Re: [GRRN] PVC

[Muna Lakhani <muna@iafrica.com>]

> 
> Hello, Glen.
> You wrote:
> 
> My question is, does anyone know if there is any way
> to "return" plastic bags to a form that is usable/safe
> for the planet?

there have been some attempts to do this, with limited success -
recycling is comparatively expensive, as the material is bulky for it's
weight; all processing and re-processing of plastics, especially
flexible plastics, liberate unwelcome emissions, such as pthlates; even
when photo degradable plastics degrade, all they make is small bits of
plastic;

the most hi-tech process I have encountered is "cracking" where
potentially one breaks down the molecules of the plastic, to take it
back to raw feedstock - there has been some success with this, but the
emissions are, quite frankly, not those we can live with....

IMHO we need to use plastic where appropriate, not simply use it because
it is so easy (at present) to externalise the true costs of the
material...

Muna



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