plastic: a global environmental calamity

[Into the Night]

The point is, humans can do anything we want to, if we set our minds to it.

Sure. You can choose to ignore chemistry, electronics, materials engineering, and aerospace, but you won't get far.

 

[Into the Night]

All the ways I failed miserably trying to live plastic-free for a week
https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2020-03-05/plastic-free-week?utm_source=pocket-newtab
The book, by Greenpeace U.K.'s head of oceans, Will McCallum, told an ecological horror story about seas choked with plastic straws and single-use grocery bags. It also offered the “simple steps” of how to eliminate plastic items from your office space, kitchen and bathroom. I’d never considered buying toothpaste without a plastic tube. Now it felt like a moral imperative. ...... (much more)

Mantra 4b. Greenpeace is a propaganda source. That's all they do. They are high priests of the Church of Green, that's all. They deny science, engineering, math, and history.

 

[Into the Night]

STFU you landlubbing dumbfuck. Get out of your mothers basement.

Really?? You had to go to this childish insult??

 

[Into the Night]

3D printing has become so common place, that Fantasy gamers are using it to print miniatures instead of using lead or other mediums.

Plus; it's gotten so advanced that I know of one company that in August is going to be offering characters, you design, where the buyer can choose what color(s) they want on what clothing the character is dressed in and what items they are carrying.

Quite true. I use mine mostly to make parts for aircraft, or to make molds for parts for aircraft.

 

[anatta]

Quoting propaganda doesn't work either. Normally I delete Holy Links like this. Mantra 4a.

The U.S. Census Bureau recently published complete 2018 export data for shipments of plastic waste (officially called “waste, paring and scrap”) generated in the U.S. and sent to other countries. As shown in Figure 1, 78% (0.83 million metric tonnes) of the 2018 U.S. plastic waste exports were sent to countries with waste “mismanagement rates” greater than 5%. That means about 157,000 large 20-ft (TEU) shipping containers (429 per day) of U.S. plastic waste were sent in 2018 to countries that are now known to be overwhelmed with plastic waste and major sources of plastic pollution to the ocean. The actual amount of U.S. plastic waste that ends in countries with poor waste management may be even higher than 78% since countries like Canada and South Korea may reexport U.S. plastic waste. The data also indicates that the U.S. continued to export about as much plastic waste to countries with poor waste management as we recycle domestically [1].

 

[anatta]

Plastic waste has been exported and counted as “recycled” by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the waste and recycling industry for decades.
The U.S. Census Bureau data shows exports to China and other countries dating back to 1992, the first year in the database.

U.S. plastic waste exports have declined by nearly half between 2015 and 2018 (from a high of 2.05 million metric tonnes to 1.07 million metrics tonnes).
The primary reason for the decline is China’s strict scrap import policies which have reduced imports of plastic waste from the U.S. with a reduction of 96% since its peak in 2012. The decline is positive news for the ocean, rivers, ecosystems and the people of the receiving countries and world: less plastic waste was sent to places that do not have secure waste management systems such that all of the plastic waste will be responsibly recycled into new plastic products.
https://www.plasticpollutioncoaliti...-countries-with-poor-waste-management-in-2018

 

[Into the Night]

The U.S. Census Bureau recently published complete 2018 export data for shipments of plastic waste (officially called “waste, paring and scrap”) generated in the U.S. and sent to other countries. As shown in Figure 1, 78% (0.83 million metric tonnes) of the 2018 U.S. plastic waste exports were sent to countries with waste “mismanagement rates” greater than 5%. That means about 157,000 large 20-ft (TEU) shipping containers (429 per day) of U.S. plastic waste were sent in 2018 to countries that are now known to be overwhelmed with plastic waste and major sources of plastic pollution to the ocean. The actual amount of U.S. plastic waste that ends in countries with poor waste management may be even higher than 78% since countries like Canada and South Korea may reexport U.S. plastic waste. The data also indicates that the U.S. continued to export about as much plastic waste to countries with poor waste management as we recycle domestically [1].

The U.S. Census Bureau doesn't study or collect data on plastic waste or import/export of anything.

This graph of random numbers was synthesized by Last Beach Cleanup, an organization founded in Berkeley by members of the Church of Green and the Church of Global Warming. Mantra 25g...4b....37c...37a

We don't export waste plastic. Just put it in the trash. It's perfectly safe in a landfill.

 

[Into the Night]

Plastic waste has been exported and counted as “recycled” by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the waste and recycling industry for decades.
The U.S. Census Bureau data shows exports to China and other countries dating back to 1992, the first year in the database.

U.S. plastic waste exports have declined by nearly half between 2015 and 2018 (from a high of 2.05 million metric tonnes to 1.07 million metrics tonnes).
The primary reason for the decline is China’s strict scrap import policies which have reduced imports of plastic waste from the U.S. with a reduction of 96% since its peak in 2012. The decline is positive news for the ocean, rivers, ecosystems and the people of the receiving countries and world: less plastic waste was sent to places that do not have secure waste management systems such that all of the plastic waste will be responsibly recycled into new plastic products.
https://www.plasticpollutioncoaliti...-countries-with-poor-waste-management-in-2018

Mantras 25g...25g...25g...25g...25g...4b...4a
Don't throw unwanted plastic in the rivers or oceans. Put it in the trash.

 

[Sailor]

Really?? You had to go to this childish insult??

No I did not. You manage to bring the insults all to yourself. Talk on about things you have no clue about. No experience, no science....nothing. Just yammering.

 

[MAGA MAN]

Our county attempted to ban plastic bags - and you know who fought tooth and nail against the ban?

Yep, that's right. Republicans and conservatives. People who obviously believe actions on behalf of the health of the planet's ecosystems should be voluntary.


This I can tell you unequivocally: Plastic pollution of the oceans is an existential threat to the planet's ecosystems.
And the health of the oceans, and the safety and welfare of whales, dolphins, and turtles cannot wait for voluntary actions and the magic of the free markets to kick in.

It's only pollution if you dispose of it improperly. Burn it along with trash to make energy and the "huge massive problem" goes away.

 

[Into the Night]

No I did not. You manage to bring the insults all to yourself. Talk on about things you have no clue about. No experience, no science....nothing. Just yammering.

Bulverism fallacy.

 

[Sailor]

Bulverism fallacy.

Seek help. Try Obamacare.

 

[Into the Night]

It's only pollution if you dispose of it improperly. Burn it along with trash to make energy and the "huge massive problem" goes away.

Tends to be sooty fire unless you use a hotter fuel and lots of air on the fire. Some places do burn their plastics in this way. Sorting it out from the trash is expensive and unnecessary however. The landfill is fine.

 

[Into the Night]

Seek help. Try Obamacare.

Insult fallacy.

 

[Sailor]

Insult fallacy.

Try a gun. Makes no difference to me.

 

[anatta]

The U.S. Census Bureau doesn't study or collect data on plastic waste or import/export of anything.

This graph of random numbers was synthesized by Last Beach Cleanup, an organization founded in Berkeley by members of the Church of Green and the Church of Global Warming. Mantra 25g...4b....37c...37a

We don't export waste plastic. Just put it in the trash. It's perfectly safe in a landfill.

that's Bureau of Census reportage in the article about the "plastic waste we don't export"

Bye. you are an idiot.

 

[MAGA MAN]

Tends to be sooty fire unless you use a hotter fuel and lots of air on the fire. Some places do burn their plastics in this way. Sorting it out from the trash is expensive and unnecessary however. The landfill is fine.

I worked with trash burning facilities only a few times before. The best run facility had a huge display of the critical temperature in the furnace that was visible to the workers on the loading floor. They'd sort out a pile of plastic, a load of cardboard, a wet load of trash, etc., and could figure out how best to load to keep the temperature in the proper range. They use to make a game out of it, placing bets on who could keep it where it needed to be the longest. Loser buys coffee.

Plastic can also be shredded and mixed with coal. It's a great energy source and consistent.

I worked for landfill owners for many years. One of their biggest problems was plastic trash bags. If a truck discharges a load when it's windy, which is basically most of the time, loose bags become kites, and kites become litter. When they land on pastureland, cows will eat it. Then their stomachs get plugged and they die in agony. I worked with an operator who would visit his farmer neighbor almost weekly, inspect a dissected cow and write a check. It wasn't payment enough. Not a lot of happiness there.

Fires are also a problem in landfills. Plastics aren't the cause, but if a cell filled with it catches, it can quickly blossom into a frigging nightmare.

 

[Into the Night]

Try a gun. Makes no difference to me.

Off topic wanderings.

 

[Into the Night]

that's Bureau of Census reportage in the article about the "plastic waste we don't export"

Bye. you are an idiot.

The Bureau of Census does not track shipping data or how much plastic we import or export. This graph was synthesized by Last Beach Cleanup.

 

[Into the Night]

I worked with trash burning facilities only a few times before. The best run facility had a huge display of the critical temperature in the furnace that was visible to the workers on the loading floor. They'd sort out a pile of plastic, a load of cardboard, a wet load of trash, etc., and could figure out how best to load to keep the temperature in the proper range. They use to make a game out of it, placing bets on who could keep it where it needed to be the longest. Loser buys coffee.

I imagine they did. Sounds typical of such mill workers.

Plastic can also be shredded and mixed with coal. It's a great energy source and consistent.

Only for certain limited applications. It does add a lot of ash and clinker to the furnace though.

I worked for landfill owners for many years. One of their biggest problems was plastic trash bags. If a truck discharges a load when it's windy, which is basically most of the time, loose bags become kites, and kites become litter. When they land on pastureland, cows will eat it. Then their stomachs get plugged and they die in agony. I worked with an operator who would visit his farmer neighbor almost weekly, inspect a dissected cow and write a check. It wasn't payment enough. Not a lot of happiness there.

Pretty rare, and most landfills aren't near pastureland. Landfill operators also watch the wind and put up barriers where trucks are unloading. If a cow does eat a plastic bag, she usually passes it. You also have to remember that cattle is going to be slaughtered anyway.

Fires are also a problem in landfills. Plastics aren't the cause, but if a cell filled with it catches, it can quickly blossom into a frigging nightmare.

Fires are the same problem whether plastic is in the landfill or not.