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Comment by Victerius | Hacker News Reader

I mean, plastics were basically invented _because_ of their resistance to natural degradation and corrosion. A material that nature cannot destroy is a weapon of mass destruction. Anything sold to the general public _must_ be biodegradable.

Instead, we're going to invent bacteria that can eat plastics, and plastics will lose its utility as an indestructible material.

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Paper is really such a great fit to replace single use plastic. Biodegradable, can be incinerated, plasma gasified, or landfilled. Will decompose if not collected for disposal, and wax can be used for the more tricky packaging applications. Fast growth timber can meet the need without impacting more at risk forestry.

Bottles and cutlery traditionally made from plastic can be made from agricultural plastic substitutes.

You might use more energy (which can be sourced from clean sources), but the trade off is less persistent pollution and micro plastic waste.

> Anything sold to the general public _must_ be biodegradable.

I love this guiding principle.

Paper might be a good replacement for dry things that are guaranteed to stay dry, but a poor replacement for everything else.

Somehow we have forgotten about glass bottles and the milkman model, maybe it's the microplastics finally leeching into our brains.

Milk comes in paper cartons.

Those cartons are not only paper.

Which paper milk cartons don't use plastic/aluminum coatings?

They used to use wax though, right?

That bacteria won't stop at the stuff in the soil... it'll thrive on everything... that is going to be entertaining to watch.

but it'll be just like any other bacteria, just wash it off

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