Plastic Rain Is the New Acid Rain

wired.com

How much microplastic pollution hazard does PLA, the filament commonly used in 3D printing, pose?

As far as degradation goes, PLA is essentially like other plastics unless it’s specifically biodegraded in somewhat extreme conditions. However, does it shed micro- or nanoplastics, and if so how intensely? Relevant research is sparse.

I think the amount of discarded plastic from water bottles dwarfs 3D printed filament by many, many orders of magnitude. There aren't that many 3D printers out there and each printer can only extrude so much filament per second.

I am interested in long-term sustainability of this manufacturing method. It is not an attempt to blame maker community for current microplastics pollution.

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