Life Without Plastic - Day 11 (Plasco)
Feb. 11th, 2015 12:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
siglinde99This company http://www.plascoenergygroup.com/ filed for creditor protection yesterday. You can read more about it here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/plasco-obtains-creditor-protection-80-jobs-terminated-1.2951751.
This raises several issues for me, leaving aside the obvious ones related to the bankruptcy:
1) Would it ever have worked? From what I have read, breaking down plastic is really hard.
2) Do we really need fuel that much? Were any environmental implications outweighed by the benefits? I have this question largely because I haven't done sufficient homework.
3) What more could we do, as a society, to minimize use of plastics and divert more from the landfill so that such an option wouldn't be necessary?
4) Ditto the above, but for all other solid waste - especially construction waste, which is now the largest single component of our landfills.
5) How much do we value innovation and investment in social goods? This was always an enterprise that would rely on government funding because that is to whom we entrust the responsibility for waste disposal. If it had been in the business of producing something for the private sector, would it have faced equal risk aversion from investors?
This raises several issues for me, leaving aside the obvious ones related to the bankruptcy:
1) Would it ever have worked? From what I have read, breaking down plastic is really hard.
2) Do we really need fuel that much? Were any environmental implications outweighed by the benefits? I have this question largely because I haven't done sufficient homework.
3) What more could we do, as a society, to minimize use of plastics and divert more from the landfill so that such an option wouldn't be necessary?
4) Ditto the above, but for all other solid waste - especially construction waste, which is now the largest single component of our landfills.
5) How much do we value innovation and investment in social goods? This was always an enterprise that would rely on government funding because that is to whom we entrust the responsibility for waste disposal. If it had been in the business of producing something for the private sector, would it have faced equal risk aversion from investors?
