Burning cardboard is better “for the environment” than recycling it.
Change my mind.
Discussion
Why would I change your mind when you are correct. Now do plastic lol
lol
i'm dumb when it comes to physics and chemistry
how and why is it so bad
explain for the layman pls
Recycling plastic is dumb because it takes more energy to recycle than to produce new plastic.
the physical volume in the landfields is the counter-argument i'd assume, which makes it worse per se
Landfills as a whole take up less than .01% of all land in the world.
Plastics within those is just a tiny fraction. They are mostly dirt.
We don't have a plastics taking up space in the world problem.
so what is the optics on pushing recycling so heavily on the general population?
Recycling companies get subsidies, of course. It’s always central planning kick backs that result in humiliation rituals for the gen pop.
Making people 'feel good'.
At one point, and at certain price levels, recycling can be profitable.
Aluminum, steel, copper, they all come and go in terms of profitablity.
Plastics not so much.
Especially considering the dozens of kinds of plastics. No 2, 12, 5, whatever. They all must be recycled differently due to their chemical properties. Adding to the cost.
so "they" create a problem and put it on us to feel bad about just to use it as another lever to control us with ?
Yep basically
and this turns every part of life into such a high volume of noise that it's borderline impossible to filter signal and legitimate truth?
One private jet flying over your head will pollute more than what you can recycle in your lifetime. ☹️
I guess. I don't see it as a problem. Industry needs different plastic compounds for different uses. It's part of life.
Just incinerate it. Don't leave it in the ground for a future generation to deal with.
i'm too uneducated to argue further
something something co2 something something ozone layer something something global warming
and air quality index also
Air quality is an easy one to solve: we're damn good at building incinerators. Costs more money. But we can certainly do it.
CO2 is a real problem. But it's not a very significant one compared to other fossil fuel uses. And as we eventually get more and more plant-derived plastics, that'll close the loop and make CO2 irrelevant.
as long as most of the world doesn't turn into new delhi, i'd be happy
If true, imagine holes in the ozone burning areas. Will the fallout change people's minds then? 😆
Give it to Israel. They are good at grinding stuff up.
Burning fat instead of using it for cooking is better for the Environment.
and it’s way more fun
Depends on the circumstances. If you have a good source of clean cardboard that can be easily shipped to a recycling plant the economic value of the cardboard can certainly be higher recycled vs burnt.
Let the market decide.
Note that one consideration is recycling cardboard mixed with plastics is definitely a microplastics hazard as it produces a lot of microplastics contaminated wastewater. If you just incinerate it properly, you eliminate that hazard. Some uses of cardboard for packaging have a lot of plastics mixed in; others do not. We might be better off eliminating consumer paper recycling in favor of incineration, and allowing more controlled recycling (eg boxes from wearhouses) to continue.
...and yes, in general we should be using incineration a _lot_ more to fully eliminate plastic waste rather than leave it for a future generation to deal with.
Are we talking controlled burn or in the burn barrel out back?
Controlled burn with modern air controls.
These days know how to incinerate practically anything without significant air pollution. Countries like Switzerland incinerate essentially 100% of their non-recycled trash.
Using cardboard as sheet mulch is another great option.
Exactly. People suggest composting it, but breaking it down is too much work. I just use it as a compost cover instead of a plastic tarp.
Sounds like a husband/dad who just finished his weekly “box breakdown” chore. I know, because I did mine yesterday.
You can compost some cardboard - that would be good for the environment too.
No, I don’t think I will
Agree. It's been reported that my local authority has bales of the stuff in warehousing there is no market for.
composting > burning > recycling_using_chemical_methods
cardboard composts well
If you're burning it as trash obviously not.
If you're using it to start a fire then yes.
LoooooL… no challenge from me
Its better for starting my coals for sure
We also still need BOD002
If a system requires perfect sorting, transport, processing, and compliance to ‘work,’ it already failed. Nature favors simple, local solutions.