why are plastics so much worse than other non biodegradable things like concrete or rock?

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I understand that plastics are bad for the environment but why are they so much worse then any other rocks and sand that are always present. If plastics can’t biodegrade why can’t they be considered as a somthing like sand after a certain point.

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45 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Concrete has problems, but the simple reason is that ultimately it is an aggregate of natural materials whereas plastic is synthetic.

Something that is persistent, synthetic and interacts with the biosphere is problematic because animals aren’t designed to deal with plastics in their body. Whether that’s endocrine system problems screwing up hormones or simply choking and clogging on plastic debris outright.

TLDR – animals know how to deal with rocks. They don’t know how to deal with entanglement in nylon rope or swallowing bottlecaps.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Concrete has problems, but the simple reason is that ultimately it is an aggregate of natural materials whereas plastic is synthetic.

Something that is persistent, synthetic and interacts with the biosphere is problematic because animals aren’t designed to deal with plastics in their body. Whether that’s endocrine system problems screwing up hormones or simply choking and clogging on plastic debris outright.

TLDR – animals know how to deal with rocks. They don’t know how to deal with entanglement in nylon rope or swallowing bottlecaps.

Anonymous 0 Comments

[someone please emphasise/ correct if I’m wrong] It mainly boils down to the question: How do I dispose of this item?
Plastic is a artificial material that is mass produced and takes a long time (thousands of years, even millions in some cases) to decompose. Unlike most other materials which eventually decompose in a shorter time compared to plastics.

Anonymous 0 Comments

[someone please emphasise/ correct if I’m wrong] It mainly boils down to the question: How do I dispose of this item?
Plastic is a artificial material that is mass produced and takes a long time (thousands of years, even millions in some cases) to decompose. Unlike most other materials which eventually decompose in a shorter time compared to plastics.

Anonymous 0 Comments

[someone please emphasise/ correct if I’m wrong] It mainly boils down to the question: How do I dispose of this item?
Plastic is a artificial material that is mass produced and takes a long time (thousands of years, even millions in some cases) to decompose. Unlike most other materials which eventually decompose in a shorter time compared to plastics.