3 ms·

The Anthropocene will be marked by the plastic-rich strata.

xattt 5y ago
Also a fossil record of chicken bones! (1) https://www.newscientist.com/article/2187838-when-humans-are-wiped-from-earth-the-chicken-bones-will-remain/amp/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/2187838-when-humans-are...
Cthulhu_ 5y ago
I'm sure at some point down the line, a future generation can use 'old' plastic a a resource. I'm of the (amateur) opinion that plastic should be separated out by type, then stored / sequestered until it can be used as a raw material again, instead of dumped or incinerated as it is now. Of course, this will take a lot of storage space and logistics, and at the moment it's not cost-effective because plastic is so cheap to produce, but at the same time, I (again as an amateur) see it as a long-term investment.
- dwighttk 5y ago
  Don’t forget cleaned
- SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
  Up to a point, but a lot of it is already broken down into microparticles and distributed across the surface of the earth. I mean, _all_ of the surface of the Earth - from deep sea bed (1) to beaches (2) to mountains (3) to the Arctic (4). We're decades late with what you're suggesting. The "long-term investment" did not happen. There is no conceivable way to collect it all up now, and it's in the fossil record for the long term. 1) https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/30/microplastics-found-in-greater-quantities-than-ever-before-on-seabed-currents-hotspots https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/30/micropla... 2) https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2021/april/over-four-billion-plastic-particles-beach-sand-of-remote-island.html https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2021/april/over-four-bil... 3) https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/nov/20/microplastic-pollution-found-near-summit-of-mount-everest https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/nov/20/micropla... 4) https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/remote-arctic-contains-more-plastic-than-most-places-on-earth https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/remote-ar...

Also a fossil record of chicken bones! (1) https://www.newscientist.com/article/2187838-when-humans-are-wiped-from-earth-the-chicken-bones-will-remain/amp/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/2187838-when-humans-are...

Cthulhu_ 5y ago

I'm sure at some point down the line, a future generation can use 'old' plastic a a resource. I'm of the (amateur) opinion that plastic should be separated out by type, then stored / sequestered until it can be used as a raw material again, instead of dumped or incinerated as it is now. Of course, this will take a lot of storage space and logistics, and at the moment it's not cost-effective because plastic is so cheap to produce, but at the same time, I (again as an amateur) see it as a long-term investment.

dwighttk 5y ago
Don’t forget cleaned
SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
Up to a point, but a lot of it is already broken down into microparticles and distributed across the surface of the earth. I mean, _all_ of the surface of the Earth - from deep sea bed (1) to beaches (2) to mountains (3) to the Arctic (4). We're decades late with what you're suggesting. The "long-term investment" did not happen. There is no conceivable way to collect it all up now, and it's in the fossil record for the long term. 1) https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/30/microplastics-found-in-greater-quantities-than-ever-before-on-seabed-currents-hotspots https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/30/micropla... 2) https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2021/april/over-four-billion-plastic-particles-beach-sand-of-remote-island.html https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2021/april/over-four-bil... 3) https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/nov/20/microplastic-pollution-found-near-summit-of-mount-everest https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/nov/20/micropla... 4) https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/remote-arctic-contains-more-plastic-than-most-places-on-earth https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/remote-ar...