Humans have made 8.3bn tons of plastic since 1950
theguardian.com
Humans have made 8.3bn tons of plastic since 1950
1–10 of 45 posts
Re: Humans have made 8.3bn tons of plastic since 1950
#2This underscores the sadness in burning oil. Plastics allow us to do and make so many useful things. We should be stockpiling oil for this sort of use and only burning it when no other option exists.
Re: Humans have made 8.3bn tons of plastic since 1950
#3If my calculations are correct and assuming an average plastic density of 1.15g/cm³[1] that's 7.2 billion cubic meters of plastic.
If you pressed all of that into a solid cube it'd be 1.9km along each side. More than twice as tall as Burj Khalifa.
[1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/595434/plastic-materials...
Re: Humans have made 8.3bn tons of plastic since 1950
#4If my calculations are correct and assuming an average plastic density of 1.15g/cm³[1] that's 7.2 billion cubic meters of plastic. If you pressed all of that into a solid cube it'd be 1.9km along each side. More than twice as tall as Burj Khalifa. [1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/595434/plastic-materials...
That just...doesn't seem like that much? There are individual disused mines where more earth than that has been removed. Put all that plastic back into one of those mines, and solve 70 years worth of your landfill problem.
Re: Humans have made 8.3bn tons of plastic since 1950
#5This underscores the sadness in burning oil. Plastics allow us to do and make so many useful things. We should be stockpiling oil for this sort of use and only burning it when no other option exists.
We can make plastics from other raw materials, plants included. Interestingly, bioplastics can be mfg with CO2.
Re: Humans have made 8.3bn tons of plastic since 1950
#6Missing from most environmental conversation is how much you can improve your life avoiding polluting things. What you replace packaged food, flying, and such with is fresh fruits and vegetables and local community. You learn that while one flight will bring you closer to a distant loved one, flying in general is what led to your "community" living where you can't see each other.
When I point out that you, the reader, can make a difference, this community usually responds that you can't, that only government action will make a difference or something like that. That's where government action comes from. Besides, if it improves your life, you personally benefit from reducing your consumption anyway.
The article's most important point I saw was that recycling hasn't shown to reduce production of virgin material. Without reducing production, reusing and recycling only shuffle plastic around. Burning it creates dioxin and other pollution. My podcast episode 183 describes how reusing and recycling are only tactical. Reduction is strategic http://joshuaspodek.com/guests/rants-raves-monologues-volume....
However snarky and cynical people here can be -- I'm sure they consider themselves practical and realist -- if avoiding buying plastic will improve your life and reduce demand, why not do it anyway. Besides it will lead others to change and can lead to politicians realizing voters want regulation. Legislators and heads of companies are people too and will change when people around them do, which is you and me.
Re: Humans have made 8.3bn tons of plastic since 1950
#7If my calculations are correct and assuming an average plastic density of 1.15g/cm³[1] that's 7.2 billion cubic meters of plastic. If you pressed all of that into a solid cube it'd be 1.9km along each side. More than twice as tall as Burj Khalifa. [1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/595434/plastic-materials...
That just...doesn't seem like that much? There are individual disused mines where more earth than that has been removed. Put all that plastic back into one of those mines, and solve 70 years worth of your landfill problem.
The problem isn't the volume. It's the distribution.
Some of it is in your bloodstream. And your children's, messing with your and their endocrine systems, among other problems. Some of it is in the bellies animals around the world. How do you plan to get it?
We can't beat the laws of thermodynamics. The stuff is out there and dispersing more.
Re: Humans have made 8.3bn tons of plastic since 1950
#8If my calculations are correct and assuming an average plastic density of 1.15g/cm³[1] that's 7.2 billion cubic meters of plastic. If you pressed all of that into a solid cube it'd be 1.9km along each side. More than twice as tall as Burj Khalifa. [1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/595434/plastic-materials...
That just...doesn't seem like that much? There are individual disused mines where more earth than that has been removed. Put all that plastic back into one of those mines, and solve 70 years worth of your landfill problem.
It's one or two cubic meters per person.
Re: Humans have made 8.3bn tons of plastic since 1950
#9This underscores the sadness in burning oil. Plastics allow us to do and make so many useful things. We should be stockpiling oil for this sort of use and only burning it when no other option exists.
We can make plastics from other raw materials, plants included. Interestingly, bioplastics can be mfg with CO2.
Very cool! Just another reason I love plants.
Re: Humans have made 8.3bn tons of plastic since 1950
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
That just...doesn't seem like that much? There are individual disused mines where more earth than that has been removed. Put all that plastic back into one of those mines, and solve 70 years worth of your landfill problem.
The problem isn't the volume. It's the distribution. Some of it is in your bloodstream. And your children's, messing with your and their endocrine systems, among other problems. Some of it is in the bellies animals around the world. How do you plan to get it? We can't beat the laws of thermodynamics. The stuff is out there and dispersing more.
You had me until thermodynamics. We're obviously not getting every substance in our bloodstream like we are with plastics so I don't think thermodynamics is the issue here.