Is there any viable alternative to plastic?

None that I am aware of, and I take interest in such things. The only hope of replacements is what there was before plastic: wood, glass, combinations of cotton or some other organic material and a biodegradable glue to hold it together.

Corn syrup grocery bags.

I think that’s too broad of a question. There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of different plastic polymers, each with its own properties. Some a recyclable, some are not. Some are rigid, some are flexible.

Some plastics really are irreplaceable with anything else; other items could only be replaced with things far more expensive. Take things like one-use sterile equipment in a hospital—some things could be manufactured in stainless steel, but that causes other issues like sterilization and packaging for reuse, which is also not environmentally friendly.

Yes, we could get rid of or reformulate some percentage of plastic stuff. But probably far less than you would hope.

I think the best we can hope for right now is recycling the stuff, or manufacture more of the biodegradable plastic when it’s use is indicated, but there is some controversy surrounding biodegradable plastic, I don’t know all of the problems with it.

I use glass or steel whenever possible. But living that way in everything is impossible

I use glass for storage as well and am trying to remember to bring my own mug to the coffee shop. I use my own carrier bags except when I need to stock up on garbage bags.

That’s a good start @snowberry and @janbb

That’s a good question and I think you have to look at each product made with plastic individually and think of a solution. For example, instead of the plastic grocery bags, people can use paper, or bring their own fabric bag. Instead of the plastic milk and juice containers, I think I read of a cellulose-based product a teenager has invented…but who knows how long it would take the industries to switch to it, or produce their own version…and will it maintain the product’s freshness and safety, etc. I suppose things like children’s plastic toys could be made out of wood and metal again!!! Of course, wood may be an issue in the future. Shoe soles are now often out of a plastic material…can we go back to leather? Then of course there is the animal concern, and where have all the shoe repair shops gone??? Again, good question…maybe you are just the one to come up with a viable alternative.

We will always need “plastic” but the difference is we need to find ways to make it sustainably.

Look into Bioplastics; plastics made out of sources such as vegetable fats and oils, corn starch, or microbiota.
I am not certain whether any are a viable, commercially affordable option as of yet but work is being done on their development and implementation.