3 ms·

a few of you have new and interesting takes on the issue for me to consider. but what about the millions of tons of plastic that have worked its way into the oc

by gorpy7 7y ago

a few of you have new and interesting takes on the issue for me to consider. but what about the millions of tons of plastic that have worked its way into the oceans? and if landfill space isn’t an issue why are we shipping it off to foreign countries? seems like recycling is a very loose loop but if we keep at it, it could become tighter. i think it would be cool if various resources, some day, could be recycled on a household level- like water foremost and eventually plastics, organics

ekianjo 7y ago
How do you recycle plastics? What you call "plastics" fall in thousands of different polymers or mixes of polymers that have vastly different properties and characteristics. There is no way you will be able to recycle any of that easily, or even less at home.
- gorpy7 7y ago
  i was thinking 1-3 different types, 1 for sporks, one for t-shirts, jackets, and another for toys/lawn furniture. i readily admit i don’t know enough about plastics processing. i was further imagining broken, worn, stained, fallen out of fashion could be ground down and reformed by some advanced 3d printer. but i can constrain my own thoughts, i can see impediments- technical or behavior(desire to purchase). dream with me anyway.
firethief 7y ago
I think that's the stuff that never made it onto the bin -> garbage truck -> landfill path. The main constituents are stuff like cigarette butts, laundry fibers, fishing gear... Stuff littered on land or at sea and stuff we just flush downstream
NeedMoreTea 7y ago
Just about every nation, except the US, signed a legally binding treaty[1] last Friday to not ship it off to foreign countries. I'd be far happier if we bought into reduce and reuse and bring back deposit/return schemes, but it's something. [1] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/10/nearly-all-the-worlds-countries-sign-plastic-waste-deal-except-us https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/10/nearly-a...
gruez 7y ago
>and if landfill space isn’t an issue why are we shipping it off to foreign countries Because China was paying us for it.

by gorpy7 7y ago

ekianjo 7y ago

How do you recycle plastics? What you call "plastics" fall in thousands of different polymers or mixes of polymers that have vastly different properties and characteristics. There is no way you will be able to recycle any of that easily, or even less at home.

gorpy7 7y ago
i was thinking 1-3 different types, 1 for sporks, one for t-shirts, jackets, and another for toys/lawn furniture. i readily admit i don’t know enough about plastics processing. i was further imagining broken, worn, stained, fallen out of fashion could be ground down and reformed by some advanced 3d printer. but i can constrain my own thoughts, i can see impediments- technical or behavior(desire to purchase). dream with me anyway.

firethief 7y ago

I think that's the stuff that never made it onto the bin -> garbage truck -> landfill path. The main constituents are stuff like cigarette butts, laundry fibers, fishing gear... Stuff littered on land or at sea and stuff we just flush downstream

NeedMoreTea 7y ago

Just about every nation, except the US, signed a legally binding treaty[1] last Friday to not ship it off to foreign countries. I'd be far happier if we bought into reduce and reuse and bring back deposit/return schemes, but it's something. [1] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/10/nearly-all-the-worlds-countries-sign-plastic-waste-deal-except-us https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/10/nearly-a...

gruez 7y ago

>and if landfill space isn’t an issue why are we shipping it off to foreign countries Because China was paying us for it.