Generally speaking I agree with you. But your post also brings to mind a couple plastic items I've had for years that I think are pretty great:
  • Legos: these are just an engineering marvel, and fun, of course
  • Plastic camping mallet: simple, solid, lightweight so great for travel
Plastic definitely has its practical applications, we've just taken it too far.
I'm hanging onto a bunch of Legos from when I was a kid for future children. They're low tech and high entertainment value. Legos are a big reason I'm as creative as I am today, and they're way too expensive to replace nowadays.
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This.
I do believe that our current, broken monetary system which encourages spending for spending's sake as a perpetual requirement to prop up the increasingly debt fuelled economy has shifted our time horizon to focus on the short term and contributes to both the creation and purchasing of cheap, poor quality goods manufactured with sub-par materials with little to no consideration for their longevity and the long-term impact of such on the environment.
It doesn't necessarily mean that plastic is a bad product, it has just become greatly misused. Single use plastic packaging is a great example. Its so cheap to produce now compared to alternatives because the manufacturing process has become streamlined under the conditions of a short-term profit prioritising capitalistic economy.
Cliché to say - but Bitcoin helps fix this.