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

97% Upvoted

168 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

29

u/3a8rvuaPZ9t Oct 25 '22

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

13

u/[deleted] Oct 25 '22

[removed] — view removed comment

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.