7 replies to this topic

[Craven]

Mike Biddle: We can recycle plastic http://www.ted.com/t...ike_biddle.html I must say I'm very impressed by this speech. Dunno if it fits into technology of the future, since it looks like they already make money in this factory. Anyway it's amazing if it's really as efficient as he suggests. Only doubt? If it's so cool how come most plastic doesn't come from recycling? Too early?

[Logically Irrational]

Wow. Now that is really cool. I'm glad that plastic isn't destined to sit around forever anymore.

[amandagulley]

Today plastic pollution is the big issue for all of us.. It is important for all of us to reduce, reuse and recycle it. Buying recycled product and reduce the use of plastic ,We can save the natural resources for the future genration also save the planet from the plastic pollution.

 

Decking

[kjaggard]

I've always said that if you have a waste stream, be it plastics or co2, what you really have is a resource that's just going untapped. Turn linear consumer->waste patterns into cycles, like the rain to lakes to clouds to rain system.

[GailG]

Even though we can recycle plastics, the thing is the chemical that is being used in recycling plastic is not earth friendly. -.-

[funkervogt]

Why not build a machine that knows what every manmade product looks like, and what it's made of? We could put one of these machines in every recycling facility in the world, and it would look at every item as it came down the conveyor belt, recognize it in a split second, and tell the robot sorting machines farther down the conveyor belt what it was made of, and how to disassemble it to extract the different materials. Think of it as a slaughterhouse for manmade objects. 

 

Smaller conveyor belts would branch off from the main conveyor belt, and if you could stand next to any one of those branching lines, you'd see scraps of things, all made of the same type of material. Nothing but plastic comes down Side Belt A, nothing but ferrous metal comes down Side Belt B, and nothing but computer chips comes down Side Belt C, and so on. 

[caltrek]

I am kind of surprised that the concept of recycling plastic is presented as some kind of futuristic concept. Art the risk of sounding like I am engaging in boosterism, California has been engaged in such efforts for many years now, probably reaching back to at least 2011 when this thread was first started.  For our curbside pickup, we have three garbage can options that can be utilized in combination:

 

1. A garbage can for currently nonrecyclable materials such as kitty litter. 
2. A green waste container for yard clippings and the like.
3. A can for recycling material. This third can includes metals, cardboard, paper, and hard plastics. Sorting operations at the waste management site already occur along the lines Funkervogt has discussed, though perhaps not in the exact manner

Hers is a web site describing California's program: https://www.calrecyc...a.gov/Plastics/

 

I should probably add that while California has very enlightened recycling policies, where I live probably has some of the worst litter bug problems in the nation. Both Virginia and Maine, where I have recently resided for a time, really puts California to shame in their keeping of relatively litter free roads, highways and other such public spaces. Even driving from Virginia to Maine I noticed virtually no road side litter of the kind encountered here in California.  

[Ethan13]

Plastic recycling technologies exist, but they are far from being used everywhere. Apparently, there are economic reasons. Some recycling methods involve reuse. For example, the space company Skyrora suggests using recycled plastic fuel for rockets.

"The production of Ecosene, Skyrora's proprietary eco-fuel, will remove over 3,000 tons of unrecyclable plastic waste by 2030." (quote from company website)