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I sometimes help an organizations that monitors the health of a river, a couple of years ago they started buying plastic buoys because the ones made from metal
by is_true 4y ago
I sometimes help an organizations that monitors the health of a river, a couple of years ago they started buying plastic buoys because the ones made from metal were a bit more expensive.
- etrautmann 4y agoDoes that seem like a major environmental issue to you? Are they leaving those buoys as trash there? I’m not sure I understand the concern.
- justinclift 4y agoSounds like they're pointing out the double standard.
- etrautmann 4y agosure but it'd be penny-wise, pound foolish to hamper environmental research by eliminating the use of plastic components in research equipment. A few pieces of research equipment that are nominally retrieved are not going to be a major source of contamination no matter how you slice it. Dealing with environmental release of plastics is a major concern, but absolutism in this weird and focused domain accomplishes nothing useful and serves as a distraction from real solutions.
- csomar 4y agoThey’ll eventually end up as trash even if the team properly get rid of them. That and they can produce some micro plastic pollution too even if they are being recycled.
- carlosjobim 4y agoWhy would they end up as trash? Buoys are desirable, somebody would take them.
- AlecSchueler 4y agoThe supply chain favors new bouys. It's logistically simpler and more profitable. There is a surplus of all kinds of bouys, you can often see them repurposes for other uses in seaside towns but many just get dumped.
- is_true 4y agoPlastics are releasing "trash" all the time. And yes, they lose some buoys every year. The upside is that people don't try to steal the plastic buoys but they sometimes steal the stainless steel mounts I don't think is a big concern but it's funny considering they are scrutinizing what other organizations are releasing to the river