Re:Trash piles up in US as China closes door to recycling
by HillaryBriss on Friday August 03, 2018 @03:30PM
(#17682878)
> worse, tossing it into the ocean
I used to think that. Then I read this and now I'm less sure:
....the most widely-used plastic, the stuff used to make shopping bags, is the one that produces the greatest amount of these warming gases ... after 212 days in the sun, this plastic emitted 176 times more methane than at the start of the experiment. Ironically, when plastics were exposed to air the amount of methane emitted was double the level from sea water.
I used to think that. Then I read this and now I'm less sure:
....the most widely-used plastic, the stuff used to make shopping bags, is the one that produces the greatest amount of these warming gases ... after 212 days in the sun, this plastic emitted 176 times more methane than at the start of the experiment. Ironically, when plastics were exposed to air the amount of methane emitted was double the level from sea water.
more here: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-45043989