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It makes no difference to the atmosphere whether you're burning oil or plastics made out of oil. It's better to not burn oil at all!

escape_goat 5y ago
This is a somewhat blinkered perspective. It's true in a sense, but the emissions can be offset by not burning some oil that's in the ground not causing any problems. In the meantime, it is an optimal way of getting rid of huge categories of toxic or otherwise intransigent waste that will have harmful effects if they are not removed from the biosphere.
- saddlerustle 5y ago
  But carbon in the atmosphere has a much worse effect on the biosphere than plastics in a landfill.
  - escape_goat 5y ago
    This is a false assertion. There is always carbon in the atmosphere and there should always be carbon in the atmosphere. The only thing that has a negative impact is when the total amount of carbon is excessive. "Plastics in a landfill" are poorly and temporarily sequestered and are a potential source of future groundwater contamination.
    - saddlerustle 5y ago
      It’s very well established that the current amount of carbon is the atmosphere is excessive.
      - escape_goat 5y ago
        Yes. That was not what you claimed and it does not imply that your argument is correct, for reasons that I feel I've spelt out fairly patiently. You are welcome to remain opposed to the incineration of plastic waste, but I feel that your reasoning suffers from tunnel vision.
nostromo 5y ago
The cement plant was using coal and would continue to do so without the recycled plastic. Saying, “just don’t make cement” isn’t a serious answer.
- 8note 5y ago
  Make significantly less cement could be an answer though. If we design structures to last much longer, we don't need to keep replacing them
samstave 5y ago
I've always wondered how a better filter could be for factory emissions, specifically, if you could pipe the emissions to come out of the bottom of a giant pond, filled with water that will capture a lot of the particulate as it aerates up through the water? and then treat the water the same way you would normally Like if the bottom of the pond was filled with layers of activated charcoal, aerogel pellets (aerogel is known to collect heavy metals pretty efficiently... and then sand. A reverse water filter basically.

escape_goat 5y ago

This is a somewhat blinkered perspective. It's true in a sense, but the emissions can be offset by not burning some oil that's in the ground not causing any problems. In the meantime, it is an optimal way of getting rid of huge categories of toxic or otherwise intransigent waste that will have harmful effects if they are not removed from the biosphere.

saddlerustle 5y ago
But carbon in the atmosphere has a much worse effect on the biosphere than plastics in a landfill.
- escape_goat 5y ago
  This is a false assertion. There is always carbon in the atmosphere and there should always be carbon in the atmosphere. The only thing that has a negative impact is when the total amount of carbon is excessive. "Plastics in a landfill" are poorly and temporarily sequestered and are a potential source of future groundwater contamination.
  - saddlerustle 5y ago
    It’s very well established that the current amount of carbon is the atmosphere is excessive.
    - escape_goat 5y ago
      Yes. That was not what you claimed and it does not imply that your argument is correct, for reasons that I feel I've spelt out fairly patiently. You are welcome to remain opposed to the incineration of plastic waste, but I feel that your reasoning suffers from tunnel vision.

nostromo 5y ago

The cement plant was using coal and would continue to do so without the recycled plastic. Saying, “just don’t make cement” isn’t a serious answer.

8note 5y ago
Make significantly less cement could be an answer though. If we design structures to last much longer, we don't need to keep replacing them

samstave 5y ago

I've always wondered how a better filter could be for factory emissions, specifically, if you could pipe the emissions to come out of the bottom of a giant pond, filled with water that will capture a lot of the particulate as it aerates up through the water? and then treat the water the same way you would normally Like if the bottom of the pond was filled with layers of activated charcoal, aerogel pellets (aerogel is known to collect heavy metals pretty efficiently... and then sand. A reverse water filter basically.