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MikeCyber
October 11th, 2012, 08:02 AM
Not funny that we are to stupid to invent a plastic replacement:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJvifVrGi8o&feature=plcp

Paqman
October 11th, 2012, 10:10 AM
Well, there are a number of routes you could go down to try and tackle that problem, most of which don't involve ditching something as useful as plastic.

The obvious solution is to stop the plastic getting there, which is about tighter control of waste streams. You could also change the chemistry of some plastics to make them more photodegradable (although that obviously limits their use). Perhaps ones that break down rapidly in highly saline environments? Or take the tack of cleaning up the plastic once it's out there, but that's an enormous undertaking.

Whatever we do will probably require a multinational multi-pronged approach. I don't think "replacing plastic" is really a practical solution, although we may be able to reduce it's use somewhat. Packaging is an obvious area to look into. There's heaps of stuff packaged in plastic right now that would be prefectly good in cardboard and paper.

Old_Grey_Wolf
October 12th, 2012, 01:39 AM
I don't know that a plastic replacement would be more biodegradable or less harmfull to the evnironment or ecosystem.

I think Paqman makes some good points.

alexfish
October 12th, 2012, 05:38 AM
GLASS
GLASS
GLASS
GLASS , good old fashioned glass ](*,)

for some items

mips
October 12th, 2012, 10:45 AM
I'm a big lover of glass containers, stuff out of plastic taste crap.

A few years ago legislation was passed that you ave to pay for plastic bags instead of shops just giving them a way. The money was a sort of tax to be use for some green purpose or the other, not sure but I don't think that has actually happened and it's probably just lining someones pockets at the moment. Not sure if it's my imagination but I'm pretty sure I'm seeing less plastic bags floating around as rubbish.

If wish they could just pull a big raking object behind a boat to scoop all that crap up. I hate pollution & really love the sea (spend lots of time in the water).

Paqman
October 12th, 2012, 01:46 PM
I'm a big lover of glass containers, stuff out of plastic taste crap.


Glass is ok, but it does have high embodied energy so unless it's recycled it's still pretty bad for the environment. If you're recycling anyway, then plastic can actually be lower impact than glass.

Having said that recycling glass is generally more ubiquitous and slightly easier than recycling plastic.



If wish they could just pull a big raking object behind a boat to scoop all that crap up. I hate pollution & really love the sea (spend lots of time in the water).

Couple of problems:

The sea is big
The particles are small, so you're actually talking about filtration rather than scooping. Filtering the entire affected surface of the Pacific would be something of a big job.
Out of sight, out of mind. Or to put it another way: who's paying? It's not on anybody's patch.