Materials and Waste 📍

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Wisconsin waste coalition forms to combat negative PFAS reputation | Waste Dive

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Wisconsin waste coalition forms to combat negative PFAS reputation | Waste Dive

A group of Wisconsin landfill operators have formed a coalition as they seek to avoid shouldering the blame for toxic chemical contamination, WXPR reported last week. The coalition comes as landfills grapple with the looming fallout from the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the waste stream. Chemical companies like 3M, Chemours, and DuPont are the manufacturers of PFAS, but the substances have wound up in landfills, composting sites, and wastewater treatment plants. The new Wisconsin coalition argues those manufacturers should be responsible for cleanup associated with the contamination. They also aim to improve communication between landfills and wastewater treatment plants, in addition to coming up with both short and long-term solutions to the PFAS problem. "We are sick and tired of having the finger pointed at the solid waste industry," Meleesa Johnson, administrator for Marathon County's solid waste department and president of the Associated Recyclers of Wisconsin, told Waste Dive. "Until we actually have a conversation about the real cause and effect, we will only put a band-aid on the problem," she added.

This should be fun, especially for the lawyers who make the big bucks.

Polyethylene

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Polyethylene

Polyethylene is the most popular plastic in the world. This is the polymer that makes grocery bags, shampoo bottles, children's toys, and even bullet proof vests. For such a versatile material, it has a very simple structure, the simplest of all commercial polymers. A molecule of polyethylene is nothing more than a long chain of carbon atoms, with two hydrogen atoms attached to each carbon atom.

A Surge of New Production Is on the Way – Yale E360

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The Plastics Pipeline: A Surge of New Production Is on the Way – Yale E360

As public concern about plastic pollution rises, consumers are reaching for canvas bags, metal straws, and reusable water bottles. But while individuals fret over images of oceanic garbage gyres, the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries are pouring billions of dollars into new plants intended to make millions more tons of plastic than they now pump out.

Companies like ExxonMobil, Shell, and Saudi Aramco are ramping up output of plastic — which is made from oil and gas, and their byproducts — to hedge against the possibility that a serious global response to climate change might reduce demand for their fuels, analysts say. Petrochemicals, the category that includes plastic, now account for 14 percent of oil use, and are expected to drive half of oil demand growth between now and 2050, the International Energy Agency (IEA) says. The World Economic Forum predicts plastic production will double in the next 20 years.

A Swamp of Chemicals

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Yesterday I was thinking about that article I posted about PFOAs being found in rain water … 💦

We really live in a swamp of man-made chemicals, toxic or otherwise. It literally rains all kinds of noxious things out in sky, we breathe them in, we eat it in our food. Most of the chemicals are at very low levels, but they’re everywhere. Now we shouldn’t be afraid, but we should be asking manufacturers to use a little bit more precaution because once the genie is out of the bottle you can’t put him back in right away. I think it’s kind of silly for individuals to take excessive steps to avoid exposure to chemicals, as they’re everywhere and you can’t avoid them, but we should be asking more of industry to do better.

101st Street

Returned online purchases often sent to landfill, journalist’s research reveals | CBC Radio

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‘It’s pretty staggering’: Returned online purchases often sent to landfill, journalist’s research reveals | CBC Radio

Do you order different sizes of clothing online, knowing you can return the one that doesn't fit?

Did you know the ones you return are sometimes sent straight to landfill?

Online shopping has created a boom in perfectly good products ending up in dumpsters and landfills, according to Adria Vasil, an environmental journalist and managing editor of Corporate Knights magazine.