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New plant-based plastics can be chemically recycled with near-perfect efficiency

academictimes.com

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Re: New plant-based plastics can be chemically recycled with near-perfect efficiency

#231

Post by ehnto »

stjohnswarts wrote: post #229
objektif wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is your point? If we are not running out of land should we start dumping plastic all over the place?

Modern landfill techniques are actually quite scientific and regulated. It's not as bad as the far left portrays. We do need to encourage more reusable things though. Plastic and aluminum can be almost 100% recycled. Plastic is much much lower. It will take more than one solution to fix the problem. I think composting is a pipe dream though unless someone figures out how to quickly do it on a very large scale. It's f…

Composting is only a pipe-dream for plastic because so few councils have a plastics composting process in place. No one was ever expected to compost PLA at home, and it's definitely just a feel-good exercise right now. Most PLA cups end up in landfill because they can't go to the normal recylcing plants.

Re: New plant-based plastics can be chemically recycled with near-perfect efficiency

#232

Post by elil17 »

stjohnswarts wrote: post #228
spookthesunset wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is amazing how much stuff you can compost. In my armchair quarterback opinion compost everything you can and recycle only metal. If people are pissed about how much stuff they are throwing into the trash... go look at the incredible amount of packaging material that gets thrown out....

How many people have backyards to compost stuff and the time to do it? 25%?

Backyard composting piles aren't really the solution in my opinion (they're great if you can do them, but few people ever will). We need municipal compost pickup.

My city actually has this - we were all given bright green compost bins and instructions for composting. The amazing thing about municipal composting is that they can handle way more types of food scraps (e.g. bones and fruit pits) than backyard composting bins. They come pick it up every week just like the trash and recycling.

Unfortunately, it seems like I'm one of two or three people on my street who compost my food scraps every week. I think composting should really be easier for people to figure out than recycling - it's so simple to know what you should and should not compost (as it says on the front of every green bin, "If it grows, it goes").

Re: New plant-based plastics can be chemically recycled with near-perfect efficiency

#233

Post by DenisM »

eggsmediumrare wrote: post #167
DenisM wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The countries which are the most preoccupied with recycling plastics, such as the US, are also the least likely to throw they trash into the ocean. Plastic bags do no harm buried in the landfill, and we’re not running out of land.

We are running out of land. I don't disagree with your point that landfill space isn't "a problem." But if you zoom out and look at inefficient land use more generally (like fields for feed corn), you find that there is for all intents and purposes no nature left in many of the places we occupy.

A landfill 1x1x1 km can contain the entire waste the US produces in 3 years. A small patch of land 100x100 km has enough space to keep trash for 30,000 years.

https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-...

Re: New plant-based plastics can be chemically recycled with near-perfect efficiency

#234

Post by ricardobayes »

oblio wrote: post #200
tuwtuwtuwtuw wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How much does a plastic bag cost where you are? Here in Sweden there's a tax on it and a single bag can cost 7 SEK (USD 0.85).

It's still too low. A plastic bag can be quite sturdy, it can be transparent so you can easily see what's inside, it's light, it folds well, is resistant to humidity, etc. If you'd give a plastic bag to someone from the 18th century they'd cherish it. We need to make it so the average person actually cares about buying a bag. Something like €2 with a return value of €1. Or anything that makes you treat it like you'd…

Yes well here in Spain bags are almost automatically handed out. And the cashier is personally offended if you say you don't need the bag.

Re: New plant-based plastics can be chemically recycled with near-perfect efficiency

#235

Post by DenisM »

Thiez wrote: post #209
DenisM wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Biodegrading plastic releases CO2, landfill-buried plastic does not. Apart from that, what problem are you trying to solve with this innovation?

If the biodegradable plastic isn't made of oil but something we grow, then it would still be CO2 neutral.

So is petroleum-derived plastic buried in the landfill.

In fact bio-derived plastic buried in the landfill is carbon-negative and should be encourged!

Re: New plant-based plastics can be chemically recycled with near-perfect efficiency

#236

Post by DenisM »

jounker wrote: post #165
DenisM wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The countries which are the most preoccupied with recycling plastics, such as the US, are also the least likely to throw they trash into the ocean. Plastic bags do no harm buried in the landfill, and we’re not running out of land.

I see plastic bags on the beach. I walk along the creeks nearby, and I see plastic bags and plastic garbage. I go for a hike in the sierras, and I find plastic garbage. I bike along the roads in town, and I see plastic bags in the gutter. I look down the incline beside the road and there are plastic bags in the trees. Is the USA as bad as Morocco? No. Is plastic waste a problem? Yes.

Where do you live? In the Pacific Northwest I see nothing of the sort, the only nuisance is aluminum beer cans.

Re: New plant-based plastics can be chemically recycled with near-perfect efficiency

#237

Post by DenisM »

beowulfey wrote: post #225
DenisM wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The countries which are the most preoccupied with recycling plastics, such as the US, are also the least likely to throw they trash into the ocean. Plastic bags do no harm buried in the landfill, and we’re not running out of land.

Assuming that we can keep burying it forever is not a healthy attitude. People used to assume that dumping sewage in the streets was just fine, but it led to cholera outbreaks [1]. There was no push to change that until it became a major problem and something had to be done. Sure, we can assume burying plastic will be a solution forever. But is it not better to avoid risking the event where it suddenly is a problem,…

> Assuming that we can keep burying it forever is not a healthy attitude.

Yes it is. Just because some decision made in the past is wrong doesn't mean a different decision made in the present is also wrong. There is no harm to landfill, and we know it quite well by now.

Re: New plant-based plastics can be chemically recycled with near-perfect efficiency

#238

Post by DenisM »

mqrs wrote: post #168
DenisM wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The countries which are the most preoccupied with recycling plastics, such as the US, are also the least likely to throw they trash into the ocean. Plastic bags do no harm buried in the landfill, and we’re not running out of land.

Are we really supposed to be thinking of all currently available land as being flexibly provisioned for landfills.

A 1x1x1 km landfill (they are actually holes in the ground) can contain the entire waste of the US for three years. How many of those can we hide in the western US without anyone ever noticing? Howa bout a 100x100 km patch, that will hold 30,000 years worth of trash. Meanwhile we can focus our energy on the only problem that really matter - the climate problem.

Re: New plant-based plastics can be chemically recycled with near-perfect efficiency

#239

Post by DenisM »

mping wrote: post #203
DenisM wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The countries which are the most preoccupied with recycling plastics, such as the US, are also the least likely to throw they trash into the ocean. Plastic bags do no harm buried in the landfill, and we’re not running out of land.

Developed countries outsource plasti garbage handling to other less developed nations that are happy to take care of it for a fee.

I don't think that happens anymore?

Re: New plant-based plastics can be chemically recycled with near-perfect efficiency

#240

Post by DenisM »

acdha wrote: post #215
DenisM wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The countries which are the most preoccupied with recycling plastics, such as the US, are also the least likely to throw they trash into the ocean. Plastic bags do no harm buried in the landfill, and we’re not running out of land.

You’re making some big assumptions: not intentionally dumping into the ocean doesn’t mean that they don’t end up there, and there are other places than the ocean of concern. Where I live in the DC area, plastic bags were about a third of the trash found in rivers, storm drains, etc. and in addition to impact on animals that caused problems for all kinds water processing facilities due to clogs. After a bag tax was pa…

That's good to know. Do you have a source handy?
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