Comments on: The surprising benefits of burning plastics

By: Benjamin

Benjamin — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 20:15:53 +0000

In reply to David.

Absolutely inane. The post you linked to cites only 2 downsides to municipal incineration of waste: carbon emissions and (I kid you not) racial equity concerns (in Europe, LOL). How is this “much more harmful” than recycling? Here are 2 papers from the last year which show how recycling is not only largely a sham, but also outright harmful to consumers’ health:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772416623000803
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352340923008090

Carbon emissions are a MUCH more tractable problem than plastic pollution, as we already have a million potential solutions (reforestation, regenerative grazing, renewable energy sources, public transit, among many others). However, the proliferation of plastics in the environment has NO available solution besides total conversion of environmental plastic into heat and non-volatile gases. What are we supposed to do, keep geometrically scaling plastic production & consumption forever, landfilling it, letting the 3rd world dump it in the ocean? Without any attempt to gather up the plastic in the environment and dispose of it responsibly?

The post’s OP has presented a great idea: simple, affordable, and effective devices which can be distributed to convert plastic into useful energy, burn off the volatile compounds that aren’t effectively caught by open firing of plastic, AND effectively incentivize a crowd-sourced solution to plastic pollution (the current status quo has every incentive going the opposite way: developing countries’ populations measurably do not give a shit about littering, they think it’s convenient: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/visualized-ocean-plastic-waste-pollution-by-country/).

With solutions like that proposed here, we could move the needle on plastic pollution for the first time since its invention. And you’re countersignaling it. What’s wrong with you?

By: Jasmine

Jasmine — Sun, 26 Nov 2023 11:23:46 +0000

I’m from India…As mentioned in the article, most developing countries do not invest in any kind of systematic, comprehensive or meaningful waste management. I was born and brought up in a developed country where waste management was taken seriously, because of which I was appalled by how even the most scenic of tourist locations had plastic and even human waste littered.
Even today my neighborhood doesn’t have a transparent waste disposal system…I live in a flat in the city. Luckily I’ve a biogas plant for my food waste, which only I use…I also hv an incinerator for sanitary napkins…some plastic and paper waste are bought by vendors…but most of it, especially plastic covers from food and other packaging items, glass, aluminum foils, thermocol, used clothes, foot-wear etc. are stored and taken by me to my village. Luckily, my village panchayat has started a waste management program.
I was just trying to say, as I was exposed to waste management in my childhood, I take all that pain. Many ppl just litter and dump waste wherever they can. If waste management is a paid service, financially strained ppl try to get around that.
As noted by the author, waste management is a culturally ingrained and socio-economic phenomenon. Burning is a practice people in developed countries can readily practice, if the conditions mentioned by the author are available and the science behind burning is solid. I wish there was a better way. But until then….
If you have been in a country where littering is the norm (it makes you feel the world is hopeless!), and if you feel empathetic for the ocean life, this alternative is far better. Again only if the science behind it is solid.
Thanks for this article. I started reading more on the topic.

By: Radek Oborny

Radek Oborny — Thu, 31 Aug 2023 12:42:14 +0000

In reply to Angie. Hi, thanks for your tip. I think I chose the title on purpose like this.

By: Radek Oborny

Radek Oborny — Thu, 31 Aug 2023 12:41:25 +0000

In reply to Alison. Hi, in general, the best idea is burning it in a stove where you can use the heat for another purpose - for example cooking or energy generation. It is best to use it as an addition to other fuels such as wood. Make sure that everything you burn is first dry!

By: Alison

Alison — Tue, 29 Aug 2023 13:49:20 +0000

Hi, good article. I wondered if you had made any progress with your plastic combusted stoves since 2017. I live on an island on Lake Victoria, Uganda, setting up and implementing the country’s first protected area or fish breeding/growing area. The Fisheries Protection Unit capture a lot of illegal nets and burn them in the open, emitting poisonous toxins into our clean air.
Your stoves could be a good solution.

By: Angie

Angie — Sat, 05 Aug 2023 20:48:39 +0000

Hi I like the concept of burning plastic, the article you wrote is fine but it should not have been printed by itself. This is like a book without beginning and end. Yes you can burn it but it should have started out with the things needed to burn plastic how to do it correctly, how you identify which plastic to use, preparation if needed. Also what are the drawbacks of it etc. You know how people are they see a heading and from their it goes some don’t read the article to find out what your saying. It’s assumed from the header that it’s ok to burn plastic that’s all what some people see. That’s why if you want to print something like that you have to be careful on how you word things and make people see that first you have to have this or that in place before you can have that kind of result if not this is the outcome. You also have to write it where everyone can understand it and the shortest way you can because not everyone wants to read a long as article.
I read your article which isn’t bad but for example you should say you can burn this kind of plastic in this kind of stove and say which stove is needed. Their are hundreds of different stoves out their just because you know what you mean doesn’t mean the person reading it will.

By: David

David — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 23:44:38 +0000

Your post might have seemed like a good idea in 2017, but incinerating plastic has since been proven to be much more harmful than recycling or for that matter, disposing of it in landfills. You purport to care about the environment. I noticed that you replied to another critical comment by asking for more information so that you could fix your article. The only fix is to take it down. If you really do care about protecting the planet that is what you’ll do. Here’s just one article. If you need more please go research the issue yourself. I like to think that with a bit more, and updated data at your disposal you’ll do Mother Earth a solid and take this down! 🙂 https://e360.yale.edu/features/in-europe-a-backlash-is-growing-over-incinerating-garbage

By: Dennis

Dennis — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 12:05:27 +0000

ALL plastics are made from crude oil and are FOREVER molecular compounds that DO NOT biologically break down; but continually break apart into micro (10 to the minus 6th power) and even further smaller particles called nano-plastics (10 to the minus 9th power) that can penetrate biological cell walls. Sixty years ago, large amounts of consumables like mustard, ketchup, mayo, beverages, etc. and many, many other food products were packaged in GLASS containers that were either reused directly or melted down to make new containers. Manufacturers then started using plastics for virtually everything in place of metal and glass because plastics were ECONOMICALLY CHEAPER, and far more damaging to the environment. Also, department stores and grocery stores used PAPER sacks instead of plastic sacks 60 years ago but switched to plastic sacks for purely economic reasons. There has been an ongoing and ever-worsening environmental disaster of plastic waste because plastics are FOREVER molecular compounds. Many bloggers here neglect the breaking down of plastics into microplastics and then into nano-plastics which is extremely un healthy, too. Governments need to ban the manufacture of plastic containers and other plastic products which the products could easily be replaced with recycleable glass and metals. There is NO economically viable and environmentally viable alternative but to BURN plastic if the plastic cannot be recycled. Landfills are not the solution and neither is dumping plastics into the rivers and oceans.

By: Jose

Jose — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 16:54:04 +0000

Burning plastics may sound as a good solution. But this advice cannot be given to people in poor countries. They may not take the necessary precautions to burn them completely. Incinerator burning may be fine, but not open burning in my opinion.

By: Herrose KM

Herrose KM — Sun, 05 Mar 2023 06:13:31 +0000

Your suggestion is the most practical one for countries like India where piles of plastic waste grow to 100ft in most cities. When it catches fire somehow, it smokes for months spreading poisonous gases due to incomplete combustion. If some diesel is poured to the smoke and light it from a safe distance and blowersare engaged, it will cause full combustion and oxidation and waste becomes ash. It’s practical and cheap., undoubtedly. Sometimes we need to fight fire with fire..