Plastic pollution

[get_involved]

Plastics pollution is so extensive that all the world's oceans are touched by the waste, said Seattle oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer, an expert on how currents push debris around Earth and author of "Flotsametrics and the Floating World."

It makes global warming seem easy," Ebbesmeyer said. "The whole ocean is now infected with plastic. It's impossible to get it out."

An exquisite Mexico beach, cursed by plastic - latimes.com

 

[R.C. Christian]

Bottled water definitely set a new standard for pollution.

 

[Steelplate]

the sad thing is, plastic is easily recyclable. What's the problem? Apathy? Need for more recycling centers? I know that I have to drive 20 miles to get to the nearest one(I live in rural PA and our closest town does not have one).

Now, I know that the US is not the only country that pollutes. It's a global problem.

 

[get_involved]

I read about how they are experimenting making some things with vegetable oils instead of plastic. That would be great if they could eliminate most plastics.

 

[percysunshine]

Plastic is just oil that biodegrades slow enough so that a Prius will not fall apart in the first 60,000 miles.

 

[Mr. H.]

Some states pay 10 cents for plastic bottles. That's incentive.

I'd love to recycle my plastic, but I'm not going to pay someone else $30/month for the privilege.

 

[Cowman]

People don't give a shit. Just like they don't give a shit about any other environmental causes. Something only smelly hippies should care about they say.

Sad state of affairs.

 

[Mr. H.]

I disagree. A lot of people give a shit.
Worldwide, not enough people give a shit.

 

[zonly1]

Some states pay 10 cents for plastic bottles. That's incentive.

I'd love to recycle my plastic, but I'm not going to pay someone else $30/month for the privilege.

sometimes dumasses need to check their receipts. they charge you that amount before you hand over the cash. so the recycle thing is myth as far as cash extra. its a mind game to most. the only incentive is a wash personally. filters work great w/o the mind games what say you

 

[Steelplate]

Some states pay 10 cents for plastic bottles. That's incentive.

I'd love to recycle my plastic, but I'm not going to pay someone else $30/month for the privilege.

sometimes dumasses need to check their receipts. they charge you that amount before you hand over the cash. so the recycle thing is myth as far as cash extra. its a mind game to most. the only incentive is a wash personally. filters work great w/o the mind games what say you

I think that perhaps you are the dumb ass(learn to spell). So what if they add a DEPOSIT to the bottles. Think about it. If you play by the rules, you get your money back. If you choose to be an asshole and litter, someone else will.

Fuck, if we had $.10 for every can or bottle here in PA, I'd not only play by the rules, but I'd go collecting on the roads for extra cash. That's a buck for every 10 you pick up.

 

[editec]

Bottled water is a damned good example of just how bloody stupid some Americans really are.

 

[waltky]

Plastic not so fantastic after all...

Accumulating 'microplastic' threat to shores
27 January 2012 - Concentrations of microplastic were greatest near coastal urban areas, the study showed

Microscopic plastic debris from washing clothes is accumulating in the marine environment and could be entering the food chain, a study has warned. Researchers traced the "microplastic" back to synthetic clothes, which released up to 1,900 tiny fibres per garment every time they were washed. Earlier research showed plastic smaller than 1mm were being eaten by animals and getting into the food chain. The findings appeared in the journal Environmental Science and Technology. "Research we had done before... showed that when we looked at all the bits of plastic in the environment, about 80% was made up from smaller bits of plastic," said co-author Mark Browne, an ecologist now based at the University of California, Santa Barbara. "This really led us to the idea of what sorts of plastic are there and where did they come from."

Dr Browne, a member of the US-based research network National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, said the tiny plastic was a concern because evidence showed that it was making its way into the food chain. "Once the plastics had been eaten, it transferred from [the animals'] stomachs to their circulation system and actually accumulated in their cells," he told BBC News. In order to identify how widespread the presence of microplastic was on shorelines, the team took samples from 18 beaches around the globe, including the UK, India and Singapore. "We found that there was no sample from around the world that did not contain pieces of microplastic." Dr Browne added: "Most of the plastic seemed to be fibrous. "When we looked at the different types of polymers we were finding, we were finding that polyester, acrylic and polyamides (nylon) were the major ones that we were finding."

The data also showed that the concentration of microplastic was greatest in areas near large urban centres. In order to test the idea that sewerage discharges were the source of the plastic discharges, the team worked with a local authority in New South Wales, Australia. "We found exactly the same proportion of plastics," Dr Browne revealed, which led the team to conclude that their suspicions had been correct. As a result, Dr Browne his colleague Professor Richard Thompson from the University of Plymouth, UK carried out a number of experiments to see what fibres were contained in the water discharge from washing machines. "We were quite surprised. Some polyester garments released more than 1,900 fibres per garment, per wash," Dr Browne observed. "It may not sound like an awful lot, but if that is from a single item from a single wash, it shows how things can build up. "It suggests to us that a large proportion of the fibres we were finding in the environment, in the strongest evidence yet, was derived from the sewerage as a consequence from washing clothes."

BBC News - Accumulating 'microplastic' threat to shores

 

[whitehall]

Plastics pollution is so extensive that all the world's oceans are touched by the waste, said Seattle oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer, an expert on how currents push debris around Earth and author of "Flotsametrics and the Floating World."

It makes global warming seem easy," Ebbesmeyer said. "The whole ocean is now infected with plastic. It's impossible to get it out."

An exquisite Mexico beach, cursed by plastic - latimes.com

What does the quote "it makes global warming seem easy" mean? Aren't "oceanographers educated well enough to say what they mean without using cliches?

 

[Ed Spacer]

Sixpack holders are a cool way to catch fish!!!!!

 

[Ed Spacer]

Busted some dumbass kids a week ago"recycling"a pepsi bottle into a gravity bong.

 

[Mr. H.]

Busted some dumbass kids a week ago"recycling"a pepsi bottle into a gravity bong.

Buzz kill.

 

[Ed Spacer]

Should have stayed indoors,would never have noticed it.

 

[Mr. H.]

These contraptions are a relatively new phenomenon. Heck we got one as a gift for Christmas and love it.

These, on the other hand, are made of plastic and now reside in landfills to the tune of 7 billion itty-bitty cute formerly-known-as coffee containers...

 

[the_savage]

I love it when plastic bags get stuck in trees

 

[Mr. H.]

I love it when plastic bags get stuck in trees

Jeezgod, I've got a couple of those in my tree out back. Been there 18 months at least.
The branches are small enought that I might be able to use my pellet rifle to nick them off.
I might put out a neighbor's window in the process LOL.