Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

tdaddybxl t1_j69p3q4 wrote

Reply to comment by -Ch4s3- in UV light from the sun slowly breaks down plastics on the ocean’s surfaces: researchers calculate that about two percent of visibly floating plastic may disappear from the ocean surface in this way each year by giuliomagnifico

True, but we can and should ban most single use plastics.

27

-Ch4s3- t1_j69qg55 wrote

That rolls up medical plastics, chemical spray bottles, aluminum can liners, bandages, cling wrap, straws the people with mobility issues need, and so on. Plastic is basically a CO2 sink if it’s buried, may as well just do that.

−1

GruntBlender t1_j69r20y wrote

Safest way to dispose of it is incineration tho. Anything else will leech microplastics and plasticisers into the environment.

4

pzerr t1_j6a2n4k wrote

Which turns it into complete C02.

5

TrueRepose t1_j6bhhwp wrote

Which can then be transformed into carbon and breathable air :)

1

mxemec t1_j6igzon wrote

At least pyrolysis techniques can convert it into fuel beforehand.

1

-Ch4s3- t1_j6a3yq7 wrote

Garbage disposal uses lined and heavily monitored sites. It’s a solved problem.

−3

mynextthroway t1_j6dgvr7 wrote

I wouldn't say plastic is a CO2 sink. Being a sink makes it sound like CO2 was pulled from the air to make the plastic, and then it was buried. Burying plastic just keeps it from causing a lot of trouble that burning it or dumping in the ocean causes.

2

-Ch4s3- t1_j6dyi5c wrote

Well weathering of plastic will release some CO2.

What I mean really is that plastic is made from a waste product and very little CO2 is emitted in its production. It displaces more carbon intensive material use, and when its buried any carbon it contains is sequestered. It’s a great material that way if properly disposed of.

1

mynextthroway t1_j6e2q0p wrote

Properly disposed is the key, but recycling is not the amazing solution plastic/oil companies made it out to be. Do you want to see a waste of plastic? Look at dollar stores, the seasonal section of Target, Wal-mart, etc. Nearly all of it is useless or unneeded. Single use plastic going to countries that can't/wont handle the waste properly is a problem for oceanic plastic.

1

-Ch4s3- t1_j6e3tkj wrote

I believe I’ve been saying it should be buried. Moreover SE Asian countries aren’t really buying US and European plastic recycling materials anymore so a lot of it is actually getting landfilled again. Insofar as it all goes in a big hole in the ground it hardly matters.

Making sure it doesn’t end up in waterways seems like the correct focus to me. I don’t really have a lot interest in trying to police people’s preferences. Just handle the waste stream correctly and clamp down on littering.

2

gimme_alt_girls t1_j6acuvq wrote

Yeah no. Micro plastics shed off into everything. Congrats, you just enriched the soil

−3

-Ch4s3- t1_j6add1c wrote

They actually don’t shed off of everything, specially harder plastics.

4

Protean_Protein t1_j69t7if wrote

One exception might be those that are used on some fresh fruits and vegetables. Like, thin-film sealed plastic can make a cucumber last far longer than without it. But obviously we should also be trying to figure out how to deal with that kind of plastic waste in better ways too.

−9

coffeesub206 t1_j69xtfj wrote

These plastics can be made recyclable, so the issue is really how much plastic isnt recyclable and is ending up in the ocean

6

Protean_Protein t1_j69zmoe wrote

In the Pacific, it’s mostly Asian (Chinese, Indian, Japanese) fishing gear.

1

coffeesub206 t1_j69zsvu wrote

You were specifically talking about thin-film plastics in your comment. Not fishing gear.

3

mynextthroway t1_j6dirge wrote

Plastic is technically recyclable, but practically, it's not. Food and medical plastic can not use recycled plastic ( recycled plastic is not sterile). That's a huge part of the plastic market. There are a lot of different plastics in the market. Mixing the types of plastic makes it unrecyclable. Colored plastic of the same type can not be mixed. Most of this can be solved with manual sorting, but that is labor intensive (expensive), and the end goal is not to recycle the plastic waste stream, but to cherry pick the stream as it feeds into the incinerator.

1