New polymer additive could revolutionize plastics recycling
sciencedaily.com
New polymer additive could revolutionize plastics recycling
1–10 of 41 posts
Re: New polymer additive could revolutionize plastics recycling
#2> "Only 2 percent of the 78 million tons of manufactured plastics are currently recycled"
Is there any info/stats on what happens to the rest?
Re: New polymer additive could revolutionize plastics recycling
#3Is the resultant polymer recyclable?
Re: New polymer additive could revolutionize plastics recycling
#4> "Only 2 percent of the 78 million tons of manufactured plastics are currently recycled" Is there any info/stats on what happens to the rest?
What happens to the rest is mentioned in the article as well.
Re: New polymer additive could revolutionize plastics recycling
#5> "Only 2 percent of the 78 million tons of manufactured plastics are currently recycled" Is there any info/stats on what happens to the rest?
"Sadly, nearly a third is leaked into the environment, around 14 percent is used in incineration and/or energy recovery, and a whopping 40 percent winds up in landfills."
It's in the second paragaph.
Re: New polymer additive could revolutionize plastics recycling
#6> "Only 2 percent of the 78 million tons of manufactured plastics are currently recycled" Is there any info/stats on what happens to the rest?
What happens to the rest is mentioned in the article as well.
From the article:
2% recycled
33% lost
40% landfil
14% incinerated
89% total?
Re: New polymer additive could revolutionize plastics recycling
#7Re: New polymer additive could revolutionize plastics recycling
#8by definition plastics are recycled crude oil, they'd only end up burned if not turned into plastic.
the way we recycle is still broken, we separate it from our garbage thinking it'll be recycled but it's still burned.
Re: New polymer additive could revolutionize plastics recycling
#9For our personal behavior, let's remember than reducing consumption reduces pollution more than reusing, which reduces pollution more than recycling. By the time you're relying on recycling, you've already polluted a lot more than you needed to, all the more so at the poor efficiency the article reports.
If you don't create the plastic bottle you don't have to figure out how to undo its pollution.
We probably can't avoid all plastic use, but we're orders of magnitude above minimal use, considering plastic didn't exist for most of human history, and most current use doesn't improve anyone's quality of life.
Re: New polymer additive could revolutionize plastics recycling
#10For our personal behavior, let's remember than reducing consumption reduces pollution more than reusing, which reduces pollution more than recycling. By the time you're relying on recycling, you've already polluted a lot more than you needed to, all the more so at the poor efficiency the article reports. If you don't create the plastic bottle you don't have to figure out how to undo its pollution. We probably can't a…
From the final paragraph of the article:
"If you could make a milk jug with 30 percent less material because it's mechanically better, think of the sustainability of that," he said. "You're using less plastic, less oil, you have less stuff to recycle, you have a lighter product that uses less fossil fuel to move it."
In effect this could help to reduce consumption as you suggest (and as I agree).