• meseek #2982@lemmy.ca
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    1 year ago

    Space. We need to somehow work out a system where we use gravity to float our garbage out in orbit and then shoot it towards the sun. Like we just have to.

    I can’t believe we have literally been sweeping our shit and piss and plastic everything under the living room rug and everyone is like yeah this is fine we can keep doing this forever 🫠

    • hoot@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      This is terribly incorrect. Space is not a solution. The amount of energy required to send trash into space is very high and therefore expensive, like ~$5000/kg, and would generate a stupid amount of C02. Watch this video, it gives a great perspective on the scope of the problem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us2Z-WC9rao

      Alternatively, the Earth is HUGE. All the garbage ever generated in the history of humankind would fit into a comparatively tiny space. This is obviously a terrible option too, but WAY better than space.

      Burning it is also terrible - no matter how good we get the incinerators, they still produce unacceptable levels of dioxins and other chemicals. You are much more likely to get cancer if you live near an incinerator.

      The ONLY solution is to stop producing so much plastic.

      • ramjambamalam@lemmy.ca
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        1 year ago

        Friendly reminder that Reduce, Reuse, Recycle is in order of priority.

        We should require deposit-based packaging (like beer bottles) for most consumable goods.

        • hoot@lemmy.ca
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          1 year ago

          I agree. We also need regulation that makes manufacturers responsible for the end costs of their packaging and products. This kind of thinking is starting to come around, as municipalities and taxpayers have finally started waking up to the fact that it’s ultimately our dollars that are paying for the corporations to create as much waste as they want. We’re the ones that have to pay for the garbage pickups and the landfills where it all ends up.

        • Dearche@lemmy.ca
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          1 year ago

          This. 90% of modern waste comes from excesses. Everything from kitchen waste to disposables and clothes. We build cheap crap and throw them out after one use all the time, rather than getting quality and enjoying their use for years.

          There’s a reason why fast fashion is considered one of the greatest sources of waste in the world.

    • beaubbe@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Throwing stuff at the sun is super hard to do, as well as the fact that this would be wasting precious resources that is now gone from earth. I feel like one day, there will be businesses mining old garbage patch for long lost metals and stuff.