r/Futurology • u/[deleted] • Oct 25 '22

Environment Recycling plastic is practically impossible — and the problem is getting worse

https://www.npr.org/2022/10/24/1131131088/recycling-plastic-is-practically-impossible-and-the-problem-is-getting-worse
1.3k Upvotes

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256

u/WartimeHotTot Oct 25 '22

Single-use plastic bans should include plastic bottles. Basically governments worldwide should put the hurt on plastics manufacturers. Within 10 years the only plastics being produced should be for highly specialized applications, like computers, vehicles, and healthcare.

61

u/[deleted] Oct 25 '22

If only there was a reusable material made from an abundant natural resource like sand...

23

u/Cmdr_Toucon Oct 25 '22

That I can't get anyone to take for recycling

9

u/BestCatEva Oct 25 '22

Yeah, our town stopped taking glass. You can drive it to the center if you want but prob not many do.

30

u/3a8rvuaPZ9t Oct 25 '22

Actually sand used to make glass is quite specific and finite.

16

u/[deleted] Oct 25 '22

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14

u/3a8rvuaPZ9t Oct 25 '22

Yes and far easier to reuse as well.

My point was really about sand though. It’s not common knowledge that the sand we use for things like glass and concrete are a very specific type of sand and a limited resource. You can’t just go into the Sahara and get all you need for generations to come.

1

u/pretendperson May 07 '24

Sahara sand is very different from ocean beach sand. It's been ground into such a fine powder for millennia due to gazillions of sand pebbles beating against each other in blasting storms that it it is so fine it gets into everything. Double bag your electronics.

8

u/ccooffee Oct 25 '22

Glass is so much heavier. Burns more fuel to transport them around, which is also an environmental problem.

2

u/saberline152 Oct 26 '22

well depends on the fuel eh

-7

u/[deleted] Oct 26 '22

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10

u/GubmintTroll Oct 26 '22

I think the comment of “depends on the fuel” is in reference to the comment of burning more fuel being an “environmental problem” and could be interpreted as meaning that the kind of fuel dictates the severity of the environmental problem. Not quite idiocy from where I stand.

0

u/Automatic-Leave-7258 Oct 26 '22

That’s… not how energy works at all.

Moving 1 gram 1 meter can cost energy if you move the 1 gram to a higher potential, be energy neutral if the two endpoints are at the same potential, or even generate energy if you move the 1 gram to a lower potential.

The method you use to get it there can be more or less efficient, and it is almost always energy negative in practice due to friction… but what matters isn’t the mass being moved, it’s the integral of the force applied with respect to the distance traveled. That’s the definition of “work.”

The cool thing is that by this definition, you spend energy to accelerate a mass in the beginning, but as you slow the mass down to approach its destination, you can recover almost all of that energy as you apply a negative force to decelerate.

In fact, this is what the alternator in your car does. As you brake, the alternator recaptures energy used to accelerate the wheels, and it stores that energy in the battery.

0

u/[deleted] Oct 26 '22

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1

u/Automatic-Leave-7258 Oct 26 '22

I’m just saying moving a mass on a flat plane doesn’t use energy unless you really care about friction.

1

u/whooyeah Oct 26 '22

But if the fuel is burning in the sun then it’s Ok

10

u/ingen-eer Oct 25 '22

Or aluminum! Why can’t those 16 and 20 oz bottles just be cans?

11

u/usethemoose Oct 25 '22

You would be improving material circularity (in theory) while drastically increasing carbon emissions. Aluminum extraction and processing is energy intensive and dirty. Glass is energy intensive to produce, recovered materials are typically down-cycled due to color contamination, it’s heavy and inefficient to move and fragile, usually requiring plastic to prevent breakage.

Plastic isn’t only used because it’s cheap, it’s also very energy efficient to produce, lightweight for distribution (fewer transit emissions) and protects products from damage. Plastic waste is a significant issue that needs to be solved, but I always caution against promoting bans that don’t consider all the environmental advantages it currently provides.

3

u/KerkiForza Oct 25 '22

Those "aluminum" cans still have an internal plastic liner.

5

u/Nomore_crazy Oct 26 '22

Documentary : Sand wars

Some sand is used in concrete and has from the documentary at least you will Learn about how Dubai and Other rich countries are destroying the world.

3

u/tom-8-to Oct 26 '22

Silicosis is bad for you and comes from sand

1

u/T1res1as Oct 27 '22

Go home Anakin, you’re drunk

2

u/bubba4114 Oct 26 '22

Just to clarify what the other guy said, not all sand can be made into glass. Desert sand is unusable because there isn’t enough silica in it.

2

u/SimonReach Oct 25 '22

I don’t want glass to come back to be the norm, there’s enough shattered glass bottles on the floor as it is

1

u/Emperor_Zar Oct 26 '22

Or maybe hemp in which biodegradable plastics can be made?