Kapute PlastIk

So I was just thinking to myself that europeans are really smart for using glass for a lot of things Americans would rather have in plastic. Pretty much any juice you buy here comes in a REUSABLE (mehrweg) bottle--even, or perhaps especially things like soda and beer. This is an amazing thing that American companies should pick up right now. The bottles, in theory, cost an extra 0.10 or 0.15 € (das Pfand) and there are receptacles that you return them to in most groceries, Getränkenmärkte (basically beer/wine+water+juice+some liquor store), and places with lots of vending machines--whereupon you recoup your change. I know some states have refunds for return of some types of glass bottles and maybe some plastic, but I don't think there is any state--even golden California--that has such and extensive tax/reward system setup. And while I suppose it's government supported, I think it's actually a company that collects the bottles and such. It's really quite an ingenious process given that it's probably much easier to clean and sterilize old bottles than have new ones cast. Granted, plastic is probably cheaper. Until there is some societally-accepted way (i.e. a way Republicans/Libertarians won't complain about--probably never going to happen (incidentally, shouldn't this be exactly the government's job? to regulate where free-market capitalism can't compensate for hidden costs--i.e. transfered health, environmental, and QOL costs)) to tax companies for the end environmental impact of their products, I don't think such schemes would catch on (wow, that's really hard to understand. good luck!).

Anyway; back to my other point. I was just thinking this when I went to lift my curtain and--POP--one of the little PLASTIC clasps breaks. There is absolutely no reason to make these things out of plastic. In fact there seem to be many reasons to make them of brass or steel or, hell, dried hemp--not the least of which is that they are holding up a moderately heavy object which will be raised and lowered 3 times a day and thus transferring (why on earth does that have two Rs? transfer-ing. why, english?) a good bit of stress to whatever is holding them up.

Come to think of it the most traumatic of my misadventures here have been due to unnecessarily cheap things breaking (also: by bike light died the other day. just fell right off. i think i'm illegal now!). So I guess even in Europe people have to some degree bought in to the American mentality: It's cheap! If it breaks, I'll just get another and throw it away! Who cares about the island of trash in the Pacific?!

I'm saddened.