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Sweetleaf
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05 Nov 2017, 5:50 am

So I keep seeing things about plastic waste in the ocean, killing tons of animals and creating unsafe conditions for animals to live in....people are animals to so I am sure we're not entirely unaffected. Plastic is a f*****g problem....I feel horrible anytime I buy something contained in plastic...because I know there is a good chance I won't be able to find a place to recycle it and I will just contribute once again to plastic waste. I f*****g hate it everytime I open a new package or this or that there is always some plastic packaging...and its not like they have readily avialible recycling places that will take that kind of stuff. Like yes I throw stuff that should be recycled into garbage bins because I don't know where else to take it....and I hate it I feel like s**t anytime I have to throw a plastic bottle or a can into a garbage because I know it could be recycled. I mean this in itself could drive me insane, but I can't let it...I want to do something about it but not sure what I can do. Seriously though it's very disturbing to me...I mean hell we even have the technology and means to stop using plastic as a packaging medium...yet it is still used and still creating tons of harmful waste. Even celestial seasonings tea which is herbal tea with natural ingredients the boxes of tea still come wrapped in some plastic...I want to write a letter or something and ask them to find an alternative packaging I love their tea but the plastic on the boxes bothers me. I mean it is one thing to be aware of plastic waste, its another to try and eliminate it from your life.

Is anyone else here on the same page with this...I mean I've cared about this kind of thing since I was like 7 years old, and its only getting worse...where is the progress in biodegradable materials and ending oil dependency...those are the important issues.


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naturalplastic
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05 Nov 2017, 6:24 am

Those heartbreaking pics you see of sea animals getting strangled by plastic...that's one issue. The general problem of solid waste disposal is another issue.

As long as you put that piece of plastic wrap into any receptacle (recycle, or not) that's fine. Then that thing will presumably end up in the municipal waste system and get burned or buried or whatever. That's better than littering. If you just drop stuff on the ground outdoors (even if you're thousands of miles from any coast like in Colorado) it floats on the rain, and ends up in rivers, and finds its way to the ocean. And then it will drift around the surface for untold years (wood would get waterlogged and sink, fabric, or paper, would dissolve away, but plastic resists decay even on the sea).

So as long as you don't litter then ...don't beat up on yourself TOO much. Not littering is enough to save sea life.

But yeah- since the mid twentieth century the human race has been hell bent on pumping oil of the ground, and then turning that oil into plastic packaging that covers the planet above ground. Taking one geologic level out of the earth's crust, and turning it into a new geologic level higher up!

It would be nice if chemists could tweek the molecular structure of plastics so plastics do become biodegradible after a certain amount of time.



Sweetleaf
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05 Nov 2017, 6:33 am

naturalplastic wrote:
Those heartbreaking pics you see of sea animals getting strangled by plastic...that's one issue. The general problem of solid waste disposal is another issue.

As long as you put that piece of plastic wrap into any receptacle (recycle, or not) that's fine. Then that thing will presumably end up in the municipal waste system and get burned or buried or whatever. That's better than littering. If you just drop stuff on the ground outdoors (even if you're thousands of miles from any coast like in Colorado) it floats on the rain, and ends up in rivers, and finds its way to the ocean. And then it will drift around the surface for untold years (wood would get waterlogged and sink, fabric, or paper, would dissolve away, but plastic resists decay even on the sea).

So as long as you don't litter then ...don't beat up on yourself TOO much. Not littering is enough to save sea life.

But yeah- since the mid twentieth century the human race has been hell bent on pumping oil of the ground, and then turning that oil into plastic packaging that covers the planet above ground. Taking one geologic level out of the earth's crust, and turning it into a new geologic level higher up!

It would be nice if chemists could tweek the molecular structure of plastics so plastics do become biodegradible after a certain amount of time.


I certainly don't litter, lol I cringe anytime I throw a plastic bottle in a garbage rather than a plastic recycling receptacle. I also don't drop my cigarette butts on the ground always put them in the trash, or sometimes I only smoke half of one and put it out to save for later. But I am just worried that even plastic in a garbage can could potentially damage wildlife because I don't know where the stuff is taken or what regulations are in place to prevent the garbage from contaminating areas around landfills and such. But thing is plastic is not biodegradable, there are lots of biodegradable materials that could be used in place of plastic. It would essentially eliminate the problem...aside from having to collect the already existing plastic waste and recycling it into something else.


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leejosepho
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05 Nov 2017, 8:32 am

Littering causes many problems and I definitely do my best at trying to dispose of things properly, but the worst of the plastics problems are related to plastic micro-fibers, not bags or bottles...

Quote:
The scale of the world’s current micro plastics pollution problem can’t be overstated. Plastics, and more importantly their nearly invisible half-broken-down remnants, are now everywhere. They’re in the food you eat, the water you drink, and even often enough in the air you breathe.

94% Of US Tap Water Has Micro Plastic Fibers In It...
Google: plastics in water

To help stop that kind of pollution, we would have to stop washing our plastic-embedded clothing.


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techstepgenr8tion
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05 Nov 2017, 9:49 am

An interesting Wiki on the Great Pacific garbage patch, which is something that caught my attention a while back:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pac ... bage_patch


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Misslizard
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06 Nov 2017, 1:15 pm

The Earth has an amazing ability to heal itself,if we all recycled and limited plastic it would certainly make a huge difference.There are bacteria that are evolving to eat plastic,so if we reduced what we are tossing out now,cleaned up what's already out there,then we can hope for a cleaner healthier planet.
http://www.iflscience.com/environment/b ... to-oceans/


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The_Walrus
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06 Nov 2017, 2:26 pm

Aren't there municipal recycling collections where you live? Terrible if there aren't.

Governments need to take action to disincentivise excessive plastic use. Individuals and corporations should do the same, but it is governments who can have the biggest impact.



leejosepho
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06 Nov 2017, 3:14 pm

It is my understanding that aluminum is the only material that can actually be recycled profitably...and that means recycling can actually be worse than disposal in landfills. The ideal might be to eliminate disposables and return to re-usable (glass) bottles like we had about a half-century ago, but the cost of re-gearing for that would likely be astronomical.

Trash Talking: The Recycling Hoax Explained

the truth about recycling


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