Is there any reason why new plastic should ever have to be created again?

[Skidmore]

This may be one of those stupid questions that will get flamed, but I'd like to knoow. Beyond keeping the petroleum and chemical industries fat and purring, is there any reason why we can't exclusively use recycled plastic, including that found in the floating debris island in the Pacific? It would clean up the ocean and other water ways to reclaim this stuff and reduce dependance on oil.

[Fresh_Start]

1. we have plastic recycling...but lots of cities don't

if we recycled more of it, which might be a great idea (I don't know if recycling plastic causes more/other types of pollution) I'd guess we'd be able to reduce a lot of 'new plastic'

[tridim]

2. That's a good question..

I don't know the answer.

Maybe we should start exploring hemp based plastics just in case.

[qb]

3. Unfortunately the quality degrades when it's recycled.

There is also a contamination concern for using recycled plastics in food containers. It does work great for creating durable, rigid products like faux wood for decks and park benches.

There is a lot of research going into creating plastics from renewable organic sources.

[wtmusic]

4. Only about 30% of plastic bottles are recycled

and probably less than that of plastic toys, housewares, etc. IMO step one is public awareness.

[uberblonde]

5. Some of it is burned.

I know in suburban Philly, people feel virtuous about recycling plastic, but much of it goes to the giant trash-to-steam plant in Chester. Seems that when they built it, they didn't realize only plastic burns hot enough for the system to be profitable.

[Ezlivin]

6. I don't believe we can clean up the Pacific plastic gyre

It's just so damned big and it really would take a concerted, international effort to make any change.

The same people who dismiss global climate change would not show any interest in a problem that is essentially "out of sight, out of mind."

[Skidmore]

7. What if it were viewed as a source of fuel, like the other poster

on the thread who talked about how plastis were recycled as fuel.

[Ezlivin]

8. Because of the EROEI

If you expend more energy capturing the plastic than the energy it releases, you have a net loss. Who is going to pay for all of this energy expenditure and operate at a loss?

[ThomWV]

9. I know it can be recycled efficiently, but can it be collected?

I'm just wondering if the total of recycling, collection, and transportation energy costs might be higher in total than the cost of making new plastic. It seems to me that usually when you see recycling costs presented they really only speak to the in-factory cost of taking a chunk of refuse and turning it into a useful product. They tend to ignore the effort and materials that went into finding the plastic, picking it up, sorting it (?), and moving it to the place of processing.

I dunno, just a thought.

[Skidmore]

10. I understand what you are saying, Thom.

I really would like to see a law that makes manufacturers responsible for making certain that before putting a product on the market, they must make certain that the packaging is either biodegradable or recyclable, and that the industries are in place to really recycle the product. I really, really get upset with the electronics industry. Progress is great but they are doing the environment no favors with this constant turnover of products and planned obselescence.