Environment

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Environmental and ecological discussion, particularly of things like weather and other natural phenomena (especially if they're not breaking news).

See also our Nature and Gardening community for discussion centered around things like hiking, animals in their natural habitat, and gardening (urban or rural).

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380 million tons of plastic are made every year. None of it is truly recyclable. (grist.org)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (2 children)

The claim is medical supplies may need to be made from virgin plastic.

I haven't tried to verify that claim because I don't believe it matters. It's not an impediment to doing better immediately.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The claim is medical supplies may need to be made from virgin plastic.

Maybe they do, but a great many mass-produced plastic objects are not medical supplies.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yep, we're all in agreement that we should replace what we can and then work on finding the solutions to what's left.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I do wonder if there is some other material that medical supplies can be made from. It's a really hard problem: it has to be not only mostly but completely impenetrable to bacteria, not break down at all while in storage, yet somehow lose those properties once it's been used and disposed of.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I'm lazy and so asked Bard, it said:

It is possible to replace some current plastic with plastic made from hemp and bamboo, but it is not possible to replace all current plastic. Hemp and bamboo plastics are still in their early stages of development, and they are not yet as widely available or as affordable as traditional plastics. Additionally, some applications for plastic, such as medical devices and food packaging, require very specific properties that hemp and bamboo plastics may not be able to meet.

However, there is a lot of potential for hemp and bamboo plastics to replace traditional plastics in a variety of applications. They are both strong, durable, and biodegradable, and they can be used to make a wide range of products, including food packaging, clothing, and building materials. As the technology for making hemp and bamboo plastics continues to develop, they are likely to become more widely used and more affordable.

Here are some of the advantages of using hemp and bamboo plastics:

They are made from renewable resources, so they do not contribute to the depletion of fossil fuels.
They are biodegradable, so they do not end up in landfills or oceans.
They are strong and durable, so they can be used to make a wide range of products.
They are often less expensive than traditional plastics.

However, there are also some challenges to using hemp and bamboo plastics:

They are not yet as widely available as traditional plastics.
They may not be able to meet the specific properties required for some applications.
The production of hemp and bamboo plastics can require some water and energy.

Overall, hemp and bamboo plastics offer a number of advantages over traditional plastics. As the technology for making these plastics continues to develop, they are likely to become more widely used and more affordable. This could help to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and plastic pollution.