[XorNot]

Reusing plastics is honestly one of those "do we need to" things these days. The theory is that if we reuse them, then the waste doesn't pollute the environment - but landfilled plastic waste is basically sequestered carbon, and plastic pollution is ocean-borne and mostly being directly produced by poor environmental practice - not unrecycled plastic waste or landfill escape.

[gonzo41]

Yeah I agree, I'm pretty pro, bury plastic in the ground, but I figure if we need to coke steel rather than digging up coal we can just divert a few trucks.

[gremloni]

Yeah seriously, bury the plastic really deep away from water tables and forget about it. We clearly can’t recycle most of the stuff. Couple that with moving away from a frivolous use of plastic and I think we are golden. There are a bunch of abandoned mines miles away from substantial water tables. Fill those up.

[politician]

We can’t figure out how to store a minimal quantity of radioactive waste in a purpose-built salt mine dozens of miles away from any small town. I have no faith that we can find places to store megatons of plastic waste.

[potatoman22]

Plastic doesn't radiate.

[politician]

NIMBY neighbors don’t compromise.

[haimez]

They might if it affected their states tax revenue and was only a plastic landfill (which is to say, not a compromise but a pure self interest play).

[gremloni]

There shouldn’t be any neighbors in the middle of nowhere.

[Chris2048]

funny question: could we mix the nuclear waste with the plastic to make (the plastic) degrade faster?

[politician]

That's brilliant. I would love to learn if that could work and wouldn't just create a bunch of radioactive plastic.

[Chris2048]

Even if it did, if it ended up enriching the soil carbon-content, would it matter?