Climate Crisis by

Climate Crisis by https://padlet.com/alexbrodkowitz/xfq1hnmhpj815br7 American Politics padlet en-us 2021-10-20 17:02:23 UTC 2025-11-15 19:30:33 UTC hello@padlet.com https://docs.google.com/document/d/16SY9qmAHnYLUiVg_HM3frjHaZqilOMDfJo0AcQHvC9w/edit?usp=sharing https://padlet.com/alexbrodkowitz/xfq1hnmhpj815br7/wish/1834629324 2021-10-21 20:20:58 UTC https://padlet.com/alexbrodkowitz/xfq1hnmhpj815br7/wish/1834629324 THE RECYCLING MYTHBIG OIL’S SOLUTION FOR PLASTIC WASTE LITTERED WITH FAILURE https://padlet.com/alexbrodkowitz/xfq1hnmhpj815br7/wish/1834630075

Companies are starting to look into new forms of recycling that can process more types of plastics
They wanted to transform their hard-to-recycle plastic waste into low-polluting fuel or reclaimed resin to make new plastic, coining the term “advanced recycling”. This company hoped to-recycle plastics such as plastic bags or takeout containers – stuff most traditional recyclers won’t touch. This technology would be a game changer because they could potentially process all types of plastic, eliminating expensive sorting and cleaning.
Most of the advanced recycling firms involved in the projects use a form of pyrolysis, the process of breaking down matter using high temperatures in an environment with little or no oxygen. This process has recently become economically and commercially viable. However, some scientists challenge the assertion that melting unsorted plastic made from a variety of chemicals is good for the environment. Nor has pyrolysis proven capable of transforming unsorted garbage into high-quality fuel and clean plastic resin.
They don’t work
It is expensive and inefficient to produce the low-polluting fuel so the recycling plants couldn’t sell it to other businesses
They are overall worse for the environment than traditional recycling (Burning plastics or dumping in landfills)

]]> 2021-10-21 20:21:23 UTC https://padlet.com/alexbrodkowitz/xfq1hnmhpj815br7/wish/1834630075 https://padlet.com/alexbrodkowitz/xfq1hnmhpj815br7/wish/1834631884 2021-10-21 20:22:40 UTC https://padlet.com/alexbrodkowitz/xfq1hnmhpj815br7/wish/1834631884 More Plastic Is On the Way: What It Means for Climate Change by Renee Cho https://padlet.com/alexbrodkowitz/xfq1hnmhpj815br7/wish/1834869614 More Plastic Is On the Way: What It Means Recent fracking boom = low gas prices which has prompted the following:

Fossil fuel companies are producing double the amount of plastics in the environment
Adding these natural gases like ethane, methane are contributing to climate change

Recycled plastic is more costly than virgin plastic, and even then recycled plastic produces greenhouse gas emissions which means that solutions aren’t as effective as they could be.

The US used to send their recycled plastics to China to sell, but in 2017 Cinah banned certain types of solid waste - including plastics so now the US has no market for their plastics.

A research professor says that there are microplastics that have chemicals which have unknown effects right now, and there is no prominent knowledge on them = long-lasting effects even if plastics aren’t being produced. What is left in the atmosphere is huge and there is no clear path on how to remove them.

CIEL reported five possible solutions to the plastic pollution problem:

“Ending the production and use of single-use, disposable plastic;

Stopping development of new oil, gas, and petrochemical infrastructure;

Promoting zero-waste communities;

Requiring extended producer responsibility;

Adopting and enforcing ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from all sectors, including plastic production.”

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