Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by zajio1am 2520 days ago
AFAIK plastics degrade and break down primarily due tue UV light. If you have plastics hidden under earth, it has great durability.
1 comments

Which just defers the problem. What's underground will eventually be returned to the surface by [insert geological event here]. What will a landfill be in 10,000 years time?
Deferring the problem seems like a viable strategy in this case. Plastic recycling seems like the kind of thing that technology might have something to say about eventually - especially if the plastic is already conveniently sorted into its own dedicated place. If petroleum demand falls to the point where oil wells shut down, and there's huge piles of plastic ready for the taking just under the surface, the economics of digging it up become more and more favorable. Plausibly, the problem could solve itself in time.
> What will a landfill be in 10,000 years time?

Someone else's problem.

In all seriousness, by then either we have solved waste disposal through automation, or we will be living in landfills.