Which is better for the planet?

Question

I'm trying to find out which is better for the planet... For plastic that can not be recycled (at least not anywhere near where I live)... Is it better to incinerate (burn) it or take it to the landfill where it will sit for the next few thousand years putting chemicals in the groundwater etc? Thanks for any thoughts and comments.

Answer 1

Landfills. We do not know what technologies will exist in the future, and burying them at least presents the possibility of recovery and reprocessing when that time comes. If you burn them then there is no possibility of recycling in the future. Also, most modern plastics are designed to breakdown when exposed to the environment, and since they are made up of petroleum, the hydrocarbons will find a place in nature.

Answer 2

Plastics can be burnt as fuel in commercial incinerators, producing about the same amount of pollution as burning petroleum. Unless you are getting fuel value out of the plastic, you're just making air pollution. The landfill is a better bet, at least there it is localized along with all the other pollutants in the landfill.

Answer 3

Yes, burn it. However, the short term would be bad if everyone went around burning plastic all day. But, the soot and ash will decompose easier.
Some experimentation has been done on bacteria decomposing the plastic. But most of us don't have a way to grind it up fine and bury it.

Answer 4

If the plastic contains chlorine or fluorine you would damage the ozone shield if you decide to burn it, unless you have a special facility to capture the combustion gases. Teflon is a very stable compound and maybe it would be better to store buried. So you have to research how to dispose each plastic.

Answer 5

yeah I would burn it