DMT-Nexus member
Posts: 341 Joined: 15-Oct-2016 Last visit: 11-Feb-2024
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I made a decision to get rid of all the plastic I could replace with other less toxic materials. Sadly, we can't avoid it completely, there's the water filtrator, blender, coffee machine, freezing bags, ice tray, you name it.
However there are some stuff made out of plastic that have their counterparts with different materials. I would feel much more comfortable replacing some things with glass, or stainless steel. Things like food containers, funnel, bottles and especially stuff like a potato masher and such could be easily replaced. That plastic not only is easy to bend, get little cracks, but also let go some of its taste which is not that tasty at all and has questionable health effects. I also imagine, working an extraction with it would lead for a product that contains contamination, possibly altering the purity of the end result to a noticeable degree.
Most people wouldn't mind just throwing that stuff away, but I would because I try to find use from everything I own, since well, I did pay for it after all with hours of my life that I'm never going to get back. Might as well make the most of it.
So, yeah, what can I do with it? Since I do own different kind of plastic ware most of which are old, cracked, a bit melted it wouldn't do any good to anyone. Nobody would take that stuff even for free. I was thinking about melting it all together, and doing something out of it, but what?
I might also be going overboard on saving stuff, so if there's nothing else I could do expect throw it away or recycle I'm probably going to do just that but if it could find some practical uses I would like to know about them.
Any suggestions are much appreciated.
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DMT-Nexus member
Posts: 3968 Joined: 21-Jul-2012 Last visit: 15-Feb-2024
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There are some locations around the world experimenting with a novel method to reduce landfill deposits and conserve manufacturing resources. I think it's called re-cycling or something like that. Maybe if you contact your garbage collection agency they can give you some information. Other than that, idk. Sine experientia nihil sufficienter sciri potest -Roger Bacon *γνῶθι σεαυτόν*
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DMT-Nexus member
Posts: 634 Joined: 02-Dec-2017 Last visit: 11-Aug-2024 Location: The unfeeling, dark chrysalis of matter
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I personally can't think of anything useful you can make out of old plastic material... I too strive to use the least amount of plastic possible, as my country's recycling mechanisms are almost non-existent. If your country recycles plastic I'd just go dump it all in the proper container and replace it with glass/metal/paper. I completely stand behind this way of life and support and respect your decision. We must be more environmentally aware and always have in mind the consequences our consumption of materials has on Nature. Be well.
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Dreamoar
Posts: 4711 Joined: 10-Sep-2009 Last visit: 21-Nov-2024 Location: Rocky mountain high
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Drill a few holes through the bottom, fill with soil, free planters! Also, this.
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DMT-Nexus member
Posts: 134 Joined: 19-Nov-2017 Last visit: 10-Nov-2021
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Recycling done efficiently https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66DutE7ZsHoThe reason we are not as efficient at recycling in the west is because recycling is seen as a chore that needs to be funded by taxes which directly or indirectly are paid for by the average man. Out in the third world, recycling is seen as a business opportunity albeit a poorly paid one. People who live on the edge all the time, will embrace the glimmer of hope that a venture like this might provide in improving their lives. Where I live, a huge amount of recyclable plastic is sent to landfills because the machines used cannot sort them out efficiently and it is not worth the while of the recycling contractors to clean up aluminium or plastic with food residue on it. They pass this chore onto the public, requiring them to sort out different sorts of plastic separately and clean it before binning it appropriately. If you get it wrong, you are hit with a fine or you don't have your rubbish taken away. If the recycling companies actually paid the public for clean sorted waste, the response would be much better. But I guess that is not how our version of capitalism works. BTW Plastics are wonderful materials. They can be designed for applications in a way nothing else can. No natural material can replace plastics effectively in millions of applications. The problem is not with the material but with human behaviour. We are always quick to blame everything but ourselves for our failings. EDIT Another good video with some interesting points made https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx4fJJKbjco
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DMT-Nexus member
Posts: 4733 Joined: 30-May-2008 Last visit: 13-Jan-2019 Location: inside moon caverns
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Quote:Nobody would take that stuff even for free. Der Gelbe Sack Would Probably.
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DMT-Nexus member
Posts: 3968 Joined: 21-Jul-2012 Last visit: 15-Feb-2024
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Oh yeah, if you do recycle it- which of course, all of us SHOULD be regularly doing and doing right- make sure you're doing it correctly. I live in one of the first states to install a recycling program, and ethical environmentalism is part of our culture. However recently there have been several articlesin the local paper about how bad we are at actually doing it. Apparently, Chinese recycling facilities take the lion's share of my states waste to process, but they have begun refusing shipments because they sources are so contaminated. People don't know what they can and can't put in their bins, pedestrians use them as garbage cans when they're out for pickup, and often don't separate the trash effectively. It seems that most of the material is going to landfills because it's impossible to remove the plastic that gums up the paper machines. It's a giant waste of money and mitigates the environmental benefits of the practice. Sine experientia nihil sufficienter sciri potest -Roger Bacon *γνῶθι σεαυτόν*
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