<story><title>‘Vegan spider silk’ provides sustainable alternative to single-use plastics</title><url>https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/vegan-spider-silk-provides-sustainable-alternative-to-single-use-plastics</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>pizza234</author><text>Something I don&amp;#x27;t fully understand is why single-use plastics are still in use. Every once in a while, a replacement is advertised, but still not used.&lt;p&gt;The reasons I can think of are:&lt;p&gt;1. cost - this could be an very simple reason;&lt;p&gt;2. conflictual requirement - the supposition that chemical indestructibility is what makes plastic at the same time necessary but problematic.&lt;p&gt;Is there any other factor&amp;#x2F;complexity I&amp;#x27;m missing?</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>Synaesthesia</author><text>The plastics&amp;#x2F;oil industry mislead the public and government about how recyclable plastic is (it&amp;#x27;s not) to prevent legislation from passing which would reduce unnecessary plastics.&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.npr.org&amp;#x2F;2020&amp;#x2F;09&amp;#x2F;11&amp;#x2F;897692090&amp;#x2F;how-big-oil-misled-the-public-into-believing-plastic-would-be-recycled&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.npr.org&amp;#x2F;2020&amp;#x2F;09&amp;#x2F;11&amp;#x2F;897692090&amp;#x2F;how-big-oil-misled-...&lt;/a&gt;</text></comment>
<story><title>‘Vegan spider silk’ provides sustainable alternative to single-use plastics</title><url>https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/vegan-spider-silk-provides-sustainable-alternative-to-single-use-plastics</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>pizza234</author><text>Something I don&amp;#x27;t fully understand is why single-use plastics are still in use. Every once in a while, a replacement is advertised, but still not used.&lt;p&gt;The reasons I can think of are:&lt;p&gt;1. cost - this could be an very simple reason;&lt;p&gt;2. conflictual requirement - the supposition that chemical indestructibility is what makes plastic at the same time necessary but problematic.&lt;p&gt;Is there any other factor&amp;#x2F;complexity I&amp;#x27;m missing?</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>hannob</author><text>A lot of bioplastics turn out not to be so green if you run a full lifecycle analysis.&lt;p&gt;Appart from that: Plastic has this somewhat unique property that nobody is really held responsible for its emissions, even in places where emissions are regulated. E.g. the chemical companies are usually only considered responsible for the emissions of their plants, while the bulk of emissions happens on landfills or in incinerators. Waste-to-Energy-Incinerators on the other hand are in many places even considered &amp;quot;green&amp;quot; energy, because they say we&amp;#x27;re only using waste that&amp;#x27;s already there.</text></comment>