Radical Noesis - Thinking outside the box

Plastics are everywhere. From the bags we use to carry our groceries in to the dashboards of our cars to the plastic in our printers.
Take a long look in the kitchen cupboards... there is plastic in bowls, plates, storage containers and freezer bags, measuring cups and spoons, kitchen utensils, etc. Even the coffee pot has plastic parts. How many of us have access to and/or know how to spin clay into usable kitchen items?

And then look at the computer desk... the keyboard, the mouse, the printer, the monitor... all contain pieces of plastic. Glance around the living room.. the stereo, television, DVD, CD's and old VHS videos are made of plastic. Most of the kids' toys are made of plastic, cheap or otherwise. Alternatives, anyone?

Most of our household cleaners are bottled or packaged in plastic. Many of our food items are packaged in plastic. Packaging already affects the prices of these items. What will happen to the prices during an oil shortage? What will we store our food in then?
Consider the hospitals and other medical facilities. IV tubes and the little bags used to hold saline solutions, medicines and units of blood are made of plastic. Syringes giving vaccines are made of plastic. Like our computers and other electronics, machines in the hospital also use plastic parts. Asthmatics or those with breathing difficulties rely on plastic gadgets that provide oxygen or medications. Imagine, if you will, an oil shortage severe enough to cause these medical supplies to be rationed. How many more people will die because of contaminated or overused 'used' supplies? Who will just simply be denied care?

There are viable alternatives to household items, but most people do not want to think about taking a step backward. Glass is heavy and breaks so easily. Broken glass has resulted in many stitches and tetanus shots. Carving dishes out of wood is anything but convenient. Metal bowls, pans, etc. cannot be used in a microwave (another item that probably uses at least some plastic parts). Remember your grandmother's metal percolator that heated on the stove top? I remember my mother making coffee in a saucepan.

I know of no viable alternatives to plastic in modern day technology short of raiding landfills and recycling parts. Maybe some of you have ideas.

(There are many more items I did not list here that use plastic parts, and are vital to this society. It is a reach I suppose to consider the implications of their absence in an oil shortage, especially since no one has found enough desire to actively pursue alternative fuel sources or alternative lifestyles. But, I think we do need to look at the big picture and the long term/long reaching consequences.)