaker 1: shrink wrapped in plastic that doesn't need to be. It's 156 00:08:59,520 --> 00:09:05,080 Speaker 1: you know, yeah, I blame the Thailand All Poisoner for that. Yeah, 157 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:09,520 Speaker 1: but really remember they were the ones who triggered tamper 158 00:09:09,559 --> 00:09:12,319 Speaker 1: proof packaging and like putting everything in like shrink wrap 159 00:09:12,360 --> 00:09:14,960 Speaker 1: and stuff. Yeah, but as a tape measure, it's going 160 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:18,719 Speaker 1: to be tampered with. But I think that that's an 161 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:22,679 Speaker 1: extension of that impulse that was originally created by the 162 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:27,720 Speaker 1: Thailand All Poisoner that tamper proof packaging got extended to everything. Yeah, 163 00:09:27,760 --> 00:09:29,320 Speaker 1: I guess so, And I know some of it is 164 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:32,400 Speaker 1: to protect the thing. But like, let's say you go 165 00:09:32,440 --> 00:09:35,520 Speaker 1: out and get like a screwdriver set. They're not gonna 166 00:09:35,520 --> 00:09:39,080 Speaker 1: sell you eight screwdrivers in a little like vinyl bag. 167 00:09:39,960 --> 00:09:42,520 Speaker 1: Like they sell you eight screwdrivers and one of those 168 00:09:42,600 --> 00:09:47,320 Speaker 1: huge square, you know, molded plastic things that are a 169 00:09:47,480 --> 00:09:51,600 Speaker 1: impossible to open. So they're annoying. But it's just it 170 00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:54,960 Speaker 1: just drives me crazy, drives me crazy. Have you tried 171 00:09:55,000 --> 00:10:00,960 Speaker 1: practicing opening them screw driver? Sure, you gotta get a 172 00:10:01,960 --> 00:10:05,719 Speaker 1: like a carpet knife? What what brand do you use? 173 00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:09,600 Speaker 1: Carpet knife? No? But I mean you're you're screwdriver. When 174 00:10:09,640 --> 00:10:11,880 Speaker 1: you're buying that big box of screwdrivers? What brand are 175 00:10:11,920 --> 00:10:13,760 Speaker 1: you buying? I feel like in being set up for 176 00:10:13,800 --> 00:10:15,599 Speaker 1: something that I don't understand. So I'm just gonna go 177 00:10:15,840 --> 00:10:20,560 Speaker 1: and say Craftsman. Okay, that's why it was. It was 178 00:10:20,600 --> 00:10:23,760 Speaker 1: a rhetorical question. There's no wrong answer. But I I 179 00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:26,640 Speaker 1: don't have a problem opening and closing the plastic box 180 00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:30,840 Speaker 1: with de Walt brand tools. Well, I got a lot 181 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:33,360 Speaker 1: of d Walt stuff. I love the Walt. In fact, 182 00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:35,520 Speaker 1: most of my major power tools are de Walt. But 183 00:10:35,559 --> 00:10:38,880 Speaker 1: you know, I'm I'm just remembering. I shouldn't have said screwdrivers. 184 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:41,760 Speaker 1: I should have said like wrenches, because the wrenches I 185 00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:44,720 Speaker 1: bought the wrench set came like that. I actually found 186 00:10:44,720 --> 00:10:49,800 Speaker 1: a screwdriver set where it had twelve screwdrivers in and 187 00:10:49,840 --> 00:10:53,040 Speaker 1: it was plastic, but it was in one little plastic 188 00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:57,640 Speaker 1: screw lid container, and it seemed a lot better than 189 00:10:57,920 --> 00:11:02,080 Speaker 1: the other alternative at least. Yeah. The next best step 190 00:11:02,200 --> 00:11:04,760 Speaker 1: after that is there's just some dude who hangs out 191 00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:07,640 Speaker 1: at the store that carries him home in his arms 192 00:11:08,080 --> 00:11:10,320 Speaker 1: and dumps him onto your floor and then leaves like 193 00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:12,839 Speaker 1: that kind of packaging. Yeah, he opens his overcoat and 194 00:11:12,840 --> 00:11:15,400 Speaker 1: they're all all the screw drives are hanging there. Right. 195 00:11:15,920 --> 00:11:18,520 Speaker 1: You just take your pick. Uh, let's talk a little 196 00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:21,280 Speaker 1: bit about the history before we break. I think because 197 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:25,600 Speaker 1: I always think of Emily's grandparents, Charlie who has left us, 198 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:28,160 Speaker 1: and then Mary, who was still chugging along at a 199 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:30,680 Speaker 1: hundred and one years old. Believe it or not. Uh, 200 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:34,360 Speaker 1: they didn't have garbage collection for almost their entire lives 201 00:11:34,360 --> 00:11:37,920 Speaker 1: in rural Ohio. Uh. They didn't want to pay for it, 202 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:42,760 Speaker 1: and they didn't need it because they reused, recycled, and 203 00:11:43,040 --> 00:11:47,240 Speaker 1: when I say reused, they really reused. They composted. Um. 204 00:11:47,360 --> 00:11:49,720 Speaker 1: They did all the old things because they're that old 205 00:11:49,800 --> 00:11:54,960 Speaker 1: school Depression era generation to where you appreciate things like 206 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:57,520 Speaker 1: that and you don't want to waste. And that's the 207 00:11:57,520 --> 00:12:00,480 Speaker 1: way that used to just be the norm. Pele would 208 00:12:00,760 --> 00:12:04,320 Speaker 1: buy and ship things and barrels and wooden boxes and 209 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:07,880 Speaker 1: they would reuse those, and glass bottles that they would reuse. 210 00:12:08,240 --> 00:12:10,520 Speaker 1: They would wrap up cheese and meats and things and 211 00:12:10,960 --> 00:12:13,679 Speaker 1: cloth forever that you would reuse and then eventually like 212 00:12:14,240 --> 00:12:17,560 Speaker 1: butcher paper. Uh. And that was just they didn't even 213 00:12:17,600 --> 00:12:22,079 Speaker 1: have regular garbage pickup until about the mid eighteen hundreds here, right, 214 00:12:22,160 --> 00:12:24,400 Speaker 1: because because again they didn't need it. I mean, yeah, 215 00:12:24,520 --> 00:12:26,920 Speaker 1: somebody sent you something and it wouldn't crate. You'd build 216 00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:31,280 Speaker 1: an addition on your house exactly. It was like that, 217 00:12:31,559 --> 00:12:33,480 Speaker 1: Like they would use glass bottles and then if the 218 00:12:33,520 --> 00:12:36,520 Speaker 1: glass bottle broke, they would fix it. And I was like, 219 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:39,120 Speaker 1: how would they fix it? And apparently there's something called 220 00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:44,360 Speaker 1: um water water glass. It's sodium silicate and it's a 221 00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:46,840 Speaker 1: spread herble kind of glass where if you heat it up. 222 00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:49,440 Speaker 1: It basically fills in all the cracks and it's good 223 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:51,319 Speaker 1: as new. I wonder if that's how they do. Should 224 00:12:51,320 --> 00:12:55,640 Speaker 1: ask Emily's dad the window chips, Oh, I wonder too. 225 00:12:55,760 --> 00:12:57,679 Speaker 1: Emily used to do that for a little while because 226 00:12:57,679 --> 00:13:01,360 Speaker 1: her dad has a Syneco glass. If you're in near Akron, Ohio, 227 00:13:02,040 --> 00:13:05,199 Speaker 1: that's the place to get your windows replaced. But Emily 228 00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:07,920 Speaker 1: did that for a summer, she fixed glass chips. Yeah, 229 00:13:07,960 --> 00:13:11,640 Speaker 1: you should definitely ask her that. So. Um, so, we 230 00:13:11,679 --> 00:13:13,800 Speaker 1: didn't have garbage pickup because we didn't need it because 231 00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:17,360 Speaker 1: everybody was reusing stuff food waste, like you said, they 232 00:13:17,360 --> 00:13:20,280 Speaker 1: were composting it, or they would just throw it out 233 00:13:20,360 --> 00:13:23,960 Speaker 1: to for the livestock, the hogs, the chickens, whatever they 234 00:13:23,960 --> 00:13:26,599 Speaker 1: would eat the whatever food wasting. I would guess that 235 00:13:26,640 --> 00:13:29,280 Speaker 1: they had much less food waste than we have today. 236 00:13:29,320 --> 00:13:32,600 Speaker 1: But again, there wasn't much need for garbage collection. That's 237 00:13:32,640 --> 00:13:34,680 Speaker 1: not to say there wasn't garbage. I saw in the 238 00:13:34,720 --> 00:13:37,400 Speaker 1: eighteenth century in New York they built appear in the 239 00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:41,360 Speaker 1: East River, purpose built to dump garbage into the East River. 240 00:13:41,640 --> 00:13:44,520 Speaker 1: The downside, not like they weren't doing it, but it 241 00:13:44,559 --> 00:13:47,839 Speaker 1: was just so minuscule compared to the amount of waste 242 00:13:47,880 --> 00:13:52,439 Speaker 1: that we generate today that it is essentially negligible. Yeah. Absolutely, 243 00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:55,319 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty six is kind of a fun little fact 244 00:13:55,400 --> 00:13:58,760 Speaker 1: to keep in your pocket. Uh. Corrugated paper, what would 245 00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:01,680 Speaker 1: become corrugated cardboard, was invented in eighteen fifty six in 246 00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:04,760 Speaker 1: England because of those big tall hats to keep those 247 00:14:04,800 --> 00:14:08,679 Speaker 1: things stiff. Pretty cool, I think so too. But then 248 00:14:08,679 --> 00:14:11,640 Speaker 1: it became a thing. Well, yeah, the slowly started replacing 249 00:14:11,679 --> 00:14:14,480 Speaker 1: the wooden crates right for shipping, so you couldn't build 250 00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:17,640 Speaker 1: an addition on your house anymore, that's right. But it 251 00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:19,440 Speaker 1: was a lot lighter, it was a lot easier, It 252 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:21,800 Speaker 1: used up a lot less coal on the ship to 253 00:14:21,880 --> 00:14:24,640 Speaker 1: move across the sea. Um. It was kind of a 254 00:14:24,680 --> 00:14:27,880 Speaker 1: step up for sure. Um. And then Nabisco was the 255 00:14:27,880 --> 00:14:32,480 Speaker 1: first one to start selling single serve individual packaged foods 256 00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:37,920 Speaker 1: all the way back in uh. And it it makes sense, 257 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:40,520 Speaker 1: you know, in in in one way, but if you 258 00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:42,520 Speaker 1: you know, start caring about the environment, it makes like 259 00:14:42,680 --> 00:14:45,800 Speaker 1: zero sense whatsoever. Um. But they were the ones who 260 00:14:45,920 --> 00:14:48,560 Speaker 1: kicked all that off. Yeah. I found that kids, and 261 00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:51,880 Speaker 1: I remember this about myself, are very into those things. 262 00:14:52,520 --> 00:14:54,800 Speaker 1: I think just because they're small. Like I remember being 263 00:14:54,840 --> 00:14:59,120 Speaker 1: obsessed with the kids who could afford the little individual Pringles, 264 00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:01,760 Speaker 1: not the ones they sell in the store now, but 265 00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:04,800 Speaker 1: they used to sell these little plastic peel away top 266 00:15:05,320 --> 00:15:09,040 Speaker 1: Pringles servings, and the kids in school that had those. 267 00:15:09,040 --> 00:15:12,680 Speaker 1: I was so jealous of the they're rich kids. I 268 00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:17,800 Speaker 1: had my Charles Chips tin can basket out of your 269 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:22,520 Speaker 1: shirt and carried around school till lunch. But Kellogg's you mentioned, 270 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:26,200 Speaker 1: or maybe you didn't, but they were the first cereal box, 271 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:30,920 Speaker 1: obviously in nineteen o six, and then beer cans. We're 272 00:15:30,960 --> 00:15:34,520 Speaker 1: steel originally they started in ninety six, Thank you Cores. 273 00:15:35,120 --> 00:15:39,240 Speaker 1: Then they switched to aluminum in fifty nine. But uh, 274 00:15:39,360 --> 00:15:41,040 Speaker 1: and this is very cool when you go look at 275 00:15:41,040 --> 00:15:43,680 Speaker 1: an old like I think smoking the Bandit even had 276 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:45,280 Speaker 1: these where you had to use a can opener to 277 00:15:45,280 --> 00:15:49,080 Speaker 1: open a beer back in the day. Very cool. Yeah, 278 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:51,600 Speaker 1: they should bring that back. The poll tabs better because 279 00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:53,240 Speaker 1: you have to keep a can opener on you, you 280 00:15:53,280 --> 00:15:55,520 Speaker 1: know well. And the poll tabs, even though they were 281 00:15:55,560 --> 00:15:58,440 Speaker 1: bad for the environment. You could make an emergency phone 282 00:15:58,440 --> 00:16:01,720 Speaker 1: call at a telephone booth if you really you could 283 00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:04,960 Speaker 1: use that as a fake coin of slug now and 284 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:07,360 Speaker 1: in war Games, Matthew Broderick can dow this trick where 285 00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:12,040 Speaker 1: he unscrewed the receiver where you're talking to it, and 286 00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:14,720 Speaker 1: then like, I don't think it's true at all. I 287 00:16:14,760 --> 00:16:16,600 Speaker 1: think they literally just made this up for the movie 288 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:18,720 Speaker 1: and used a poll tab to make it like an 289 00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:21,120 Speaker 1: electric connection and like kind of hot wired the phone. 290 00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:24,880 Speaker 1: Just give it a dial town. I'm sure it was 291 00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:27,920 Speaker 1: not true. I got you. But used to see those 292 00:16:27,920 --> 00:16:30,080 Speaker 1: all over the place, the poll tabs all over the 293 00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:31,880 Speaker 1: place on the ground. Yeah, I was up in my 294 00:16:31,920 --> 00:16:34,920 Speaker 1: attic the other day, um, and there was an old 295 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:37,960 Speaker 1: poll tab old Milwaukee Can. It's funny, how old is Yeah, 296 00:16:37,960 --> 00:16:40,080 Speaker 1: it's funny when you find those these days. Now. I 297 00:16:40,080 --> 00:16:42,560 Speaker 1: know it doesn't go back any any earlier than nineteen 298 00:16:43,360 --> 00:16:47,040 Speaker 1: that's right. So, Um, like we said they were using 299 00:16:47,160 --> 00:16:50,840 Speaker 1: dumps and horrible places like the they would use wetlands 300 00:16:50,920 --> 00:16:54,120 Speaker 1: back in the day to dump trash, and apparently Boston's 301 00:16:54,160 --> 00:16:58,000 Speaker 1: Back Bay was a wetland that was originally a garbage dump. 302 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:00,400 Speaker 1: And if you've ever been into back Bay, that's fairly 303 00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:02,880 Speaker 1: ironic because it's one of the more well healed parts 304 00:17:02,880 --> 00:17:07,120 Speaker 1: of Boston today, they built up real she she um 305 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:11,040 Speaker 1: area that has like an anthropology and everything on it. Yeah, 306 00:17:11,119 --> 00:17:13,879 Speaker 1: and we should do an entire episode, I think on 307 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:18,359 Speaker 1: Fresh Kills. That is basically what Staten Island used to be, 308 00:17:18,440 --> 00:17:21,439 Speaker 1: almost entirely. Well that's not true, but it was a 309 00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:27,520 Speaker 1: twenty two hundred acre landfill on Staten Island after I 310 00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:31,800 Speaker 1: believe after World War Two. Yeah, and I just it's 311 00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:34,080 Speaker 1: such a rabbit hole. I started looking into Fresh Kills 312 00:17:34,440 --> 00:17:35,760 Speaker 1: and I had to stop and I was like, we 313 00:17:35,880 --> 00:17:38,320 Speaker 1: just need to make this an episode because it was 314 00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:41,399 Speaker 1: a remarkably large It was the largest one in the world, 315 00:17:41,600 --> 00:17:45,879 Speaker 1: largest landfill, and they're reclaiming it and it's by thirty 316 00:17:46,320 --> 00:17:51,239 Speaker 1: I'm sorry, by uh, it's gonna be finished as as 317 00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:54,160 Speaker 1: a park, fresh Kill Park. I've seen some of the 318 00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:57,560 Speaker 1: artists rendering of it. It's gonna look really neat, very peaceful. Yeah, 319 00:17:57,600 --> 00:17:59,160 Speaker 1: it would be a good episode, though. I think it's 320 00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:04,240 Speaker 1: interesting history. Okay, deal, So those those dumps that we 321 00:18:04,280 --> 00:18:07,720 Speaker 1: started to generate, like every city starting in the twentieth 322 00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:11,600 Speaker 1: century really started to need more and more dumps and 323 00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:14,720 Speaker 1: more and more space for landfills um and it grew 324 00:18:14,960 --> 00:18:19,840 Speaker 1: because our single use packaging grew, we just started throwing 325 00:18:19,880 --> 00:18:22,280 Speaker 1: stuff away, And in our Littering episode, I think we 326 00:18:22,440 --> 00:18:28,800 Speaker 1: specifically said that the plastic garbage bag people basically got 327 00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:31,080 Speaker 1: together and said, we need to teach everybody to start 328 00:18:31,240 --> 00:18:34,440 Speaker 1: throwing things away. They keep reusing this plastic stuff. So 329 00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:39,000 Speaker 1: they basically created a public information campaign to teach everybody 330 00:18:39,080 --> 00:18:41,000 Speaker 1: to throw stuff in the trash and to take their 331 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:42,680 Speaker 1: trash out to the garbage can every night, and to 332 00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:45,840 Speaker 1: do this every single day. They taught America to throw 333 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:49,560 Speaker 1: stuff away, which is just so villainous, But that really 334 00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:52,440 Speaker 1: kind of was the beginning around the middle of the 335 00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:59,040 Speaker 1: last century of our obsession with single use um packaging. Basically, yeah, 336 00:18:59,080 --> 00:19:03,000 Speaker 1: I think that glad bag first came around the late sixties, 337 00:19:03,640 --> 00:19:06,000 Speaker 1: and then in the mid just before that, in the 338 00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:10,600 Speaker 1: mid sixties, the grocery bag, the little light groceries bag 339 00:19:10,640 --> 00:19:14,240 Speaker 1: that has been such a problem in the world, that 340 00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:17,119 Speaker 1: came around in sixty five. But if you don't remember 341 00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:19,280 Speaker 1: those when you were like like our age and you 342 00:19:19,280 --> 00:19:21,160 Speaker 1: were a kid in the seventies and eighties, it's because 343 00:19:21,160 --> 00:19:25,200 Speaker 1: they people still generally used paper sacks. They were really 344 00:19:25,200 --> 00:19:28,879 Speaker 1: slow to catch on those plastic bags. But eventually, in 345 00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:32,080 Speaker 1: night five there was a conference of the Society of 346 00:19:32,080 --> 00:19:35,199 Speaker 1: Plastic Engineers, and then someone stood up on a stage 347 00:19:35,560 --> 00:19:39,320 Speaker 1: and said, hey, these things are twenty four dollars per thousand. 348 00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:44,400 Speaker 1: Paper bags are thirty dollars per thousand, And that changed everything. 349 00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:47,440 Speaker 1: Six or six dollars. Yeah, yeah, they were really working 350 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:51,159 Speaker 1: at the Plastic Grocery sec Set Council. That was a 351 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:54,359 Speaker 1: thing in nineteen eighty six. They got their hands on 352 00:19:54,440 --> 00:19:56,240 Speaker 1: the l A Times and said, hey, you make sure 353 00:19:56,240 --> 00:19:59,320 Speaker 1: you tell everybody that we've concluded plastic bags can be 354 00:19:59,359 --> 00:20:03,119 Speaker 1: reused in more than seventeen different ways. They said, it 355 00:20:03,119 --> 00:20:05,679 Speaker 1: can be used as a rap for frozen foods, a 356 00:20:05,800 --> 00:20:10,240 Speaker 1: jogger's windbreaker, or a beach bag. And then I'm gonna 357 00:20:10,280 --> 00:20:13,440 Speaker 1: go on, I'll bet the other what fourteen are like. 358 00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:16,919 Speaker 1: And a library bag and a school bag, and a 359 00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:20,359 Speaker 1: school lunch bag and a work lunch bag. Right, you 360 00:20:20,400 --> 00:20:23,920 Speaker 1: can then sacrifice a child with them, right. Well, actually, yeah, 361 00:20:24,119 --> 00:20:26,240 Speaker 1: that was a thing they had to teach Americans. These 362 00:20:26,280 --> 00:20:30,240 Speaker 1: things are really dangerous. Right. There's a famous photo of 363 00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:33,840 Speaker 1: plastics researcher with a i think a dry cleaning bag 364 00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:35,520 Speaker 1: over his head trying to take a breath, and they 365 00:20:35,600 --> 00:20:39,720 Speaker 1: really got the got the point across for sure also 366 00:20:39,800 --> 00:20:42,119 Speaker 1: though from the very not from the very beginning, but 367 00:20:42,119 --> 00:20:45,639 Speaker 1: once they caught on uh, in the mid eighties, people 368 00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:48,320 Speaker 1: did start kind of rallying against them. In a lot 369 00:20:48,359 --> 00:20:51,800 Speaker 1: of cases. Uh. There was a five hundred thousand member 370 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:55,800 Speaker 1: group called the General Federation of Women's Clubs who in 371 00:20:55,920 --> 00:20:59,720 Speaker 1: eight six said, uh, no, these things are clearly not 372 00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:02,359 Speaker 1: going to be good for the environment, so let's let's 373 00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:05,160 Speaker 1: not use them. And that was six long time ago, 374 00:21:05,440 --> 00:21:07,879 Speaker 1: it was. And they got absolutely nowhere because I saw 375 00:21:08,240 --> 00:21:11,600 Speaker 1: UM about a decade ago they estimated that between five 376 00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:15,280 Speaker 1: hundred billion and one point five trillion plastic bags are 377 00:21:15,320 --> 00:21:18,320 Speaker 1: consumed globally each year, at a rate of more than 378 00:21:18,359 --> 00:21:22,240 Speaker 1: a million a minute. So they got nowhere. But there 379 00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:26,000 Speaker 1: have been some successes. UM McDonald's was the first actually 380 00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:31,120 Speaker 1: to pioneer single use packaging for food, and that meant 381 00:21:31,119 --> 00:21:33,160 Speaker 1: that they didn't have to have dishwashers at their restaurants, 382 00:21:33,160 --> 00:21:35,159 Speaker 1: they didn't have to have waiters to clear away plates, 383 00:21:35,760 --> 00:21:40,000 Speaker 1: and within I think forty years they finally were like, okay, 384 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:42,439 Speaker 1: we'll give up our phone packaging, which I mean, there 385 00:21:42,480 --> 00:21:45,680 Speaker 1: are a few things more nostalgic for me. Then looking 386 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:50,040 Speaker 1: at pictures of the old colored like phone packaging that mcdonald' 387 00:21:50,080 --> 00:21:55,840 Speaker 1: received that it's McDonald's phone packaging blue. There's no describe it, definitely, 388 00:21:56,200 --> 00:21:58,480 Speaker 1: but the mc d lt was the breaking point for everybody. 389 00:21:58,480 --> 00:22:02,760 Speaker 1: They're like, just too much got side hot, cool, side cool. 390 00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:05,080 Speaker 1: That's right. So that was the end of that, But 391 00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:08,320 Speaker 1: we still have a plastic problem, all right, So let's 392 00:22:08,359 --> 00:22:11,080 Speaker 1: take a break. Uh, we'll come back and we'll talk 393 00:22:11,119 --> 00:22:41,080 Speaker 1: about Amazon right after this this episode sponsored by Amazon. Well, uh, 394 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:43,400 Speaker 1: we got to talk about it because especially, I mean 395 00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:45,399 Speaker 1: Amazon has been shipping things for a long time, but 396 00:22:45,520 --> 00:22:48,880 Speaker 1: especially I think when COVID took over, people really really 397 00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:51,840 Speaker 1: really started getting a lot of things delivered that they 398 00:22:51,920 --> 00:22:57,240 Speaker 1: used to routinely go to stores for. And um, they 399 00:22:57,240 --> 00:23:01,919 Speaker 1: have changed the way packaging works and the world and 400 00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:05,280 Speaker 1: especially the United States. Uh. There was a report by 401 00:23:05,280 --> 00:23:08,800 Speaker 1: a group called Oceanica uh that found that worldwide, Amazon 402 00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:14,320 Speaker 1: generated almost six million pounds of plastic packaging waste and 403 00:23:14,320 --> 00:23:18,120 Speaker 1: that um almost twenty four million pounds of that ended 404 00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:23,520 Speaker 1: up in waterways and oceans. And Amazon said that's a calculation. 405 00:23:24,520 --> 00:23:27,240 Speaker 1: They didn't show their math, but they so that's just 406 00:23:27,320 --> 00:23:31,040 Speaker 1: waterways and oceans, that's not landfill stuff. Um. And there's 407 00:23:31,080 --> 00:23:33,720 Speaker 1: I mean, there's a significant amount of what's called plastic 408 00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:36,959 Speaker 1: film used to make those puffy air pillows that they 409 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:39,320 Speaker 1: use instead of styrofoam peanuts, which a lot of ways 410 00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:43,440 Speaker 1: are are much preferable to styrofoam peanuts. But there's way 411 00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:47,600 Speaker 1: better alternatives to even those um shipping pillows too, um 412 00:23:47,640 --> 00:23:50,240 Speaker 1: because it's made of plastic film, which is the same 413 00:23:50,280 --> 00:23:54,119 Speaker 1: type of plastic that those plastic grocery bags are made from, 414 00:23:54,160 --> 00:23:58,080 Speaker 1: and they're really hard to recycle. It takes a special facility. 415 00:23:58,520 --> 00:24:02,400 Speaker 1: So if you ever get the plastic pillow like shippers 416 00:24:02,440 --> 00:24:05,120 Speaker 1: and the mail from Amazon, and you have your plastic 417 00:24:05,119 --> 00:24:07,720 Speaker 1: grocery bags from publics or whatever grocery store you go to, 418 00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:10,560 Speaker 1: and you save those and you take them to your 419 00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:13,920 Speaker 1: grocery store and put them in the plastic bag recycling thing, 420 00:24:14,280 --> 00:24:16,399 Speaker 1: they will actually go take them and recycle them and 421 00:24:16,440 --> 00:24:20,520 Speaker 1: turn them into useful things like um, composite decking for 422 00:24:20,640 --> 00:24:23,480 Speaker 1: your house or something. That's a good tip. So it is, 423 00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:26,399 Speaker 1: but but just don't don't just throw it away, and 424 00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:29,680 Speaker 1: also don't use them to hold your recyclables and put 425 00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:32,640 Speaker 1: them in your recycling container because that that whole bag 426 00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:35,760 Speaker 1: of recyclables will get thrown out because those things will 427 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:40,280 Speaker 1: screw up the normal recycling process so badly. Another good tip. 428 00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:43,159 Speaker 1: I got another good tip for you. Here in Atlanta, 429 00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:46,000 Speaker 1: we have a place called Charm uh the center for 430 00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:49,679 Speaker 1: hard to recycle materials. And Charm is one of our 431 00:24:49,720 --> 00:24:52,600 Speaker 1: favorite places to go to because you pull into Charm 432 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:54,480 Speaker 1: and there are all these people in this huge parking 433 00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:57,520 Speaker 1: lot and all these various stations to help you recycle 434 00:24:58,359 --> 00:25:01,879 Speaker 1: anything you can think of. It can be your shredded documents, 435 00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:06,200 Speaker 1: it can be car batteries, it can be paint cans, 436 00:25:06,840 --> 00:25:12,399 Speaker 1: it can be your old uh computer desktop. Uh. They 437 00:25:12,680 --> 00:25:15,840 Speaker 1: they recycle almost anything you can think of. And I 438 00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:19,760 Speaker 1: guarantee you there are places in every major city and 439 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:22,199 Speaker 1: probably even a lot of smaller towns that have a 440 00:25:22,280 --> 00:25:24,760 Speaker 1: Charm like place. Uh. And all you gotta do is 441 00:25:24,840 --> 00:25:27,879 Speaker 1: just save that stuff though in your car, take it 442 00:25:27,920 --> 00:25:30,200 Speaker 1: over there and they'll take care of it for you. Yes, 443 00:25:30,560 --> 00:25:35,840 Speaker 1: it's great. So um like Amazon is easy to pick 444 00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:39,520 Speaker 1: on because they're they're shipping so much stuff. They use 445 00:25:39,600 --> 00:25:43,520 Speaker 1: up so much material for shipping and packaging and um 446 00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:46,560 Speaker 1: cushioning and all of that. UM. But they're also easy 447 00:25:46,600 --> 00:25:48,440 Speaker 1: to pick on because if you look at what they're 448 00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:52,280 Speaker 1: doing in other countries, it shows like they could totally 449 00:25:52,480 --> 00:25:56,639 Speaker 1: revise stuff whenever they're forced to. They find innovative ways 450 00:25:56,640 --> 00:26:00,560 Speaker 1: to replace that stuff with more sustainable packaging. They don't 451 00:26:00,600 --> 00:26:04,320 Speaker 1: just say, like India says, hey, you can't use uh 452 00:26:04,359 --> 00:26:07,240 Speaker 1: this kind of tape anymore and these kinds of uh 453 00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:10,080 Speaker 1: packing peanuts. They don't say, oh, well, I guess we're 454 00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:12,800 Speaker 1: not gonna ship to Indian anymore. They figure it out 455 00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:16,480 Speaker 1: and they just don't implement those policies across the entire company, 456 00:26:16,520 --> 00:26:20,520 Speaker 1: which is maddening. Yeah, which we'll see. India has really 457 00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:24,920 Speaker 1: taken maybe the world's leadership stance on single use plastics 458 00:26:24,920 --> 00:26:28,080 Speaker 1: and dealing with it as a country. Germany's following suits. 459 00:26:28,080 --> 00:26:30,520 Speaker 1: So Amazon saying okay, well we'll start doing the same 460 00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:33,800 Speaker 1: thing in Germany. But it rather than just being like, okay, 461 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:36,320 Speaker 1: it makes sense for us to just do it for 462 00:26:36,359 --> 00:26:40,200 Speaker 1: every country. If if they're not making money doing that 463 00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:42,560 Speaker 1: in other countries, they're going to hold out until they're 464 00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:46,520 Speaker 1: legally forced to or until enough countries require them to 465 00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:50,159 Speaker 1: that that's just what they use across the board, because 466 00:26:50,200 --> 00:26:53,000 Speaker 1: then it is cheaper than making two different kinds depending 467 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:56,800 Speaker 1: on where they're shipping to. Uh. Those meal kit services 468 00:26:56,800 --> 00:27:00,840 Speaker 1: that everyone loves so much. Uh, this is a bit 469 00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:03,600 Speaker 1: of a mixed bag because on the surface, you look 470 00:27:03,600 --> 00:27:06,480 Speaker 1: at their packaging and the fact that some of these 471 00:27:06,480 --> 00:27:11,360 Speaker 1: boxes have up to two dozen individual packages of things. Uh. 472 00:27:11,359 --> 00:27:14,399 Speaker 1: And then you're talking about the packaging, you know, the 473 00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:17,160 Speaker 1: big box that it comes in and the smaller phone 474 00:27:17,200 --> 00:27:20,119 Speaker 1: box to insulate it. And then these ice packs that 475 00:27:20,240 --> 00:27:23,040 Speaker 1: a lot of times have chemicals that are very hard 476 00:27:23,040 --> 00:27:26,159 Speaker 1: to recycle. UM. But I did some digging in and 477 00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:29,240 Speaker 1: there are a lot of companies doing a lot better job. Um. 478 00:27:29,359 --> 00:27:31,800 Speaker 1: One thing that they do tout, which I think is true, 479 00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:34,479 Speaker 1: is that they really reduce a lot of food waste. 480 00:27:35,080 --> 00:27:36,679 Speaker 1: And so what you want to do is look at 481 00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:41,160 Speaker 1: the entire environmental footprint of an operation versus just buying 482 00:27:41,640 --> 00:27:46,040 Speaker 1: groceries at a grocery store. UH. And you know, it 483 00:27:46,119 --> 00:27:48,400 Speaker 1: kind of comes out even in some cases some companies 484 00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:51,400 Speaker 1: are better than others. I did see that Blue Apron 485 00:27:51,560 --> 00:27:58,080 Speaker 1: has about recyclable packaging and drain safe ice packs. Um 486 00:27:58,200 --> 00:27:59,880 Speaker 1: that you can just you know, drain yourself and then 487 00:28:00,119 --> 00:28:03,400 Speaker 1: recycled that package. So some are better than others. But 488 00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:05,280 Speaker 1: you know, if if you care about that kind of 489 00:28:05,280 --> 00:28:07,600 Speaker 1: thing and you like meal kits, I would encourage you 490 00:28:07,640 --> 00:28:11,960 Speaker 1: to investigate the services that speak to you environmentally. Yeah. 491 00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:15,240 Speaker 1: One two thou nineteen study found that Blue Apron specifically 492 00:28:15,600 --> 00:28:20,000 Speaker 1: had thirty three percent less emissions for from the same 493 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:22,760 Speaker 1: meal that you would buy at a grocery store. Yeah, 494 00:28:22,800 --> 00:28:25,200 Speaker 1: and they haven't sponsored us in a long time, so no, no, 495 00:28:25,240 --> 00:28:29,320 Speaker 1: this is not bail. Right, So there's actually a pretty 496 00:28:29,440 --> 00:28:34,120 Speaker 1: big widespread push to innovate new packaging materials that are 497 00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:38,680 Speaker 1: easier to recycle, that are made from more recycled materials, 498 00:28:38,720 --> 00:28:43,040 Speaker 1: that are made from sustainable materials that are easily composted. 499 00:28:43,400 --> 00:28:45,920 Speaker 1: And there's you know, some competitors are better than others. 500 00:28:45,920 --> 00:28:48,720 Speaker 1: Some are already proving themselves is probably not the way 501 00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:50,240 Speaker 1: we want to go, but some other ones are like, 502 00:28:50,320 --> 00:28:52,120 Speaker 1: how it's a really good idea and we should figure 503 00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:55,080 Speaker 1: it out. Yeah. We talked about corn and quite a 504 00:28:55,120 --> 00:28:59,560 Speaker 1: bit in the bottled water up. Because they can take corn, 505 00:29:00,120 --> 00:29:03,880 Speaker 1: they can make it into a plastic. It's called p 506 00:29:04,160 --> 00:29:10,000 Speaker 1: L a polylactic acid, right, sure, and it's a plastic 507 00:29:10,040 --> 00:29:14,800 Speaker 1: resin it is uh not petroleum based. It can be composted, 508 00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:16,520 Speaker 1: but and I think we said this in the water 509 00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:20,280 Speaker 1: bottle water one too, Um, it's not compostable as in like, great, 510 00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:22,400 Speaker 1: I'll just buy corn bottles and throw them in my 511 00:29:22,440 --> 00:29:25,480 Speaker 1: compost bin. You can't do that in your backyard. It's 512 00:29:25,480 --> 00:29:28,920 Speaker 1: got to be like industrial composting, which is still good, 513 00:29:29,360 --> 00:29:34,000 Speaker 1: but you have to take to a industrial composting facility 514 00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:36,520 Speaker 1: or be involved in a program that will do that 515 00:29:36,600 --> 00:29:38,800 Speaker 1: for you, because there are those out there too. Yeah. 516 00:29:38,880 --> 00:29:42,240 Speaker 1: And then anything made with corn, they also have corn 517 00:29:42,440 --> 00:29:46,520 Speaker 1: based packing peanuts, um, which really they should figure out 518 00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:48,360 Speaker 1: how to make them from peanuts, don't you think just 519 00:29:48,400 --> 00:29:51,760 Speaker 1: to make it fully appropriate, or just put in popcorn 520 00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:55,280 Speaker 1: so the spongey and then everyone could just have a 521 00:29:55,320 --> 00:29:58,040 Speaker 1: snack eat it. Be like this popcorn is not very good, 522 00:29:58,080 --> 00:30:00,959 Speaker 1: but it's sustainable. I'll reuse it. The problem is is 523 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:03,440 Speaker 1: anything you're making from corn, whether it's plastic or those 524 00:30:03,480 --> 00:30:07,120 Speaker 1: packing peanuts, is you're growing corn and you're diverting it 525 00:30:07,200 --> 00:30:10,880 Speaker 1: from the food system, um to other purposes. And I 526 00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:14,760 Speaker 1: remember we were all about ethanol back in the day. UM, 527 00:30:14,800 --> 00:30:17,640 Speaker 1: Corn based ethanol and and it's just for the same 528 00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:20,920 Speaker 1: reason it didn't pan out, because we should be using 529 00:30:21,040 --> 00:30:25,880 Speaker 1: food um crop land for growing food, not for growing plastic. Right. 530 00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:32,320 Speaker 1: Mushrooms is a really interesting alternative mycelium based packaging. It's 531 00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:33,840 Speaker 1: been around for a little bit since about the mid 532 00:30:33,880 --> 00:30:37,400 Speaker 1: two thousand's and uh, it seems like there's almost nothing 533 00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:42,480 Speaker 1: mushrooms can't do and fun Guy except get me to 534 00:30:42,520 --> 00:30:45,920 Speaker 1: eat them. But there's a really cool documentary about mushrooms 535 00:30:45,920 --> 00:30:47,520 Speaker 1: that Emily and I are going to watch them that 536 00:30:47,680 --> 00:30:50,560 Speaker 1: a couple of friends have told us about. It's sort 537 00:30:50,600 --> 00:30:56,920 Speaker 1: of a wonder uh not product but species um yeah, 538 00:30:57,080 --> 00:31:00,560 Speaker 1: food no thing. I think it's a kingdom. Okay, a 539 00:31:00,600 --> 00:31:04,320 Speaker 1: wonder kingdom. That's even better. Yeah, totally is like that 540 00:31:04,360 --> 00:31:06,560 Speaker 1: a lot. I could see that on a cape. But 541 00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:09,440 Speaker 1: they they have found that they can use it as 542 00:31:09,440 --> 00:31:13,200 Speaker 1: an alternative to styrofoam and even even other plastics. Is 543 00:31:13,280 --> 00:31:17,560 Speaker 1: for like cushioning things. Yeah, and what's cool is you 544 00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:22,480 Speaker 1: can grow fun Guy sustainably on like agricultural refuse right 545 00:31:22,560 --> 00:31:25,000 Speaker 1: that that's being composted. You could grow your your fun 546 00:31:25,040 --> 00:31:29,479 Speaker 1: Guy into exactly the shape that you want. Yeah, like 547 00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:33,000 Speaker 1: um our friend Addison Rex who runs wine Spies. When 548 00:31:33,040 --> 00:31:35,320 Speaker 1: you get a box from him, have you ever noticed, like, 549 00:31:35,360 --> 00:31:39,000 Speaker 1: how is this this cushioning exactly the right size for 550 00:31:39,040 --> 00:31:40,960 Speaker 1: this large bottle and the next to it is the 551 00:31:41,040 --> 00:31:44,440 Speaker 1: small bottle? And I'm not quite sure, but it's possible. 552 00:31:44,440 --> 00:31:47,400 Speaker 1: It's my celium packaging material and you can grow it 553 00:31:47,440 --> 00:31:50,120 Speaker 1: like that. The only thing that I saw that would 554 00:31:50,120 --> 00:31:55,040 Speaker 1: be problematic, it seems like at this point is a scalability. Uh, 555 00:31:55,080 --> 00:31:57,520 Speaker 1: and then lead time to produce, because I saw it 556 00:31:57,520 --> 00:32:01,440 Speaker 1: can take like seven days to grow a container. O. Interesting. Yeah, 557 00:32:01,560 --> 00:32:03,520 Speaker 1: I'll have to ask Addison. I owe him a phone call. 558 00:32:04,240 --> 00:32:06,800 Speaker 1: I tried to ask him, and he hasn't texted me 559 00:32:06,840 --> 00:32:12,240 Speaker 1: back yet. Forget that phone call. That's right, Thank you 560 00:32:12,280 --> 00:32:16,280 Speaker 1: for sticking up for him. Each Algae is another interesting alternative. 561 00:32:16,320 --> 00:32:19,400 Speaker 1: There was a contest just this year that offered over 562 00:32:19,440 --> 00:32:23,120 Speaker 1: a million bucks for developing plastic alternatives, and five of 563 00:32:23,160 --> 00:32:27,960 Speaker 1: the eight finalists were algae or seaweed based. Yeah. By 564 00:32:27,960 --> 00:32:31,320 Speaker 1: the way, that contest was um created by Tom Ford, 565 00:32:32,480 --> 00:32:36,320 Speaker 1: the fashion designer. Yeah really I love that guy. Man. 566 00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:39,560 Speaker 1: Does he make algae clothes? I guess he's going to 567 00:32:39,720 --> 00:32:41,960 Speaker 1: from now on. But he yeah, it was. It was 568 00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:44,720 Speaker 1: straight up for you know, to find an alternative plastic. 569 00:32:44,760 --> 00:32:48,120 Speaker 1: But it was a tom Ford Prize. Um, and what 570 00:32:48,240 --> 00:32:51,800 Speaker 1: did you say? Five of the eight finalists seeweed, seaweed 571 00:32:51,880 --> 00:32:54,200 Speaker 1: or algae, and I was looking at one of them. 572 00:32:54,200 --> 00:32:58,200 Speaker 1: There's a company from Berkeley I think called Sway, and 573 00:32:58,320 --> 00:33:03,720 Speaker 1: they basically grow seaweed like so automatically you're not using 574 00:33:04,080 --> 00:33:09,240 Speaker 1: terrestrial crop land. Um. It's also supposedly really restorative to 575 00:33:09,320 --> 00:33:13,440 Speaker 1: grow seaweed like off the coast for ecosystems and things 576 00:33:13,440 --> 00:33:15,880 Speaker 1: like that. And then also when you grow and make 577 00:33:15,920 --> 00:33:19,240 Speaker 1: plastic how to, algae is really easy to bio to graden. 578 00:33:19,280 --> 00:33:22,320 Speaker 1: In some cases you can actually eat it after you're done, 579 00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:28,400 Speaker 1: like that my popcorn peanut idea exactly. And this is remarkable. Um. 580 00:33:28,720 --> 00:33:31,640 Speaker 1: It depends on how far the algae is broken down 581 00:33:32,480 --> 00:33:35,920 Speaker 1: into the chemicals that make it up, but uh, some 582 00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:39,000 Speaker 1: of them, if they want to engineer this could even 583 00:33:39,040 --> 00:33:47,440 Speaker 1: retain some uh like anti microbial properties in the packaging itself. 584 00:33:47,480 --> 00:33:50,560 Speaker 1: The future is in fungi and algae. I feel like 585 00:33:50,600 --> 00:33:54,120 Speaker 1: it wouldn't algae or seaweed like a fuel source to like, yes, yeah, 586 00:33:54,360 --> 00:33:56,320 Speaker 1: they have not figured it out yet. But yes, it's 587 00:33:56,400 --> 00:33:59,160 Speaker 1: some some sort of by product you can raise algae 588 00:33:59,200 --> 00:34:01,800 Speaker 1: that will create some sort of fuel, biofuel. I don't 589 00:34:01,800 --> 00:34:05,400 Speaker 1: remember much about it. Very interesting. So there's another way 590 00:34:05,840 --> 00:34:08,719 Speaker 1: to make all this work. And it seems to be 591 00:34:09,520 --> 00:34:12,840 Speaker 1: figuring out how to make stuff more recyclable, how to 592 00:34:12,920 --> 00:34:16,480 Speaker 1: make packages more sustainable on a big scale. And a 593 00:34:16,520 --> 00:34:19,160 Speaker 1: lot of people have concluded that that is not going 594 00:34:19,200 --> 00:34:24,080 Speaker 1: to happen until countries and states and cities start requiring 595 00:34:24,520 --> 00:34:27,560 Speaker 1: that be the case from from manufacturers. And I say 596 00:34:27,600 --> 00:34:29,120 Speaker 1: we take a break and then come back and talk 597 00:34:29,160 --> 00:34:54,239 Speaker 1: about that. How about that, let's do it all right? 598 00:34:54,400 --> 00:34:57,480 Speaker 1: So you said that there is a better way forward, 599 00:34:57,960 --> 00:35:00,279 Speaker 1: but as we can tell from their practice is of 600 00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:03,719 Speaker 1: some large scale shipping companies, unless they are forced to, 601 00:35:04,360 --> 00:35:06,480 Speaker 1: then they're not gonna make those changes because it costs 602 00:35:06,480 --> 00:35:11,400 Speaker 1: them a little bit of money. Um. Obviously, the you know, 603 00:35:11,600 --> 00:35:14,440 Speaker 1: we could talk all day about going back in time 604 00:35:14,640 --> 00:35:17,239 Speaker 1: and doing things like we used to as far as 605 00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:20,120 Speaker 1: reusing things, and there are some companies that are doing 606 00:35:20,160 --> 00:35:22,520 Speaker 1: some cool stuff. I know that there are a couple 607 00:35:22,560 --> 00:35:25,719 Speaker 1: of like cleaning product home cleaning product companies where you 608 00:35:25,760 --> 00:35:28,960 Speaker 1: buy the glass bottle with the spray tops, and you 609 00:35:28,960 --> 00:35:31,759 Speaker 1: you mix your own like countertop spray and stuff like 610 00:35:31,800 --> 00:35:35,040 Speaker 1: in toilet spray, and you get these little packets and 611 00:35:35,080 --> 00:35:37,480 Speaker 1: you keep your glass bottles. And there are companies out 612 00:35:37,520 --> 00:35:40,160 Speaker 1: there doing things like this, but that is not likely 613 00:35:40,200 --> 00:35:44,640 Speaker 1: to catch on countrywide because people love just grabbing the 614 00:35:44,680 --> 00:35:49,640 Speaker 1: thing off the grocery shelf and buying their plastic bottle spray. Uh. 615 00:35:49,800 --> 00:35:52,120 Speaker 1: So that what it takes, and what you tease before 616 00:35:52,120 --> 00:35:57,000 Speaker 1: we broke was it's gonna take either people demanding it 617 00:35:57,480 --> 00:36:01,319 Speaker 1: or more probably the law saying you have to do it. Yeah, 618 00:36:01,400 --> 00:36:04,799 Speaker 1: you you you want to say that just consumers demanding it, 619 00:36:04,880 --> 00:36:06,879 Speaker 1: like you're saying would would make a change, But there's 620 00:36:06,880 --> 00:36:09,680 Speaker 1: not enough people doing that, right, So you want to 621 00:36:09,760 --> 00:36:13,880 Speaker 1: instead turn that ire to your elected officials and say, hey, 622 00:36:13,920 --> 00:36:15,760 Speaker 1: you need to do something about this. And it's happened 623 00:36:15,800 --> 00:36:18,439 Speaker 1: in some places, and it's all based on something called 624 00:36:18,440 --> 00:36:21,879 Speaker 1: the polluter pays principle, which dates all the way back 625 00:36:21,880 --> 00:36:24,160 Speaker 1: to nine two and basically says, if you're the one 626 00:36:24,200 --> 00:36:28,120 Speaker 1: who's manufacturing this plastic bag that gets thrown away in 627 00:36:28,120 --> 00:36:31,359 Speaker 1: a river, it should be up to you to deal 628 00:36:31,400 --> 00:36:33,640 Speaker 1: with that, like you should have to factor that into 629 00:36:33,680 --> 00:36:37,960 Speaker 1: your production costs. And uh, it's not to punish anybody, 630 00:36:38,000 --> 00:36:42,000 Speaker 1: but it's to do what's called internalizing the negative externalities. 631 00:36:42,880 --> 00:36:46,360 Speaker 1: So negative externality is you know that plastic bag, we 632 00:36:46,480 --> 00:36:49,400 Speaker 1: all pay because of that pollution that breaks down the 633 00:36:49,480 --> 00:36:52,840 Speaker 1: environment and effects the food chain. That's a negative externality 634 00:36:52,880 --> 00:36:56,319 Speaker 1: that's not included in the production cost of that that 635 00:36:56,360 --> 00:36:59,360 Speaker 1: plastic bag. And what the this this kind of polluter 636 00:36:59,400 --> 00:37:01,440 Speaker 1: pays principle says this, we need to figure out how 637 00:37:01,440 --> 00:37:03,560 Speaker 1: to include that in the cost so that the people 638 00:37:03,600 --> 00:37:06,319 Speaker 1: who are creating this this waste are the ones who 639 00:37:06,320 --> 00:37:08,160 Speaker 1: are actually paying for it in the end rather than 640 00:37:08,160 --> 00:37:11,120 Speaker 1: the rest of society, right. Uh. And that became the 641 00:37:11,160 --> 00:37:15,600 Speaker 1: basis for what's called extended producer responsibility e p R, 642 00:37:15,760 --> 00:37:18,759 Speaker 1: which means you ship something to a person and you 643 00:37:18,800 --> 00:37:22,120 Speaker 1: don't just go, well then uh no, that thing that 644 00:37:22,200 --> 00:37:25,480 Speaker 1: you package is still your responsibility as a company across 645 00:37:25,480 --> 00:37:27,400 Speaker 1: the entire life cycle of that product and when it 646 00:37:27,440 --> 00:37:32,000 Speaker 1: came in is the manufacturer should be responsible for for 647 00:37:32,360 --> 00:37:35,920 Speaker 1: whatever it is that they're putting out into the world. Uh. 648 00:37:35,960 --> 00:37:41,160 Speaker 1: There's something called the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 649 00:37:41,239 --> 00:37:44,760 Speaker 1: the o e c D that was established, I think 650 00:37:44,800 --> 00:37:49,640 Speaker 1: in seventy two, and they put out a report that 651 00:37:49,840 --> 00:37:53,040 Speaker 1: said that ten O E C D governments have some 652 00:37:53,160 --> 00:37:59,359 Speaker 1: kind of legislation in place for extended producer responsibility and uh, 653 00:37:59,480 --> 00:38:02,080 Speaker 1: the u S is not one of those. Correct, No, 654 00:38:02,280 --> 00:38:04,200 Speaker 1: it wasn't, and that was back in nineties six that 655 00:38:04,280 --> 00:38:07,319 Speaker 1: they released that report. So that's pretty impressive. But we 656 00:38:07,480 --> 00:38:09,879 Speaker 1: actually are familiar with them to some extent. If you've 657 00:38:09,920 --> 00:38:13,640 Speaker 1: ever taken your paint to a special center um or 658 00:38:13,719 --> 00:38:16,480 Speaker 1: your oil, your used car oil you took it back 659 00:38:16,520 --> 00:38:18,520 Speaker 1: to like the auto parts store or something like that, 660 00:38:18,880 --> 00:38:22,480 Speaker 1: you were probably engaging in some sort of extended producer 661 00:38:22,520 --> 00:38:27,000 Speaker 1: responsibility where the company that made that oil um is 662 00:38:27,480 --> 00:38:30,640 Speaker 1: responsible for making sure that it gets recycled and paying 663 00:38:30,719 --> 00:38:33,439 Speaker 1: for it to be recycled. That's just because some state 664 00:38:33,560 --> 00:38:35,279 Speaker 1: or city said that that's the law, and they have 665 00:38:35,360 --> 00:38:37,120 Speaker 1: to do that if they want to do business there. 666 00:38:37,680 --> 00:38:40,720 Speaker 1: But what they're trying to figure out with extended producer 667 00:38:40,760 --> 00:38:46,440 Speaker 1: responsibility laws today is to include all packaging, all shipping material, 668 00:38:46,680 --> 00:38:49,560 Speaker 1: all of that waste figuring out how to make that 669 00:38:49,680 --> 00:38:55,040 Speaker 1: fall into an extended producer responsibility model. And that's proving challenging, 670 00:38:55,040 --> 00:38:57,319 Speaker 1: Like you said, especially in the United States. Yeah, I 671 00:38:57,360 --> 00:39:00,640 Speaker 1: think India has a pretty good idea in creating a 672 00:39:00,760 --> 00:39:04,799 Speaker 1: kind of competition among companies. Um, they require that a 673 00:39:04,840 --> 00:39:09,000 Speaker 1: percentage of plastic produced by any manufacturer uh ends up 674 00:39:09,000 --> 00:39:12,200 Speaker 1: getting recycled, like it's a requirement. And if you do 675 00:39:12,280 --> 00:39:15,759 Speaker 1: better and if you overperform, you get credits basically, and 676 00:39:15,800 --> 00:39:18,960 Speaker 1: you can sell those credits to other companies who are underperforming. 677 00:39:19,520 --> 00:39:21,919 Speaker 1: So all of a sudden you have this competition going 678 00:39:21,960 --> 00:39:25,920 Speaker 1: on where a company is manufacturing something and they're really 679 00:39:25,960 --> 00:39:31,760 Speaker 1: incentivized too because not only are they are they getting 680 00:39:31,760 --> 00:39:36,359 Speaker 1: these credits, but like their competition um potentially is having 681 00:39:36,440 --> 00:39:39,400 Speaker 1: to pay them money because they're underperforming. So that's a 682 00:39:39,440 --> 00:39:41,400 Speaker 1: really good way to say, like, well get it in 683 00:39:41,440 --> 00:39:44,359 Speaker 1: gear then, because you're paying your competition to take care 684 00:39:44,400 --> 00:39:47,160 Speaker 1: of your waste for you. Yeah. Do you remember those 685 00:39:47,320 --> 00:39:50,560 Speaker 1: carbon trading schemes from you know, back in the two 686 00:39:50,560 --> 00:39:54,240 Speaker 1: thousand oughts that were kind of like buying carbon offsets. Yeah, 687 00:39:54,320 --> 00:39:56,200 Speaker 1: the same thing. It was, they put a cap on 688 00:39:56,239 --> 00:39:59,319 Speaker 1: carbon emissions and companies that didn't admit as much could 689 00:39:59,360 --> 00:40:01,480 Speaker 1: sell their cred it's or there whatever to the other 690 00:40:01,520 --> 00:40:03,960 Speaker 1: companies that did. And yeah, it's a great idea, so 691 00:40:04,040 --> 00:40:07,560 Speaker 1: it would makes sense to make an extended producer responsibility 692 00:40:07,560 --> 00:40:10,360 Speaker 1: scheme out of that. But that's that's that's how wide 693 00:40:10,400 --> 00:40:13,080 Speaker 1: open it is. Like people are like, however, you could 694 00:40:13,080 --> 00:40:15,680 Speaker 1: figure it out. That's the stage that we're out at 695 00:40:15,760 --> 00:40:17,680 Speaker 1: right now. However, you could figure out how to hold 696 00:40:17,680 --> 00:40:22,000 Speaker 1: people accountable, and we're just we're just not quite there yet. No, Uh, 697 00:40:22,280 --> 00:40:24,120 Speaker 1: it depends, you know, it's come down to the state level, 698 00:40:24,160 --> 00:40:27,920 Speaker 1: of course. Uh. One that was a coalition of states. 699 00:40:29,040 --> 00:40:31,320 Speaker 1: The lawmakers got together. They were known as the EPR 700 00:40:31,400 --> 00:40:37,080 Speaker 1: for Packaging Network and they I believe California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland, 701 00:40:37,440 --> 00:40:40,879 Speaker 1: New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington all got 702 00:40:40,880 --> 00:40:45,239 Speaker 1: together to introduce bills uh that you know, basically to 703 00:40:45,280 --> 00:40:48,680 Speaker 1: give some teeth and legislation to this kind of thing. 704 00:40:49,360 --> 00:40:52,560 Speaker 1: And I think that main past one a really big 705 00:40:52,600 --> 00:40:55,799 Speaker 1: one that saw that Basically, it was a fund that 706 00:40:56,200 --> 00:40:59,680 Speaker 1: manufacturers had to pay into. So based on how much 707 00:40:59,719 --> 00:41:02,840 Speaker 1: they were, uh like, what kind of packaging they produced, 708 00:41:02,840 --> 00:41:06,200 Speaker 1: they would pay into this fund, depending on how recyclable 709 00:41:06,239 --> 00:41:08,759 Speaker 1: it was, and it was like a sliding scale, and 710 00:41:08,840 --> 00:41:11,640 Speaker 1: that would that fund was then used to help municipalities, 711 00:41:12,239 --> 00:41:17,239 Speaker 1: um manage that packaging material, right, And then California saw 712 00:41:17,280 --> 00:41:21,560 Speaker 1: this and said, hold my kombucha, and they passed definitely 713 00:41:21,600 --> 00:41:24,880 Speaker 1: the strictest EPR packaging law in the country back in 714 00:41:25,040 --> 00:41:31,680 Speaker 1: I think two thousand, also known as I don't know 715 00:41:31,880 --> 00:41:35,400 Speaker 1: I said it like that. But under this law, by 716 00:41:34,560 --> 00:41:37,920 Speaker 1: two and ten years, all packaging in the state has 717 00:41:37,960 --> 00:41:41,600 Speaker 1: to be either recyclable or compostable. That's a huge leap forward. 718 00:41:42,080 --> 00:41:47,640 Speaker 1: Packaging has to be reduced in total by great of 719 00:41:47,640 --> 00:41:50,360 Speaker 1: all packaging has to be recycled aft for use. And 720 00:41:50,400 --> 00:41:52,480 Speaker 1: you might say, well, wait a minute, I mean, like, 721 00:41:52,520 --> 00:41:56,799 Speaker 1: how how would the companies make that happen. California said, 722 00:41:56,960 --> 00:42:01,680 Speaker 1: figure it out, make it happen. And you packaging industry, 723 00:42:01,960 --> 00:42:05,560 Speaker 1: you have to create uh an organization that basically oversees 724 00:42:05,600 --> 00:42:08,360 Speaker 1: this and make sure that industry is doing business in 725 00:42:08,600 --> 00:42:13,759 Speaker 1: California are recycling of their stuff. Um, even after they 726 00:42:13,800 --> 00:42:15,719 Speaker 1: sell it to somebody. You have to figure out a 727 00:42:15,760 --> 00:42:18,360 Speaker 1: way to make sure that the consumer out there who 728 00:42:18,440 --> 00:42:21,279 Speaker 1: has your Derrito bag in their hand is going to 729 00:42:21,360 --> 00:42:25,600 Speaker 1: recycle it. Yeah. Here's the problem though in America is 730 00:42:26,080 --> 00:42:29,800 Speaker 1: half of the country will say well yeah, but every 731 00:42:29,840 --> 00:42:31,799 Speaker 1: single penny of that is going to be passed down 732 00:42:32,280 --> 00:42:35,239 Speaker 1: to the consumer because the company isn't gonna take the hit, 733 00:42:35,520 --> 00:42:38,439 Speaker 1: so they'll just raise prices on products, and then that'll 734 00:42:38,480 --> 00:42:41,520 Speaker 1: lead to inflation and it comes out of our pocket. 735 00:42:41,840 --> 00:42:43,719 Speaker 1: So we'd rather just throw everything in the trash because 736 00:42:43,719 --> 00:42:45,600 Speaker 1: I don't even see what happens to it after at 737 00:42:45,680 --> 00:42:49,399 Speaker 1: least my house anyway. So I mean, that's a really 738 00:42:49,400 --> 00:42:52,480 Speaker 1: good point. I don't know if it's actually how it 739 00:42:52,520 --> 00:42:55,360 Speaker 1: would pan out. You'd think that that, of course the 740 00:42:55,440 --> 00:42:57,799 Speaker 1: company would pass along that cost, but I think there's 741 00:42:57,800 --> 00:43:00,160 Speaker 1: plenty of people out there who are like, you know, 742 00:43:00,200 --> 00:43:02,160 Speaker 1: I pay a little more for something that I knew 743 00:43:02,239 --> 00:43:08,759 Speaker 1: was going to be recycled, but I don't, I don't know. 744 00:43:09,000 --> 00:43:10,840 Speaker 1: I don't know. And the thing is, when more and 745 00:43:10,880 --> 00:43:14,120 Speaker 1: more of these laws come about, companies are going to 746 00:43:14,239 --> 00:43:18,640 Speaker 1: start creating subdivisions in their research and development divisions that 747 00:43:18,680 --> 00:43:21,759 Speaker 1: are figuring out new packaging that are going to like 748 00:43:21,840 --> 00:43:25,440 Speaker 1: follow these laws. And then I mean, if we sick 749 00:43:25,480 --> 00:43:29,080 Speaker 1: industry on a problem like sustainable packaging, and we make 750 00:43:29,120 --> 00:43:31,360 Speaker 1: it worth their while because they're required to figure this 751 00:43:31,400 --> 00:43:34,279 Speaker 1: out by law, it's going to get solved pretty quick. 752 00:43:34,360 --> 00:43:37,040 Speaker 1: I would guess. And then yes, at first, products probably 753 00:43:37,120 --> 00:43:39,960 Speaker 1: will be more expensive than they are pre you know, 754 00:43:40,160 --> 00:43:43,279 Speaker 1: the pre passing or inaction of these laws. But after 755 00:43:43,320 --> 00:43:45,400 Speaker 1: a while, those prices are going to come down because 756 00:43:45,440 --> 00:43:48,600 Speaker 1: those technologies will have been developed and will have been 757 00:43:48,640 --> 00:43:51,840 Speaker 1: deployed widely, and they'll be ubiquitous. And now all of 758 00:43:51,920 --> 00:43:54,960 Speaker 1: a sudden, all of our shipping and packaging material will 759 00:43:55,000 --> 00:43:58,440 Speaker 1: be able to be composted at home or recyclable, or 760 00:43:58,480 --> 00:44:01,360 Speaker 1: we'll just turn into pixie dust in your hands the 761 00:44:01,400 --> 00:44:04,680 Speaker 1: moment you finish that last. Well, we're in a situation though, 762 00:44:04,680 --> 00:44:07,799 Speaker 1: where we're so divided politically in this country, we are 763 00:44:07,840 --> 00:44:10,600 Speaker 1: having a hard time even getting together on something is 764 00:44:10,640 --> 00:44:16,600 Speaker 1: easily uh and obviously bad as plastic grocery bags. You know, 765 00:44:16,640 --> 00:44:18,200 Speaker 1: a lot of states have stepped up and said, you 766 00:44:18,239 --> 00:44:20,399 Speaker 1: know what, you can't use these anymore. You just can't 767 00:44:20,480 --> 00:44:22,920 Speaker 1: use plastic grocery bags. Or you know what, if you 768 00:44:22,960 --> 00:44:25,000 Speaker 1: want to use one, if you insist, then pay a 769 00:44:25,080 --> 00:44:27,160 Speaker 1: nickel for it, so we can at least take care 770 00:44:27,200 --> 00:44:30,440 Speaker 1: of the recycling. Uh. And then there are a lot 771 00:44:30,480 --> 00:44:33,880 Speaker 1: of states in this country that pass preemptive bands on 772 00:44:33,920 --> 00:44:36,359 Speaker 1: the bands and I looked it up and there. It's 773 00:44:36,400 --> 00:44:38,839 Speaker 1: on ballot pedia dot com if you want to look 774 00:44:38,880 --> 00:44:40,560 Speaker 1: at a list of them all. But there are a 775 00:44:40,600 --> 00:44:42,000 Speaker 1: lot of states that are like, you know what, We're 776 00:44:42,040 --> 00:44:43,960 Speaker 1: gonna pass a law that says there will never be 777 00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:47,480 Speaker 1: a law that bands plastic bags, that the citizens of 778 00:44:47,560 --> 00:44:50,560 Speaker 1: the state of North Dakota have a right to use 779 00:44:50,560 --> 00:44:56,640 Speaker 1: those plastic bags forever. I wrote an expletive on my line. 780 00:44:57,600 --> 00:44:59,960 Speaker 1: It's so maddening, I mean, and these are the same 781 00:45:00,040 --> 00:45:02,799 Speaker 1: people who are screaming about states rights. You know, it's 782 00:45:02,880 --> 00:45:06,759 Speaker 1: just disgusting, dude. A band on a band, a preemptive 783 00:45:06,760 --> 00:45:11,400 Speaker 1: band on a band for a municipality is just gross, unless, 784 00:45:11,440 --> 00:45:14,320 Speaker 1: of course it's you know, they're preventing discrimination or whatever. 785 00:45:15,000 --> 00:45:17,759 Speaker 1: I guess there's places for it or not. But yeah, 786 00:45:17,760 --> 00:45:20,160 Speaker 1: I guess when it's something that I agree with and 787 00:45:20,200 --> 00:45:22,000 Speaker 1: they're banning it, then I had a problem with it, 788 00:45:22,040 --> 00:45:25,359 Speaker 1: you know what I mean? Um, with the plastic bags, though, 789 00:45:25,400 --> 00:45:27,440 Speaker 1: there there always is another side of the coin. Like 790 00:45:27,480 --> 00:45:30,799 Speaker 1: obviously plastic grocery bags are are are pretty bad for 791 00:45:30,800 --> 00:45:34,440 Speaker 1: the environment, but um, they did do some studies in 792 00:45:34,520 --> 00:45:38,000 Speaker 1: California when they did ban these plastic bags, and it 793 00:45:38,080 --> 00:45:40,440 Speaker 1: did reduce use of those plastic bags. But they did 794 00:45:40,440 --> 00:45:42,759 Speaker 1: find that people started buying like a lot of people 795 00:45:42,800 --> 00:45:47,440 Speaker 1: reuse those things for like dog poop or uh b 796 00:45:47,480 --> 00:45:49,959 Speaker 1: lining trash bins or whatever. Like there's all like little 797 00:45:49,960 --> 00:45:53,640 Speaker 1: carb trash bends or or bathroom trash bends. Uh, they 798 00:45:53,680 --> 00:45:55,520 Speaker 1: all of a sudden had to start buying the thicker 799 00:45:55,560 --> 00:45:59,560 Speaker 1: plastic bags to do that stuff, which are or worse 800 00:45:59,640 --> 00:46:02,680 Speaker 1: for the environment. So uh, and then you know, of 801 00:46:02,680 --> 00:46:05,480 Speaker 1: course people would switch to like a cotton tote bag, 802 00:46:06,000 --> 00:46:09,279 Speaker 1: which is far and away like the worst kind of 803 00:46:09,320 --> 00:46:11,520 Speaker 1: thing that you can get as a cotton toat apparently, 804 00:46:12,400 --> 00:46:15,600 Speaker 1: so I saw that compared to plastic bags, just because 805 00:46:15,640 --> 00:46:18,160 Speaker 1: of the sheer number of plastic bags out there and 806 00:46:18,200 --> 00:46:20,360 Speaker 1: just the fact that they're petroleum based and all the 807 00:46:20,360 --> 00:46:23,319 Speaker 1: emissions that takes in creating them, that a cotton toat 808 00:46:23,400 --> 00:46:26,960 Speaker 1: is still better than plastic bags in Jenica. But if 809 00:46:27,000 --> 00:46:29,600 Speaker 1: you compare one cotton tote to one plastic bag, yeah, 810 00:46:29,600 --> 00:46:32,400 Speaker 1: the cotton toe is way worse because there's all sorts 811 00:46:32,440 --> 00:46:38,480 Speaker 1: of um pesticides and industrial fertilizer inputs required there. You know, 812 00:46:38,680 --> 00:46:42,160 Speaker 1: they they use fourth labor in China, which which supplies 813 00:46:42,280 --> 00:46:46,040 Speaker 1: the world with its cotton. There's some problems with cotton, 814 00:46:46,120 --> 00:46:49,000 Speaker 1: for sure. And I saw that one study found that 815 00:46:49,040 --> 00:46:51,440 Speaker 1: a cotton tote would have to be used every day 816 00:46:51,480 --> 00:46:56,279 Speaker 1: for fifty four years to outlive its environmental footprint. So yeah, 817 00:46:56,280 --> 00:46:59,640 Speaker 1: there's problems with cotton totes. The idea is there. It's 818 00:46:59,680 --> 00:47:02,719 Speaker 1: a good idea, but we've also seen like, okay, we 819 00:47:02,760 --> 00:47:05,400 Speaker 1: need to figure out something else. And there's this, um, 820 00:47:05,440 --> 00:47:08,239 Speaker 1: this designer name on your hind March who's just an 821 00:47:08,280 --> 00:47:11,239 Speaker 1: awesome designer. She uses like rainbow colors and everything, so 822 00:47:11,280 --> 00:47:15,520 Speaker 1: I like her stuff. She created a cotton tote back 823 00:47:15,560 --> 00:47:18,200 Speaker 1: in two thousand seven or eight and kind of kicked 824 00:47:18,239 --> 00:47:21,880 Speaker 1: off the trend of using you know, reusable shopping bags. 825 00:47:22,440 --> 00:47:25,200 Speaker 1: Um and it said like, I'm not a plastic bag. Well, 826 00:47:25,200 --> 00:47:28,120 Speaker 1: since then, since it's become clear that cotton toats are problematic, 827 00:47:28,440 --> 00:47:32,000 Speaker 1: she's created the same thing, but it's made out of 828 00:47:32,000 --> 00:47:34,560 Speaker 1: recycled plastics and it says, I am a plastic bag. 829 00:47:35,080 --> 00:47:37,880 Speaker 1: That's what you that's what you need to seek out. Yeah, 830 00:47:37,920 --> 00:47:41,120 Speaker 1: for sure, So do you got anything else? I got 831 00:47:41,160 --> 00:47:45,360 Speaker 1: nothing else. I don't either. Since we talked about on 832 00:47:45,480 --> 00:47:47,600 Speaker 1: your hind March, everybody, I think that means it's time 833 00:47:47,640 --> 00:47:53,680 Speaker 1: for listener mail. I'm gonna call this Shall we take 834 00:47:53,680 --> 00:47:58,560 Speaker 1: a break? Hey, guys, thanks for all the equality and lightning, information, humor, 835 00:47:59,040 --> 00:48:00,480 Speaker 1: and all the joy of the pot as brings me 836 00:48:00,520 --> 00:48:03,480 Speaker 1: and so many others. Is it time for a break? No? 837 00:48:03,680 --> 00:48:08,600 Speaker 1: Not yet. That's not that hard, right. I'm not sure 838 00:48:08,600 --> 00:48:10,720 Speaker 1: what it takes to convince one another to actually defer 839 00:48:10,760 --> 00:48:13,680 Speaker 1: taking a break, but it's been a fun anticipation game 840 00:48:13,719 --> 00:48:16,480 Speaker 1: for me for the better part of a year. I 841 00:48:16,520 --> 00:48:19,360 Speaker 1: almost did that today, just to sort of give Tony 842 00:48:19,400 --> 00:48:23,120 Speaker 1: here a little a little thrill, but I didn't. I've 843 00:48:23,120 --> 00:48:25,680 Speaker 1: listened since. But sometime late last year a dawned to me. 844 00:48:25,719 --> 00:48:29,200 Speaker 1: I couldn't actually recall either of you turning down taking 845 00:48:29,239 --> 00:48:32,080 Speaker 1: a break when you offer it up to each other. 846 00:48:32,160 --> 00:48:35,319 Speaker 1: I think we've done that before, at least once. Yeah, 847 00:48:35,320 --> 00:48:37,520 Speaker 1: it's almost always posted as a question, which seems like 848 00:48:37,800 --> 00:48:40,600 Speaker 1: it's giving your counterpart an option, yet the response is 849 00:48:40,640 --> 00:48:42,560 Speaker 1: always the same. I'm not sure if you guys have 850 00:48:42,600 --> 00:48:44,640 Speaker 1: a pack to never defer, but if you read this 851 00:48:44,680 --> 00:48:46,839 Speaker 1: out loud, then the beginning part of this email gives 852 00:48:46,880 --> 00:48:49,960 Speaker 1: me the joy of at least hearing a break question 853 00:48:50,080 --> 00:48:55,160 Speaker 1: atypical response, So thank you for that. Take care, keep 854 00:48:55,239 --> 00:48:57,600 Speaker 1: up the good work. And that is from Tony uh 855 00:48:57,680 --> 00:49:04,520 Speaker 1: coasters and um, the closest his middle name is an 856 00:49:05,239 --> 00:49:08,239 Speaker 1: I saw that cod. The closest you guys have come 857 00:49:08,280 --> 00:49:10,360 Speaker 1: recently to deferring a break was in the Infant Formula 858 00:49:10,400 --> 00:49:13,240 Speaker 1: episode and you have me on edge. Uh So, Tony, 859 00:49:13,400 --> 00:49:16,560 Speaker 1: just to let you know, we don't have a formula 860 00:49:16,640 --> 00:49:20,320 Speaker 1: for that per se, but we uh, we generally shoot 861 00:49:20,360 --> 00:49:24,279 Speaker 1: for about forty five minutes an episode ish and that 862 00:49:24,280 --> 00:49:28,560 Speaker 1: would mean the breaks fall around fifteen and thirty minutes. Yeah, 863 00:49:28,760 --> 00:49:30,680 Speaker 1: so we keep an eye on the clock and there 864 00:49:30,680 --> 00:49:33,880 Speaker 1: always just seems to be a natural sort of organic 865 00:49:33,920 --> 00:49:38,400 Speaker 1: spot within that rough time frame. Yeah, usda organic spot 866 00:49:38,480 --> 00:49:40,400 Speaker 1: to break in for sure. We don't have a pact 867 00:49:40,520 --> 00:49:43,960 Speaker 1: or anything like that either to differ. But also can 868 00:49:44,000 --> 00:49:46,120 Speaker 1: you imagine if one of us was like, and we're 869 00:49:46,160 --> 00:49:48,040 Speaker 1: about to take a break, so we'll be right back, 870 00:49:48,880 --> 00:49:50,960 Speaker 1: you know, like that the other one I think would 871 00:49:51,000 --> 00:49:53,840 Speaker 1: feel a little bit stepped on, I think, so I 872 00:49:53,920 --> 00:49:56,000 Speaker 1: know I wouldn't. I wouldn't want you to feel stepped 873 00:49:56,000 --> 00:49:57,880 Speaker 1: on either. So of course we're going to ask one another, 874 00:49:57,960 --> 00:50:00,200 Speaker 1: you know. Yeah, we don't step on each other. No, 875 00:50:01,000 --> 00:50:04,839 Speaker 1: and when we do, we edit it out. That's right. Uh, well, 876 00:50:04,880 --> 00:50:07,640 Speaker 1: thanks a lot, Tony and the Coasters. We appreciate that email. 877 00:50:07,640 --> 00:50:10,239 Speaker 1: It was a good one, a little mind boggling too, 878 00:50:10,880 --> 00:50:13,160 Speaker 1: And if you want to boggle our minds like Tony did, 879 00:50:13,200 --> 00:50:15,520 Speaker 1: you can send us an email. It's a stuff podcast 880 00:50:15,760 --> 00:50:21,239 Speaker 1: at iHeart radio dot com. Stuff you Should Know is 881 00:50:21,239 --> 00:50:24,120 Speaker 1: a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts my 882 00:50:24,160 --> 00:50:27,600 Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or 883 00:50:27,600 --> 00:50:29,360 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.