You raise a significant dilemma here that has multiple ramifications. That is, short-term conveniences with destructive long-term consequences—like plastic bottles—may be an option for the affluent, but are essential for the poor. Ditto for things like gasoline-powered automobiles and fast food chains with take-out orders swathed in packaging. I wish I had a solution—I don’t. In fact the business plan of huge big-box retailers like Walmart is to get rich by keeping people poor, so they cannot afford to shop anywhere else!