this post was submitted on 21 Sep 2024
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[–] [email protected] 73 points 1 month ago (5 children)

Studies have identified some of the main sources of microplastics as:

  • plastic-coated fertilisers
  • plastic film used as mulch in agriculture

WTF?

  • plastics recycling.

Uuuuh…

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

Other great source of plastics are synthetic fabrics. It releases a lot of micro particles in the water during washing and drying cycles.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Have you seen the process used in plastic recycling? The plastic is literally triturated into tiny bits before being heated up for the next stages.

Edit: why the downvotes? I'm just trying to give some context on why plastic recycling is a great source of microplastics

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Plastic was never meant to be recycled.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

So, what you're telling us is, they've been lying for decades?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

Yup passing on the responsibility from the manufacturer to the consumer

[–] [email protected] 25 points 1 month ago (2 children)
  • plastic film used as mulch in agriculture

Wtf. Where and why?!

[–] [email protected] 65 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

It's the black plastic bag material that people used to cover their soil and poke holes through for their crops.

I never thought it was called plastic mulch though.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 month ago (1 children)

It serves the same purpose as actual mulch, which is blocking out weeds

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Yes, but mulch has the meaning of ground up wood, so I think most people would think it was ground up plastics.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 month ago

If it was ground up plastic it would probably just get carried off by the wind.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

Or plastic greenhouses