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Also steel is 100% recyclable. If I recall correctly, most steel used today is recycled.

Most steel in the US and Europe is recycled. I believe most steel in China and to a larger extent Asia comes out of a giant pit in Australia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yandicoogina_mine

That mine runs fully automated ore trucks and the owner Rio Tinto wants to automate the rest. 950 ppl produce 18% of the world's iron ore from that pit.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-18/rio-tinto-opens-world...

If this has 100x less carbon footprint and steel is 90% recycled, the polymer still wins overall.

Not in 10,000 years when it is still blowing around..

Current steel production is pretty awful too - radioactive materials in atmosphere via coal, leachates from additives, etc.

Microplastics haven't been proven to have much damage other than triggering karentils (karen's on lentil spectrum).

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