Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

cultureicon t1_ircmro3 wrote

This also happens billions of times a day when we run a load of laundry with our plastic clothes. I mean we're literally wearing and breathing in microplastics from our clothes, what difference does sewer pipe repair make?

81

ReignDelay t1_ircpisk wrote

“What’s so bad about it? We already do it” is a pretty pessimistic take — it’s a matter of “We want less microplastics in the most precious resource on this planet because we’re only starting to see the side effects of these practices before doing the research required to send it to production and implementing said practices.”

27

1imeanwhatisay1 t1_ircyoxt wrote

> What’s so bad about it? We already do it” is a pretty pessimistic take

Not pessimistic at all. It's realistic. We have a finite amount of money and time to make plastic problems better. To make up numbers for an example, if the total amount of microplastics put in the air each year is 1 trillion bits, and if cutting sewer pipes adds 47 bits per year, then saying "What's so bad about it" is actually saying "We have far greater issues to spend our money and time on." and it protects you from wasting that time and money.

21

Banshu t1_ircr13u wrote

Where do you think the water goes once youre done washing your clothes in it? It doesnt dissapear. They are saying there are more likely much more dangerous polutant sources that should be considered before we stop repairing water line.

18

cultureicon t1_ircs1ew wrote

I'll admit I didn't read the study because its paywalled and the preview gives absolutely zero useful information.

If the goal is to reduce microplastics in the environment all of these researchers should immediately pivot to researching alternatives to plastic tires, and find a way to convince the world to move away from synthetic fibers.

In other words if they managed to stop this sewer practice they would reduce microplastics by .001% (or whatever the study claims it is)

9

AngryT-Rex t1_irctt8q wrote

It's a question of scale - there might be one sewer pipe repair per person per... decade, I'd guess? Actually probably way less, but let's stick with per decade.

Whereas there is one load of laundry per person per... I'm guessing per week-ish? And this probably pales in comparison to tires and brake pads.

So laundry is done something like 500x more often. Sure it's great to study everything, but it's also important to keep in mind what is significant and widespread, and what is relatively minor.

4

etds3 t1_irek6s6 wrote

I agree, but I also think there are much bigger pollution sources with much easier solutions than this.

2

Bad_Muh_fuuuuuucka t1_ircofxg wrote

There’s plastic in my clothes?

5

photar12 t1_ircoxyk wrote

Polyester is the most common textile used for clothes. It is a type of plastic created from petroleum.

25

AbsolutGuacaholic t1_ircpwz8 wrote

I hang dry anything with synthetics. It dries fast and doesn't get as crispy as hang dried cotton.

3

cornylifedetermined t1_ircs22h wrote

But you still washed it. That water has to go somewhere.

15

AbsolutGuacaholic t1_ird74xc wrote

Oh ya, forgot about that. I wonder which removes the most material, washing or drying?

2

xmnstr t1_irea6wu wrote

Washing. It can also be easily avoided with filters, but for some reason they're not used.

2