Post #2271011

2026-05-09 03:38 UTC

A story in two acts: Left pic: me when I thought recycling would save the world Right pic: me after I found out that plastic corporations invented plastic recycling to put the responsibility onto the consumer even though they knew plastic recycling was both chemically and financially not feasible, and now I have plastic in my brain, lungs and testicles #plastics #recycling #microplastics

Replies (4)

@jwi@aus.social 2026-05-09 07:52

@clmerle@mstdn.social Yep, so true. The old mantra of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle is the way to go. Remember, its reduce first, and recycle as a last resort.

Open ##2293635
@tecHunt@mastodon.social 2026-05-09 08:40

@clmerle@mstdn.social To be fair, you can recycle plastic (at least a couple times until the polymer chains become too short). The problem is that as soon as you mix plastics the whole batch becomes useless. Burning it isn't ideal, but still better than letting it sit outside until UV light breaks it down. That's how you get micro plastic. On that note, people throwing garbage on the ground or into rivers should receive capital punishment.

Open ##2293636
@fgbjr@indieweb.social 2026-05-09 09:02

@clmerle@mstdn.social I did see (but did not follow up on) a report that a flawed methodology was uncovered in studies showing high concentrations of plastic in brain, gonads, etc. (It seems that technicians handling samples with plastic gloves may have skewed results.)

Open ##2293637
@wolfie@deadinsi.de 2026-05-10 10:00

@clmerle@mstdn.social (the man in both pics is Willem Dafoe btw 😄)

Open ##2342204