Can we create a "plastic free world" - and would we want to?

Plastics take a very long time to degrade - 450-1000 years. Even if you grind the plastic into tiny grains, it hasn't gone anywhere, it's just a very small piece of plastic. This plastic is being heaped up in landfill, being found in the sea, and even in the guts of fish. Sealife are being killed by plastic rubbish in the sea, and our beaches are littered with rubbish that washes up. What is the solution? We use so much more plastic than 60 or 70 years ago. Then, if things were made of plastic the were intended to last - like telephones, drinks trays, and other household items. Now it is used for things that are NOT meant to last, because it is light, strong, waterproof and durable. Disposable items like drinking straws, coffee cups, water bottles and plastic bags were unknown back in the 1940s, and now we revel in their disposability, because we can use them when we're out and about and not have to think about carrying around food and equipment in case we need refreshments, like our parents and grandparents did - a thermos full of coffee, our own sandwiches wrapped in greaseproof paper and carried in a tin. String shopping bags that packed away small were also used. It seems like a lot to haul around, but it's cheaper and more environmentally friendly to do so.