3 ms·
This opens an interesting question, what if we could slightly modify plastic to make it more useful to other species, maybe beavers, maybe bees, maybe ants, may
by ivanca 11y ago
This opens an interesting question, what if we could slightly modify plastic to make it more useful to other species, maybe beavers, maybe bees, maybe ants, maybe woodpeckers, maybe there is an specific trait that one (or many) of this kind of animals seek for when using materials (or eating)
- jacobolus 11y agoThe better solution is to start using biodegradable plastic where necessary, and avoiding plastic altogether where there are reasonable alternatives.
- bitJericho 11y agoBut then we might have to spend money on things that last longer :/
- pflanze 11y agoNote that there are two kinds of "biodegradable" plastics. Vegetable based plastics (which are definitely unproblematic when left in the environment) and "OXO-biodegradable" plastics which are just normal plastics (like PE, PP, PS) with additions that make them break down quicker than normally. If a bag feels like a normal plastic bag then it will be one of the latter kind; vegetable based plastics have a different feel to them (kind of rubbery), to my understanding; since they are produced in a different way (by a different industry), and more expensive, you rarely encounter them. The Wikipedia article on OXO biodegradable plastics[1] seems to be heavily edited by industry participants. Last I heard[2] was that OXO-biodegradable plastics are basically cheating, as they leave the plastic in the wild, just invisibly (perhaps even making things worse as then it can't be collected anymore?). The Wikipedia article argues that the fragments will be decomposed by organisms. I don't know which is true, but wanted to point out that there are two kinds and you should be careful not to mix them up in discussions. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxo_Biodegradable [2] from the film Addicted To Plastic [3] or other places, not sure anymore [3] http://www.crypticmoth.com/plastic.php
- pheroden 11y agoI don't see the issue even if the plastics are invisibly dispersed in the wild. I use styrofoam in my potting soils, for a reason.
- creshal 11y agoNot all plastics are safe for human ingestion, and if you disperse them in the wild, that's where they end up sooner or later.
- pheroden 11y agoAh, I made the assumption that a vegetable oil based plastic would at worst break down or go rancid. And tiny bits of rancid oil wouldn't be harmful. However, if they're using other chemicals to produce these, then it's entirely possible that they would be unsafe. My bad.