News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Caterpillar found to eat shopping bags, suggesting solution to plastic pollution. Parent comment

Re:Caterpillar found to eat shopping bags, suggesting soluti... by framebit on Monday April 24, 2017 @03:37PM (#14187379)
Mismanaged landfills can have some unpleasant effects on the surrounding environment, like smell in the air or seeping pollutants into groundwater.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Caterpillar found to eat shopping bags, suggesting soluti... by mark-r on Monday April 24, 2017 @04:08PM (#14187758)
Speaking of, don't they use plastic liners to keep the pollutants out of the groundwater? Filling landfills with a chemical to break down plastic could backfire badly.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Caterpillar found to eat shopping bags, suggesting soluti... by prodikl on Monday April 24, 2017 @04:23PM (#14187928)
pretty sure we could come up with another type of liner
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Caterpillar found to eat shopping bags, suggesting soluti... by greglindahl on Monday April 24, 2017 @10:54PM (#14190388)
It'd be an unusual landfill to start with, because caterpillars generally don't like anaerobic conditions. More like a compost pile that's kept well-aerated.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Caterpillar found to eat shopping bags, suggesting soluti... by mark-r on Tuesday April 25, 2017 @07:24PM (#14199149)
It seemed like there was a desire to mass produce the chemical that the caterpillar uses to dissolve the plastic, not to use actual caterpillars.
[ Parent | on HN ]