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How do you dispose of plastic properly? Even landfill doesn't cut it - the stuff just breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces. These microplastics then ente
by charliesome 7y ago
How do you dispose of plastic properly? Even landfill doesn't cut it - the stuff just breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces. These microplastics then enter the groundwater, and from there find their way into almost every part of our environment.
- skybrian 7y agoLandfills do monitoring to make sure stuff doesn't enter the groundwater, though I don't know how effective it is? Maybe they should get better at it? There are also some unanswered questions here about where microplastics in the environment actually come from. I would expect litter to be a much larger source? How about fishing equipment? I would expect stuff in a landfill to be less likely to get out than any other way. It seems like an easier problem to solve?
- foxyv 7y agoThis is true, landfills aren't perfect. However it's better than our current "Recycling" which just ships the plastic off to 3rd world countries to be burned or buried. To be honest, I think micro-plastics are the among least hazardous things that can leak from a landfill. Also a landfill is usually local as possible and doesn't require much energy. The answer will always be "Use less of the junk." But I feel guilty putting plastic in the recycling bin.