Can the Circular Economy Solve Our Plastics Problem?

What if we could make every plastic product reusable and get rid of plastic waste altogether? Earthrise Studio’s Alice Aedy explores a simple but radical solution to our broken recycling system.

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[bertcopying]

Turning e.g. plastic bottles into mats only kicks the can further on the road: Where does that plastic end up when the mat is not usable any longer?

[JulianFoley]

No, these small-scale solutions merely kick the can down the road. These items have little further value after use, and precisely the same about of plastic now remains to be recycled, but that is now impossible. You're right, an aluminium cup is able to be used time after time, and is fully recyclable once it can no longer function. Plastics can be designed to be as reusable - look at the Tupperware containers in your grandmother's cupboard (or now at vintage homeware shops, at prices higher than the original). But the circular economy that allowed these products to be designed is not the voracious exploitative economy that has been the other great US export.

[justanotherhuman]

Finally some intelligent comments on this topic, NGL made me a little happy 😌

[dragonskunkstudio]

5:33 Fix the Premiere Pro Media Pending Error

[CatCommando]

plastic thats 100% recyclable? thats just glass bruv... no research needed.

[MMMMatt]

First things first...she's the realest.

[randhirbirdi]

Industry created the single use plastics problem. they should solve it to. Do not do a parttial recycling effort and send your waste across the world for further use or recycling where they have cheaper labour and less industrial controls. You are just trying to push problems further down the line. Consumers need a stronger discipline to reuse, reduce waste and recycle as much as possible before discarding anything - poorer countries handle it much better out of neccessity and their needs and economics.

[TheSar]

What about the energy variable?
In order to 'close the loop' you need to input siginifcant energy to transform or otherwise recycle the original plastic product.
This type of thinking is not helping the issues. In fact - it will likely make the problem worse overtime.

[oiybmmh]

Fortunes and misfortunes
are vicissitudes of life.
Being safe and well is a blessing which we
should cherish at all times.
Instil into ourselves a forgiving state of mind.
This is the Buddha’s state of mind.

[tammyleung]

You literally flimed people living under proverty line and called them small-scale solutions?

[mandarkokate]

Let me honest with you it will be much better if we avoid plastic at first place. Now we are in such situation that we have to recycle it or it will go landfill.

[Re_RAM]

According to the World Bank, 2019 per capita carbon emissions in Senegal were 0, 6 metric tones, Indonesia 2, 3 mt and the United States, 14, 67 mt. This video insinuates that reducing plastic pollution is somehow a developing world problem yet the US is by far the world’s biggest polluter. We’re all on the same internet so quit it with the quasi-colonial bias.

[SeisoRefillsbyAGSSE]

Business propositions following circular economy is expensive. People buying power has dropped drastically and those who can afford they Don't care .

[Vyzard]

I was surprised she didn't rap throughout the video

[dannychan]

Q : HOW and WHEN the PLASTICS Problem will BE SOLVED ? ?
A : WHEN chickens HAVE TEETH !🐔🦷

[wesleylopescorrea]

I can't identify hear accent, is a mix of American and British, but I loved. If any can tell me wear she from, I really appreciate.

[dankmeme]

The micro plastics bit was not appropriate for this conversation it leads you to believe that we can stop micro plastics, we can’t stop micro plastics pollution we’ve even found it on Antarctica and the top of Mount Everest. Also solving the recycling problem is unnecessary and misguided it would just cause more harm financially to the economy than it would disposing of the plastic waist properly at a dump, if the dump is built up to code it will not pollute ground water or lakes/streams and after its lived through the lifecycle of a dump and is closed it gets sealed and turned into a ski resort, waist treatment facilities or land for business to build on. To convince the companies that are even able to reuse the plastic that we recycle (basically only Chinese factories) we would have to make it more profitable than making new plastic which would either cost us by giving them huge tax breaks for it or paying an absurd amount more than what we already do for everything made with plastic.

[adnanshabbar]

i came here to look at her so beautiful

[zpoppe]

Recycling hasn't worked for 60 years, at least were locking up the carbon in plastic, putting it back in the ground. Instead of the atmosphere!

[obsidian....]

3rd world countries literally dump their plastic straight into streams/rivers which then dumps straight out into the ocean.
.
Focusing $ on recycling plastic in 1st world = horrible ROI.
Using that same amount of $ towards fixing the 3rd world dumping = amazing ROI.