For the past 200 years, thousands of children across central and northern Europe have been put to bed by the sandman, who – folklore has it – sprinkles dust into their eyes to bring them sleep and sweet dreams. Times change, and nature along with it. Irresponsible use of plastic can bring about such change, as shown by the fact that on some beaches, plastic grains already make up 10% of the sand. That begs the question: Will the “resin man” be the one putting our children’s children to bed in the future?

Far from burying one’s head in the sand – or the plastic – or for that matter slamming a material that is inherently valuable, recyclable and boasts a number of characteristics without which modern life as we know it would no longer be possible, it might befit us to consider innovative means, like the one featured in last week’s Plastic Fantastic (see Plasteurope.com of 16.01.2015), of solving this problem.