14
votes
How many times do you need to use a cheap re-usable bag to offset its impact?
The cheapest reusable bags round here are made of the same plastic as disposable bags. In this case the number of uses required is simply the ratio of the weights. Without getting the scales out I ...
- 2,116
11
votes
Accepted
Is plastic food packaging 100% reusable?
There is a difference between reuse and recycling. Reuse is using a container again without major modifications. Recycling is transforming a container into its core elements and using that to make an ...
- 14.5k
10
votes
Should we leave all fossil fuels in the ground and not use them?
Yes, we should leave the larger part of all known fossil fuel reserves in the ground. Scientists have calculated that if we want to keep global temperature rise under 2 degrees C (which was agreed ...
- 14.5k
9
votes
Accepted
Pure Plastic vs Biodegradable Plastic
It doesn't appear that there are any specific studies comparing the environmental impact of dog waste disposed of in biodegradable vs non-biodegradable bags, however there's quite a bit of work that's ...
- 11.8k
8
votes
Accepted
How to recycle disintegrated plastic bags, without negatively impacting the environment?
Unless the plastic bags are labelled with a recycling symbol, there is no easy way to know if the plastic is even recyclable.
Good biodegradable plastic bags are made from decomposable materials, ...
- 5,973
8
votes
Removing agricultural plastic film waste after 10+ years degradation
Get the plastic itself analyzed. It is likely Polyethylene. PE itself is harmless -- chemically it is essentially a very long chain wax. If there were any solvents in it, by now they have leached ...
- 7,207
8
votes
How do plastic bags and other waste end up in the ocean?
There are many ways how plastic waste ends up in the sea. A non-complete list would include the following: Micro-plastics from our washing processes, they are in almost everything like shampoo, ...
- 929
8
votes
Accepted
Does transporting plastic offset the benefits of recycling it?
tl;dr: No, shipping plastic waste to China for recycling does not offset the benefits, as it reduces the net energy savings by 3% or less.
Polyethylene, The most common plastic
According to ...
- 11.8k
7
votes
Would it be possible to recycle all plastic into bricks and use them for building or insulation?
It's definitely possible to recycle plastic and create LEGO-like building blocks. In fact several houses have already been built this way!
In 2010 a Colombian architect called Oscar Mendez had the ...
- 14.5k
7
votes
Accepted
How does bioplastic recyclability compare with petrochemical-based plastic recyclability?
Conventional plastics
All conventional plastics marked with the 1 to 6 resin identification codes are recyclable. Some types are more easy to recycle than others, for example recycling PVC is more ...
- 14.5k
7
votes
What is the most sustainable packaging for milk?
Depends a lot on where you live, but if you have the possibility to refill your own glass bottle, then I would call that the most sustainable option. In this part of Europe (Hungary/Romania) there are ...
- 251
6
votes
Accepted
What will be the effect of PET-eating bacteria in society?
From what I've read the bacteria can completely degrade PET-film in 6 weeks via two enzymes that turn PET into terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol. Both substances are both environmentally benign.
...
- 14.5k
6
votes
Accepted
Can plastic with only the Japanese recycling symbol be recycled in the US?
Jumping into this late but I couldn't help it because this is what I do for a living (guide major corporations on recycling).
The mark you have simply means that the bag is plastic (it's not ...
- 76
6
votes
Is there a shaving razor that is an alternative to, say, Gillette Mach 3, and does not use plastic ?
I'm an energy consultant - I'm also aware of the environmental impacts of plastic - however; I still have to ask, what is the issue with plastic?
The only thing more sustainable than plastic is SOME ...
- 496
6
votes
How bad are nylon and polyester clothing for the environment?
Summary:
Nylon, acrylic and especially polyester clothing release lots of microplastics during laundry. For polyester a study found between 6 and 17,7 million microfibers per 5kg wash
Microplastics ...
- 14.5k
6
votes
Accepted
How do plastic bags and other waste end up in the ocean?
Carelessness, wind and rain.
Humans are careless, so leave all manner of plastic outside in their yards. A gust of wind catches the plastic and blows it onto a nearby road. It rains, and the ...
- 2,804
5
votes
Is there an efficient way to dispose of credit cards?
Before doing anything make sure your credit cards are not usable/active anymore. You don't want anyone to misuse them!
Reuse
Reuse is almost always preferred over recycling because that usually doesn'...
- 14.5k
5
votes
Accepted
What's the impact of throwing plastic in the bin?
The problem with burying plastic in landfills is that plastic takes ~500 years to decompose, and burying large amounts of waste leads to groundwater pollution in the surrounding areas, which is ...
- 106
5
votes
Accepted
Plastic incineration vs discarding considerations
Burning trash in an uncontrolled fire is very polluting, with high levels of carbon monoxide, particulates, and dioxin/furan. These are released at ground level where they are easily breathed in by ...
- 323
5
votes
How is "recovered ocean bound plastic" any different from recycled plastic?
Ocean-bound plastic refers to all plastic on land within a 50 kilometer (30 mile) distance of the ocean. The term was popularized by Jenna Jambeck PhD, a professor at the University of Georgia, who ...
- 14.5k
4
votes
Organic or packaging free food?
It's all a matter of how you do the counting! If you take into account how much diversity you destroy, non-organic food is worse than "too much" cardboard packaging. But how do you count this? Life ...
- 1,407
4
votes
Accepted
How many times do you need to use a cheap re-usable bag to offset its impact?
Summary: According to this independent study if you look at global warming potential, for a sturdy LDPE bag you need to use it at least 4 times, for an even sturdier non-woven PP bag with inserts it's ...
- 14.5k
4
votes
Is fleece clothing a cheap and sustainable alternative to conventional cotton?
Polar fleece cloth is Polyethylene terephthalate (C10H8O4) sometimes brand named Dacron. It is the same synthetic organic used to make plastic soda bottles, but it isn't generally recycled in its ...
- 276
4
votes
How many times can plastic be recycled?
HDPE plastic is usually shredded, melted and then pelletized where the pellets are then used to create new HDPE products. It can theoretically be recycled indefinitely except that usually ...
- 708
4
votes
What is the most sustainable packaging for milk?
You forgot about a fourth option: The tube. Originally it looked like this:
It was a bit flimsy and is easier punctured than the TetraPaks, so it isn't produced anymore (at least not in Germany, at ...
- 587
4
votes
Accepted
Are single-use PurPod coffee pods from Ethical Bean made with PLA?
The picture says 'made from coffee chaff & plant-based material', so there is something else in the pod besides just coffee chaff. After some digging I finally found this blog where it says that:
...
- 14.5k
4
votes
Is there a solution for flattening/reducing the volume of plastic recyclables in the home?
Sometimes, the simplest solutions are the best:
Step on plastics to crush them - Crude, but efficient, and good for stuff like takeaway food containers, PET bottles (with lids removed), plastic cups, ...
- 1,318
4
votes
Accepted
What type of bin liner is best for waste heading to landfill?
New plastic bags (if you can still find them in your local shops -- I can't anymore) are best for purchasing once and then using maybe 10 times. In contrast to recycled plastic bags that generally ...
- 4,786
3
votes
Accepted
Store drop-off vs curbside recycling plastic bags
No, the process the plastic ends up going through is the same.
The only thing that changes when you drop them off at the grocery store is that it is more convenient for the recycling plant because ...
- 862
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible