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There are many different types of plastics. Some end up in nature as tiny pieces like you mention and are indeed very bad for the ecosystem. But it's also possi

There are many different types of plastics. Some end up in nature as tiny pieces like you mention and are indeed very bad for the ecosystem. But it's also possible to set up a proper recycling & valorization system. Northern Europe already does it: over 98% of consumer plastics are either recycled or valorized through heat (producing power or city heating). Despite that, there's an effort to address the low-hanging fruit of plastics that end up in the oceans and waterways, specifically single-use plastics: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/plastic_waste.htm http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/plastic_waste.htm

p3llin0r3 8y ago
Preventing plastic in Europe would have basically no effect on plastic in the ocean. The problem is people with poor waste management infrastructure tossing their junk into the rivers and oceans in developing countries. https://www.statista.com/chart/12211/the-countries-polluting-the-oceans-the-most/ https://www.statista.com/chart/12211/the-countries-polluting...
- quantum_magpie 8y ago
  The waste thrown into the rivers and oceans in developing countries is from the US and the EU.
radicalbyte 8y ago
In The Netherlands we burn our waste or recycle. I have a separate bin for plastic, food/garden, paper/cardboard and general waste. Glass and clothes are collected at the supermarket. Most glass and plastic drinks bottles are reused, you pay a deposit for them (excellent system!). Oil, batteries, light bulbs are collected at schools/supermarkets. Electronics can be returned to stores or more often taken to the skip. They're put in shipping containers and I assume sold somewhere.
JulianMorrison 8y ago
Recycling is less help than it looks. Assuming it's captured (big assumption with a lot being binned and straight into landfill) it gets made into degraded products, it can't cycle back to the original use good as new like glass. And a lot of those products are things that look like big plastic dust sources. And nobody recycles dust.

p3llin0r3 8y ago

Preventing plastic in Europe would have basically no effect on plastic in the ocean. The problem is people with poor waste management infrastructure tossing their junk into the rivers and oceans in developing countries. https://www.statista.com/chart/12211/the-countries-polluting-the-oceans-the-most/ https://www.statista.com/chart/12211/the-countries-polluting...

quantum_magpie 8y ago
The waste thrown into the rivers and oceans in developing countries is from the US and the EU.

radicalbyte 8y ago

In The Netherlands we burn our waste or recycle. I have a separate bin for plastic, food/garden, paper/cardboard and general waste. Glass and clothes are collected at the supermarket. Most glass and plastic drinks bottles are reused, you pay a deposit for them (excellent system!). Oil, batteries, light bulbs are collected at schools/supermarkets. Electronics can be returned to stores or more often taken to the skip. They're put in shipping containers and I assume sold somewhere.

JulianMorrison 8y ago

Recycling is less help than it looks. Assuming it's captured (big assumption with a lot being binned and straight into landfill) it gets made into degraded products, it can't cycle back to the original use good as new like glass. And a lot of those products are things that look like big plastic dust sources. And nobody recycles dust.