Plastic Planet

The Fear

The Fear

A Wise Man (once sat next to him)
Worrying how much is now in the sea's and also washed up all over the world, including beautiful tropical islands.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-40654915#_=_

US scientists have calculated the total amount of plastic ever made and put the number at 8.3 billion tonnes.

It is an astonishing mass of material that has essentially been created only in the last 65 years or so.

The 8.3 billion tonnes is as heavy as 25,000 Empire State Buildings in New York, or a billion elephants.


((NOTE TO ALL... that's as much of an article you need to share when you provide a link for the whole thing))
 
A caterpillar that munches on plastic bags could hold the key to tackling plastic pollution, scientists say.

Researchers at Cambridge University have discovered that the larvae of the moth, which eats wax in bee hives, can also degrade plastic.

Experiments show the insect can break down the chemical bonds of plastic in a similar way to digesting beeswax.

Each year, about 80 million tonnes of the plastic polyethylene are produced around the world.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-39694553
 
Sky News have also been doing highlighting on this. It's worrying for the future generations. The explosion in plastics along with alot of other rubbish that can't easily be disposed is needs tackling and it needs to start in the major companies, who are doing too little.

Us civilians in the main do our part of recycling. Yet the big corps do as little as possible. We had a thread on the coffee cup sage with the main coffee chains last year. I certainly didn't realize they weren't fully recyclable until then
 
People used to say we live in a disposable age, we have a Costa Coffee at work and in the actual lounge they have what looks like a re-cycle station but the reality is when it comes out the staff take it to the red waste bin and it goes to land fill.....

 
lewis1980 - 20/7/2017 00:39

Does this put your mind to rest?

https://www.theoceancleanup.com
Click to expand...

Very interesting Lewis. A problem that should never had existed, but good to see someone is doing something about it.

I can't believe the amount of packaging, even just in a weekly shop. Everything is just encased in an overkill of plastics and cardboard. We also need to do better with recycling. It's too confusing, and we haven't implemented some technologies that would help.
 
col8 - 20/7/2017 03:20

People used to say we live in a disposable age, we have a Costa Coffee at work and in the actual lounge they have what looks like a re-cycle station but the reality is when it comes out the staff take it to the red waste bin and it goes to land fill.....
Click to expand...

and what people also don't realise is only part of the cup (the cardboard outer part) can be recycled so it's an even bigger problem!
 
lewis1980 - 20/7/2017 00:39

Does this put your mind to rest?

https://www.theoceancleanup.com
Click to expand...

No, not totally, but it helps for sure. Good to see something is being done.
 
I thought this was going to be about sex dolls again.

Think I've heard of that catterpillar thing before, hopefully they make quick progress of it in understanding and then Council's can genuinely recycle properly and actually make a difference rather than pretending we do whilst shipping most of it abroad!
 
there was talk years back of using some of the waste products for fuel, doesn't seem a great deal being done on that front.

Something needs to be done, we are screwing this planet right up with junk.
 
The Fear - 20/7/2017 20:56

there was talk years back of using some of the waste products for fuel, doesn't seem a great deal being done on that front.

Something needs to be done, we are screwing this planet right up with junk.
Click to expand...

They're doing that down the road from me at Newhaven. There was a lot of resistance to it, but now it's up and running nobody can remember why!!

Much of the recycling is terrible compared to other Countries. People don't know what they can and can't put in. Yoghurt pots? Black plastics? Bottle tops? Make it this complicated, and it turns people off.
 
Vaguely remember that JF but no heard nothing since.

Just needs to be simple paper/cardboard then cans of any sort plus plastics of any sort, general waste and if you want to be tarty food waste.
 
Perhaps they should send our recycling to Sweden. Sweden is having to bring it in as it is so good they have run out of rubbish. I kid you not

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Sweden’s recycling is so revolutionary, the country has run out of rubbish
Sweden’s recycling is so revolutionary, the country has to import rubbish from other countries to keep its recycling plants going. What lessons can we learn, asks Hazel Sheffield

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Sweden is so good at recycling that, for several years, it has imported rubbish from other countries to keep its recycling plants going. Less than 1 per cent of Swedish household waste was sent to landfill last year or any year since 2011.

We can only dream of such an effective system in the UK, which is why we end up paying expensive transport costs to send rubbish to be recycled overseas rather than paying fines to send it to landfill under The Landfill Tax of 1996.

Cont: http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/sweden-s-recycling-is-so-revolutionary-the-country-has-run-out-of-rubbish-a7462976.html
 
It needs to be up to corporations (and governments to force them) to make sure their products aren't unnecessarily harmful to planet.

I read something about how half the stuff that could be recycled can't be because of the way the companies design the products, for example using different types of plastics which can't easily be separated out or types of glue that can't be removed etc.
 
Even the Swedish Navy have bar codes on the sides of their ships so when they get back into port they can Scandinavian.


 
good article on Sweden there, interesting, albeit as the article says if they are burning so much, they are then having to manufacture more from raw materials.

And, err... thanks for that input Col8 :3:
 
We've got this facility, which seems to work well.

https://www.veolia.co.uk/southdowns/facilities/facilities/newhaven-energy-recovery-facility
 
HAS to be better than landfill that sort of facility surely? It's all being done so painfully slowly.
 
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