Grapevine cellulose makes stronger plastic alternative, biodegrades in 17 days

Re:Grapevine cellulose makes stronger plastic alternative, b... by ahartmetz on Monday September 15, 2025 @04:20AM (#45247345)

The trick is to always have them where you will need them. I always have one or two in my backpack, in my car, in my luggage when I travel... Their size and weight is almost nothing and the only effort is putting them back after use. Which is where it occasionally fails, sure.

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Re:Grapevine cellulose makes stronger plastic alternative, b... by throwawayffffas on Monday September 15, 2025 @07:34AM (#45248475)

The trick is to not bother, just make sure your bag ends recycled not in the street or in the ocean.

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Re:Grapevine cellulose makes stronger plastic alternative, b... by latexr on Monday September 15, 2025 @08:28AM (#45248865)

Reuse is significantly more effective than recycling. Bothering is something we should indeed do. Though yes, disposing of bags properly is also much superior to just throwing them on the floor.

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Re:Grapevine cellulose makes stronger plastic alternative, b... by const_cast on Monday September 15, 2025 @09:03AM (#45249190)

If you recycle then it's probably just going to a street or ocean somewhere else. Plastic recycling is more or less made up.

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Re:Grapevine cellulose makes stronger plastic alternative, b... by eptcyka on Monday September 15, 2025 @09:50AM (#45249742)

They could go into a furnace to get turned into heat, electricity and CO2.

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Re:Grapevine cellulose makes stronger plastic alternative, b... by alkyon on Monday September 15, 2025 @07:50PM (#45256350)

In theory yes, in practice they will be "exported" to a thrid world country with limited processing capabilities and directly dumped into the ocean.

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Re:Grapevine cellulose makes stronger plastic alternative, b... by amalcon on Monday September 15, 2025 @02:06PM (#45252984)

If you use single stream recycling for this, then this is actively bad. Plastic bags clog the sorting machines, and then get thrown out because (even if labeled) they are usually contaminated.

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Re:Grapevine cellulose makes stronger plastic alternative, b... by quickthrowman on Monday September 15, 2025 @06:25PM (#45255711)

Plastic bags are made of polypropylene, and are garbage.

Plastic for the most part is basically garbage, there are so many types that it’s hard to recycle it. PET and HDPE can be recycled fairly easily if they’re sorted, the rest aren’t really worth it (polypropylene, low density polyethylene, PVC).

The only thing that is almost always economically worth recycling is metal, which is separated from the paper/glass/plastic if you have single stream recycling. Plastic should be burned in a cement kiln or buried in a modern landfill, unless it’s well sorted HDPE or PET.

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