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A lot of these plastic-recycling products don't cope with the big issue of pollution with micro plastic particles. I read about making pavement from plastic was

A lot of these plastic-recycling products don't cope with the big issue of pollution with micro plastic particles. I read about making pavement from plastic waste. Sure you can do that, but the plastic will be slowly worn down and the micro particles will pollute everything. That's the same problem with low quality plastics being recycled into household items. I see a health risk here. I will prefer something from wood, glass or metal - or from high quality (and bio-degradable?) plastics.

KozmoNau7 5y ago
It's a very bad idea to use recycled plastic for anything that will face abrasion, harsh temperatures or harsh chemicals, or a combination. Or any plastic really, microplastics don't care about which generation recycling your plastic has been through. Obviously the most important thing to do is to reduce how much plastic is produced in the first place. Plastic recycling doesn't solve the microplastic issue, it arguably makes it worse, so any scrap plastic should be responsibly burned for energy and that energy should go towards production using materials that aren't plastic. Use plastic only for products where the use of plastic is necessary for some critical functionality, and cannot be replaced with sustainable, biodegradable, properly recyclable materials. And only for products that are meant to last a long time, all single use and disposable plastic (such as packaging) needs to disappear ASAP.
- bottled_poe 5y ago
  Seems like a strange jump from “recycling is bad” to “we should burn plastic for energy”.
  - KozmoNau7 5y ago
    Then you misunderstand. Recycling is good wherever and whenever reducing or reusing is not possible. Especially aluminum recycling (and most other metal recycling) is a win-win, both when looking at energy expenditure and environmental impact from mining. Plastic recycling doesn't work currently. There are too many mutually incompatible types, and sorting is painfully manual and slow, it's exceedingly hard to automate and make efficient. A lot of plastic types cannot be reformed or remolded at all, so the only use for them is to be ground up and used as filler material. All of this plastic processing just further exacerbates the microplastic problem. The further you grind down and reuse plastic, the worse the end product becomes and the more it sheds microplastic when used or exposed to abrasion, UV light and other forms of wear and tear. So I propose that we cut the head off the beast, strongly curtail plastic production and try to responsibly get rid of the microplastic-generating plastic we already have. Incineration -when done correctly- is a responsible way of disposal that also generates power. We already burn dioxins and many other harmful compounds to dispose of them safely and with minimal environmental impact, if done correctly.
harimau777 5y ago
I am definitely not an expert, but I wonder if it would be viable to recycle plastic into bricks for construction? It seems like wear would be less of an issue and the bulk properties of the resulting plastic would be emphasized.
- NortySpock 5y ago
  One application I did see Precious Plastic recommending was producing long extruded plastic beams like 4x4 lumber. No idea how strong the beam was though.
  - tkinom 5y ago
    I have seen hiking path way near water made from recycle plastic maybe 10+ years ago. Don't remember where now. Love to go back and check the durability of them after all these years. Curious about the cost also.
    - nerdponx 5y ago
      I used to live in an area where several dilapidated wooden paths were replaced with this tuff. I believe the main benefit was that they were supposed to never rot or warp, meaning that their lifetime mainentance cost was significantly lower than wood. I think for the most part they've all held up over 10+ years, but I have no idea if they've been leeching microplastics into the local wetlands.
sergeykish 5y ago
88% microplastics comes from car tyres [1]. Check out other categories, it's about abrasion, like shoe soles, plastic textiles. The real issue — plastic is cheap, manufacturing is expensive. As result marketplace is full of fashion items [2]. [1] https://www.ecofario.eco/en/microplastics https://www.ecofario.eco/en/microplastics [2] https://bazar.preciousplastic.com/products/ https://bazar.preciousplastic.com/products/

KozmoNau7 5y ago

It's a very bad idea to use recycled plastic for anything that will face abrasion, harsh temperatures or harsh chemicals, or a combination. Or any plastic really, microplastics don't care about which generation recycling your plastic has been through. Obviously the most important thing to do is to reduce how much plastic is produced in the first place. Plastic recycling doesn't solve the microplastic issue, it arguably makes it worse, so any scrap plastic should be responsibly burned for energy and that energy should go towards production using materials that aren't plastic. Use plastic only for products where the use of plastic is necessary for some critical functionality, and cannot be replaced with sustainable, biodegradable, properly recyclable materials. And only for products that are meant to last a long time, all single use and disposable plastic (such as packaging) needs to disappear ASAP.

bottled_poe 5y ago
Seems like a strange jump from “recycling is bad” to “we should burn plastic for energy”.
- KozmoNau7 5y ago
  Then you misunderstand. Recycling is good wherever and whenever reducing or reusing is not possible. Especially aluminum recycling (and most other metal recycling) is a win-win, both when looking at energy expenditure and environmental impact from mining. Plastic recycling doesn't work currently. There are too many mutually incompatible types, and sorting is painfully manual and slow, it's exceedingly hard to automate and make efficient. A lot of plastic types cannot be reformed or remolded at all, so the only use for them is to be ground up and used as filler material. All of this plastic processing just further exacerbates the microplastic problem. The further you grind down and reuse plastic, the worse the end product becomes and the more it sheds microplastic when used or exposed to abrasion, UV light and other forms of wear and tear. So I propose that we cut the head off the beast, strongly curtail plastic production and try to responsibly get rid of the microplastic-generating plastic we already have. Incineration -when done correctly- is a responsible way of disposal that also generates power. We already burn dioxins and many other harmful compounds to dispose of them safely and with minimal environmental impact, if done correctly.

harimau777 5y ago

I am definitely not an expert, but I wonder if it would be viable to recycle plastic into bricks for construction? It seems like wear would be less of an issue and the bulk properties of the resulting plastic would be emphasized.

NortySpock 5y ago
One application I did see Precious Plastic recommending was producing long extruded plastic beams like 4x4 lumber. No idea how strong the beam was though.
- tkinom 5y ago
  I have seen hiking path way near water made from recycle plastic maybe 10+ years ago. Don't remember where now. Love to go back and check the durability of them after all these years. Curious about the cost also.
  - nerdponx 5y ago
    I used to live in an area where several dilapidated wooden paths were replaced with this tuff. I believe the main benefit was that they were supposed to never rot or warp, meaning that their lifetime mainentance cost was significantly lower than wood. I think for the most part they've all held up over 10+ years, but I have no idea if they've been leeching microplastics into the local wetlands.

sergeykish 5y ago

88% microplastics comes from car tyres [1]. Check out other categories, it's about abrasion, like shoe soles, plastic textiles. The real issue — plastic is cheap, manufacturing is expensive. As result marketplace is full of fashion items [2]. [1] https://www.ecofario.eco/en/microplastics https://www.ecofario.eco/en/microplastics [2] https://bazar.preciousplastic.com/products/ https://bazar.preciousplastic.com/products/