In many European countries, "plastic fasting" is currently all the rage. The Church of England has recently considered it a Christian duty to do so. God will surely understand something of polymers, since they form an indispensable basis of organic life. Secular society may question whether this also applies to his priests.

Compare that with India, where thousands of workers in the plastics industry took to the streets and demonstrated against a proposed blanket ban on plastics. At the very least, expert knowledge tells us the reasonable motto here is "plastic is not bad – littering is bad, stop littering". A suggestion for good deeds – how about starting with "disposables fasting" regardless of the material?