• thraenthraen
    +8

    I think this is an interesting idea, and at the same time I'm curious as to how much something like this justifies the continued production of new plastic. Not saying it does, but it's something to consider. What I think would be especially cool is if it'd be possible to build roads like this using materials from the Great Pacific garbage patch, although I'm not sure how easy removing the plastic (which are very small pieces) would be. The other consideration is not that we don't have use for recycled plastic, but that we just simply don't recycle plastic very much. Even when you toss it in your recycle bin, that's hardly a guarantee that it'll be recycled, for a variety of reasons.

    Just some brain-dump thoughts. Thanks for linking this!

    • jcscher
      +6

      "According to the company, any type of recycled plastic can be used. The main goal, the company says, is to keep plastic out of the oceans. "

      • thraenthraen
        +5

        Yeah, I saw that. Keeping plastic out of the oceans is different than ocean clean up, which is why I mentioned removal. The Quartz link I just added has slightly different wording: "The project is a part of a larger initiative to rid the seas of “plastic soup.”" That's still vague and could just mean working to prevent additional plastic being added rather than attempts to clean-up the mess.

        • jcscher
          +5

          Thanks for adding the links.

          • thraenthraen
            +4

            No problem! And if anyone wants a translation of the NOS article (the link in Dutch), just let me know. I can translate it when I have chance.