The problem with plastics

I WAS in college in the 1960s when I saw the critically acclaimed movie "The Graduate." Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) was constantly asked what he wanted to do with his life. A businessman, Mr. McGuire (Walter Brooke), told him to remember one word: "plastics."

Since then, plastic use in a dizzying array of products has become a fact of life. I cannot remember the last time I bought something without it being wrapped in the material, often with the brash colors of its brand proudly printed in neat fonts. Shampoo. Toothpaste. Detergent. Chips. Biscuits. Chocolates. Mineral water. Soft drinks. Everything is in neat lightweight containers. Sari-sari stores and groceries seem like they were built with a kaleidoscope of plastic walls.