Plastic

[MidLandOne]

Thanks for the information on that.

Not planning on burning any by the way , just curious seeing as it is probably one of the bigger volumes of domestic plastic around (especially, I expect, for those into bottled water for drinking).

John

[stevensc]

Originally Posted by Martinini

A pair of surgical scissors can reduce most plastic containers to a storable state in short order, or as a last resort cut into a size legal to dispose of overboard. I prefer to cut into flat pieces that take up little room and dispose of when hitting next destination. Rinsing in sea water eliminates odor from rotting foodstuffs left behind in container after use,and do it before cutting down.

Exaxctly!
Also in some remote areas what we think of as trash may be useful to the "natives" when I was travelling in rural areas of Africa the people there loved: plastic bags, gallon jugs, plastic containers of any size, they even rubbed aluiminum beer cans on the concrete to wear the top rim off to make drinking cups.
Steve

[starfish62]

I love to recycle, but don't believe that I have ever seen a beach in the western caribbean that did not have a bunch of plastic at the high-tide line. The most common offenders are single flip flops and drink bottles.

I just hate to see all of that junk up on the beach.

[dacust]

To add another factor, most so called "biodegradable" plastic is not really biodegradable. It just breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces.

In this thread:
Plastic Fantastic there is this post with a video that explains the problem (as they see it).

The small pieces mimic the plankton in shape and color. Not only do the fish eat it, but in some places, the chicks starve to death because the parent bird brings back more plastic than food.

Note: The majority of this seems to come from runoff from landfills, not from dumped plastic. They see higher concentrations at river mouths and in the Trash Vortex.

This is not a direct reply to any particular post above. But I think it's something to keep in mind when making decisions about dumping plastic in any form.

-dan

[Bash]

...by Alan Weisman, "Polymers are Forever," can be read free on the website of Orion Magazine at the link below:
http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.p...s/article/270/

[dacust]

Originally Posted by bashful

...by Alan Weisman, "Polymers are Forever," can be read free on the website of Orion Magazine at the link below:
Polymers Are Forever | Orion Magazine

Great article! A bit wordy and very long, but well worth the read. It puts it in easy to understand language. I have only gotten about halfway through, but going back right now to read the rest.

Thanks for posting this. I will bookmark it to send to others.


EDIT: I finished it.

Best quote:
“EXCEPT FOR A SMALL AMOUNT that’s been incinerated,” says Tony Andrady the oracle, “every bit of plastic manufactured in the world for the last fifty years or so still remains. It’s somewhere in the environment.”

-dan

[starfish62]

Thanks Bashful.