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Most of the toothbrushes we've owned in our lives still exist. What is the cost of having them around still? I don't know, but I know it wasn't factored in at a
by rvense 2y ago
Most of the toothbrushes we've owned in our lives still exist. What is the cost of having them around still? I don't know, but I know it wasn't factored in at all when we bought them.
- HPsquared 2y agoReally it depends where they end up. If you drop them on the street, that incurs a greater cost than landfill, which probably is less economic than incineration (plastic contains a lot of energy).
- xp84 2y agoHonest question (no agenda): How does burning plastic interact with the environment in terms of producing pollution and/or CO2, I guess compared with putting it in a landfill? I'm fine with stipulations like using some kind of (economically-viable) filter on the resulting smoke. All that I "know" about it is only based on vibes so that's why I'm asking.
- HPsquared 2y agoI do know PVC can produce dioxin if the combustion isn't exactly right. Definitely there are some pitfalls with incinerating plastic! They could in theory capture the CO2 but nobody seems to do that. Probably not economical. It's basically an alternative to burning fossil fuel, still not great for the environment but at least you're not digging it up and it's disposed of. Recycling works okay for some plastics e.g PET.
- dTal 2y agoPlastic is made from fossil fuels. You are digging it up. It's not an alternative, it's just a longer way around.
- HPsquared 2y agoTaking a bunch of waste plastic and burning it does not cause a proportional increase in oil/gas extraction. The partial derivative is going to be pretty low.
- dTal 2y agoHuh? It's already extracted. Burning it causes a precisely proportional increase in the amount of fossil carbon that ends up in the atmosphere. It is exactly the same environmentally as burning gasoline, except even dirtier. Better to bury it. Put it back in the ground, where it came from.