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U.S. generates more plastic trash than any other nation, report finds (2020)

nationalgeographic.com

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Re: U.S. generates more plastic trash than any other nation, report finds (2020)

#261

Post by nate_meurer »

IfOnlyYouKnew wrote: post #108
MattGaiser wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is incineration of plastic really better for the environment than a landfill? And would the ash not go to a landfill of sorts?

A modern plant turns plastic into CO_2, electricity, and, often, residential heat. So, yes, that's preferable. Among the sheer ugliness and wastefulness of landfills, burning at high temperature avoids the toxic intermediates plastics give off when degrading in nature, which landfills struggle to contain. Ash is, by definition, inert. It is the remaining mass that does not chemically react even under extreme heat. It…

Incinerator ash and fume often has a very high concentration of heavy metals, comparable to coal ash. Definitely not harmless.

You're correct that sufficient incineration temperatures ensure the complete destruction of organic intermediaries, such as dioxins.

Re: U.S. generates more plastic trash than any other nation, report finds (2020)

#262

Post by [deleted] »

andrewmcwatters wrote: post #207
yaitsyaboi wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even setting aside the importance of principles, every spoon OP doesn't use is a spoon that doesn't end up in a landfill.

And my point is that it's like saying I didn't fill up my tank with gas today: it didn't stop oil refineries from producing gasoline.

[deleted]

Re: U.S. generates more plastic trash than any other nation, report finds (2020)

#263

Post by rixed »

vages wrote: post #209
throwawayboise wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's also that it's just easier to go to Walmart or Target (or Amazon) and buy one and be done with it, than to spend the time hunting around garage sales or thrift stores for something they might not have. Unless you really need to save $10, time is way more valuable than money.

According to Norwegian consumer research, people who save those ten dollars usually spend them on something else (like a travel or another product), so the environmental gain from buying used stuff is not a lot. Unless people are willing to earn a little less, buttons used is not a solution for an individual’s environmental footprint.

If you spend only a fraction of your budget on new stuff, how is it not a gain?

Re: U.S. generates more plastic trash than any other nation, report finds (2020)

#264

Post by raxxorrax »

jedberg wrote: post #27

This problem won't get fixed without legislation. Single use plastic is cheaper, so of course companies will use that if they can. Most people don't have the income to support "voting with their wallet", and even those who do don't always have the option. IF the best solution out there happens to use single use plastic, you're not going to opt for a worse solution just because it doesn't. And even if one company care…

If plastics is recycled, it would have a better ecologic balance. Exchanging it with paper will also damage the environment further. It is only better if the plastic remains in the environment.

The problem is food packaging. Even if you use paper here, it often is coated with plastic anyway, any diary product for example.

Re: U.S. generates more plastic trash than any other nation, report finds (2020)

#265

Post by TrispusAttucks »

carstenhag wrote: post #86
im_down_w_otp wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Single use stuff seems easy enough to fix. What seems less obvious to me is what I experienced when shopping for a potty chair for our youngest there were dozens of options at just a single store for a big hunk of plastic that's only useful for a period of months. We ended up not buying one at all. I had a similar experience the last time I was at CES and was deep into the "South Hall" where there's kiosk after displ…

The way most people in Germany would solve this (we need a potty for some months) is buying it 2nd/3rd/4th hand. Is that not common where you live (I guess USA)?

This happens where I am at in the US. Our family and friends pass children's items and clothes around. The same clothing item may have left and returned to us multiple times.

Re: U.S. generates more plastic trash than any other nation, report finds (2020)

#266

Post by raxxorrax »

rsynnott wrote: post #244
hereforphone wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You might be right, I don't argue against your theory. Do you believe China is motivated to accurately keep and report numbers on cases and deaths?

About as much as any other country; that is, quite a bit, because there’s little obvious gain from downplaying it, and if it came out that they were downplaying it that could cause internal anxiety and strife. Like, no-one is handing out large cash prizes for “least covid-y country”; there just aren’t great incentives to lie. And again, China has taken extremely aggressive, and very disruptive and expensive, measures…

> [...] there’s little obvious gain from downplaying it

Of course there is. It is to display competency for domestic audiences. A lot of autocracies didn't have a problem with COVID officially. I agree that it is a bad measurement though.

Re: U.S. generates more plastic trash than any other nation, report finds (2020)

#267

Post by Abimelex »

im_down_w_otp wrote: post #77
jedberg wrote: post #27

This problem won't get fixed without legislation. Single use plastic is cheaper, so of course companies will use that if they can. Most people don't have the income to support "voting with their wallet", and even those who do don't always have the option. IF the best solution out there happens to use single use plastic, you're not going to opt for a worse solution just because it doesn't. And even if one company care…

Single use stuff seems easy enough to fix. What seems less obvious to me is what I experienced when shopping for a potty chair for our youngest there were dozens of options at just a single store for a big hunk of plastic that's only useful for a period of months. We ended up not buying one at all. I had a similar experience the last time I was at CES and was deep into the "South Hall" where there's kiosk after displ…

When we are talking about plastic ending up in the oceans we also must not forget about fishing gear and everything related. This is making almost 50% of all plastic in the ocean.

Re: U.S. generates more plastic trash than any other nation, report finds (2020)

#268

Post by madaxe_again »

madaxe_again wrote: post #169
edoceo wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where is the "junk land"? Almost everywhere has animals that likely don't enjoy plastic.

Anywhere outside of a city centre, according to many. I live in a rural area. People drive out here from the city to dump their old appliances in the forests of this “junk land”. Almost every road corner has a pile of refrigerators and washing machines next to it. My current refrigerator was rescued from one of these impromptu landfills. Nothing at all wrong with it, just five years old, so it’s trash. Just because y…

Ok. I guess if you’re all of the view this is wrong, would you mind if I came and dumped stuff in your city apartment? It looks like junk to me.

Re: U.S. generates more plastic trash than any other nation, report finds (2020)

#269

Post by madaxe_again »

edoceo wrote: post #179
kortilla wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Much of Nevada is a lifeless desert. There is a reason it was chosen for nuclear bomb testing.

It's not lifeless. You can look it up but it's more fun to go out and see it for yourself. The desert out there is quite beautiful and there are loads of critters.

Yes, but those critters are a long way away and so they don’t really exist.

Re: U.S. generates more plastic trash than any other nation, report finds (2020)

#270

Post by CheezeIt »

nikisweeting wrote: post #254
CheezeIt wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We don’t ship our “trash”, distinguished from our recycling, to other countries.

Nah, the vast majority is trash to begin with or ends up as trash. Only a fraction ends up recycled.

Plastic bags don’t go in the recycling, they go in the trash bin.
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