A lot of little innovations can add up to a big difference — that's especially true when it comes to the plastic pollution crisis. A post reshared on the r/Anticonsumption Reddit forum highlighted a simple modification at a gas station that could play a little part.
The post includes a photo of a wiper fluid pump as a seamless part of a gas station. A zoom-in shows the gas is listed in liters, indicating the station is almost certainly overseas, and the language on display appears to be Polish.
Whatever the case, the standalone tank allows drivers to fill their vehicle's windshield washer fluid. That comes with many benefits.
"This seems better than buying a ton of plastic jugs," a user commented. "We went through Montana once and the bugs were so thick we ran out of fluid and no gas stations on our route were open."
Of course, the convenience of readily available wiper fluid at a gas station shouldn't be overlooked. This kind of innovation could also help curb the use of single-use plastic containers, similar to the shift from plastic bags to reusable options.
While car maintenance products aren't the biggest culprit in the world — considering the food industry or even the personal hygiene industry's heavy use of plastic packaging — you have to consider the hundreds of millions of drivers in America. There are also a host of other products, such as antifreeze, that could benefit from this sort of offering.
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Getting away from these products by using plastic alternatives or finding ways to reuse packaging will be critical to reducing plastic production and pollution. Left unchecked, experts predict plastics will have alarming impacts on the environment.
Those impacts include releasing microplastics into nature, which could threaten wildlife and marine life. Microplastics also find a way into humans' food and water sources, with some alarming links to serious health risks.
Unsurprisingly for an anticonsumption community, commenters were receptive to the efficiency and convenience of wiper fluid pumps at gas stations.
"This is actually brilliant and cuts into consumption," one wrote. "I hope it takes off nationally."
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"Now people can just get what they need when they need it, instead of buying a giant plastic jug," another user argued in response to a cynic.
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