3 ms·

Anecdotally, when I was younger (80s) the concern was biodegradability. There were a lot of fears of plastics never really being re-absorbed into the environme

by kxrm 6y ago

Anecdotally, when I was younger (80s) the concern was biodegradability. There were a lot of fears of plastics never really being re-absorbed into the environment. So the idea that your yogurt cup would live on unhindered for centuries was a common fear. This lead to movements to reconsider plastics as large food industry providers were switching away from more expensive glass (which was incentivized to be reused back then). So not a lot has changed, it's the same problem but instead of overflowing landfills of plastic, we are seeing it in the ocean instead.

pfdietz 6y ago
I don't see how that justifies recycling, since getting the stuff into landfills (or burning it) removes it from the environment too.
- closeparen 6y ago
  There is no “beyond the environment.” Landfills count too.
  - pfdietz 6y ago
    Releasing plastics into the larger environment, especially microplastics, and confining them to landfills, are most definitely not the same thing.
    - Qwertious 6y ago
      Stuff often leaks out of landfills and into the environment. As an above comment said, landfills can be done correctly so this doesn't happen, but often aren't.
      - pfdietz 6y ago
        And the vast majority of the stuff does not leak out. You're making an Argument from Homeopathy here.