Report: Save the Oceans – Stop Recycling Plastic!

Breitbart ^ | June 30,2018 | James Delingpole

[The_Media_never_lie]

I think the article's conclusion is exactly right that we need to stop shipping plastic all over the place and simply incinerate it, reduce the bulk by 80% or more and make it more safe to dispose of vs. what's currently being done.

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Sounds good.

[bgill]

There was once a recycling place about 30 miles from here. It went out of business about 20 years ago. None of our garbage services have recycle bins. That’s very telling.

[Wonder Warthog]

"The plastic in the ocean is breaking apart, spelling a disaster for creatures living in the ocean."

Really?? It depends on how far the "breaking apart goes". Reduced to small enough particles, and the plastic is harmless.

"There is currently no way for plastic materials to break down in the ocean or salt water. Would be nice if there were. There isn’t."

Plastic breaks down just fine in the ocean as long as it is exposed to sunlight. There is this idea that "plastics are forever", which is bullshit. Any chemist (which I am) knows better. A great deal of work has to be put into plastic formulations to KEEP them from spontaneously breaking down.

[nicollo]

I once met the founder of Trex, which makes plastic/pulp planks for decks.

He told me that Mobil Oil took an interest in his company because its plastic grocery bags recycling project failed since they hadn’t counted on people leaving paper grocery receipts in the bags, which messed up the recycling process.

This guy was already combining plastic with sawdust/ wood pulp, so it was Mobil’s best option to salvage the plastic bags project, which was supposed to “save the trees” from paper bags. (Remember that one?)

Here for the wiki entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trex_Company,_Inc.

[21twelve]

All of my electronics get smashed and tossed in the garbage.
Batteries go into the trash.

I’ve seen photos of the crappy villages in China with the little kids burning the insulation off the wires, piles of crap next to their homes, orange ooze in the ditch.

The environmentally friendly thing to do is to throw it in the garbage where it gets hauled off to a landfill 30 miles away. A landfill that is triple-lined, monitored and is in compliance with no-doubt the highest standards in the world.

[firebrand]

I see crafts sometimes—small pocketbooks made out of stuff that would otherwise be thrown away, and the like—but no one has tried this on a large scale. It would be quite the conversation piece: “Our house is made of detergent bottles.” There was a house in Arizona next-door to my sister that was made from railroad ties. The guy had collected them as they were being thrown away. The walls were only half up.

But a corporation should try it.

[SunkenCiv]

Sounds like the best policy, thanks 21twelve. BTW, your nick gives me a rush.

You could be eating a side of e-waste with your takeout
https://www.popsci.com/e-waste-black-plastic

China Stops Buying the World’s Trash, Leaving 120 Million Tons Up for Grabs
Over 120 million tons of plastic trash will have to find a new home over the next decade, according to a new report.
By Avery Thompson
Jun 22, 2018
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a21777626/china-stops-buying-the-worlds-trash-leaving-120-million-tons-up-for-grabs/

[minnesota_bound]

We have a Trash only and Recycle only bin.
Same garbage truck picks up both at the same time.