What's after plastic?

[Dcinmd]

Recycled plastics of course. Since it will be around for a million years.

Trash panda on asteroids.

 

[jupiterboy]

I suspect the sixth extinction comes after plastic. I suspect discs are a negligible part of the plastic waste stream. I also suspect we would not be able to sustain current population levels without plastic.

 

[BillFleming]

There are already alternates, at least partially. Gateway has discs made from hemp. I can't recall what company produced it, but there was a disc made with coffee....it was probably a coffee/plastic blend...but still. And there is always recycled plastic....a good way to use waste. TrashPanda is already recycling plastic (not just old discs) into PDGA approved discs.

I think recycled plastic will be the future.....there is so much waste plastic in this world that we could probably have discs from 100% recycled plastic for a very long time. Heck...your disc becomes too banged up, send it in to be recycled and get x percentage off a replacement.

 

[Naenae]

That whatever mix it is with wood pulp and something else. They already do disposable "nonplastic" utensils with it.

That would add a cool element to the game. Tree hits result in the disc shattering, Limit the number of discs in the bag, and voila...a new factor in the calculus of shot risk.

 

[Naenae]

I suspect the sixth extinction comes after plastic. I suspect discs are a negligible part of the plastic waste stream. I also suspect we would not be able to sustain current population levels without plastic.

We can't sustain current population levels period. The evidence (migration, starvation, war) is all around us.

I agree though, that disc plastics are not the problem. Many manufacturer already incorporate recycled plastics, and (most) lost discs are not showing up in the blood of fish.

 

[uncle pennybags]

Most manufactures of plastics products recycle just as a normal part of doing business. Disc companies are probably tossing injection sprues into the regrind bin. And discs like EchoStar and R2 are recycled discs too.

Like others said recycling discs that are broken or crappy may become a thing too.

 

[jenb]

Paper is the obvious alternative to plastic. Remember "paper or plastic" in the checkout line?

 

[TheWorst]

In the future landfill mining will be a thing. Smart people will buy up those properties and wait for materials and commodities to completely disappear and then dig it back up and salvage whatever they can for money. Kinda like petrified lake logs.

Good luck getting the pdga to bend on flexibility, rim width and weight standards.

We can't sustain current population levels period. The evidence (migration, starvation, war) is all around us.

I agree though, that disc plastics are not the problem. Many manufacturer already incorporate recycled plastics, and (most) lost discs are not showing up in the blood of fish.

Used to run a plastic recycling program. It's kinda fucked, but in a perfect world where everything that could be recycled was; we would only recoup 25% of the plastic we use, which is less than we have increased our production every year since we started makin it. It's not a solution.

What is funny, and actually hopeful, in the last decade we have discovered over 50 new species of wild fungus in landfills that have learned to eat plastics. Similar to how petrified wood exists from an era that nothing could decompose wood, until fungus learned to do so. We are actually going to work ourselves into a corner where there are actually species dependent on plastic production. Ironic that we thought we created inert matter that would last 10,000 years. Pure ego on our part.

 

[Dcinmd]

Paper is the obvious alternative to plastic. Remember "paper or plastic" in the checkout line?

Is it cruel to throw paper at a tree?

 

[txmxer]

Used to run a plastic recycling program. It's kinda fucked, but in a perfect world where everything that could be recycled was; we would only recoup 25% of the plastic we use, which is less than we have increased our production every year since we started makin it. It's not a solution.

What is funny, and actually hopeful, in the last decade we have discovered over 50 new species of wild fungus in landfills that have learned to eat plastics. Similar to how petrified wood exists from an era that nothing could decompose wood, until fungus learned to do so. We are actually going to work ourselves into a corner where there are actually species dependent on plastic production. Ironic that we thought we created inert matter that would last 10,000 years. Pure ego on our part.

Years ago, I attended a presentation by a city recycle center that said something very similar.

He was talking about collections of plastic bottles that are exposed to UV basically negating recycling. I don't know the chemistry, but I've heard this many times over the years from those do know.

 

[jupiterboy]

We can't sustain current population levels period. The evidence (migration, starvation, war) is all around us.

Sure, but it's generally considered bad form to talk

Years ago, I attended a presentation by a city recycle center that said something very similar.

He was talking about collections of plastic bottles that are exposed to UV basically negating recycling. I don't know the chemistry, but I've heard this many times over the years from those do know.

This is more on point. We use plastics so heavily in food transport/preservation and medical that we can't back out. I've looked at data about how much arable land exists and how many people could exist on a small farming model. It's much less than we have now. We are kinda locked in.

 

[Dcinmd]

Years ago, I attended a presentation by a city recycle center that said something very similar.

He was talking about collections of plastic bottles that are exposed to UV basically negating recycling. I don't know the chemistry, but I've heard this many times over the years from those do know.

Definitely a thing when speaking specifically about PVC of Poly(vinyl chloride)

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1658365514000880

Also with Polypropylene

Effects of UV Radiation on Polypropylene

Polypropylene is highly susceptible to degradation by UV radiation in its base form (i.e. no pigment or additives). The material becomes brittle after prolonged exposure. In fact, basic polypropylene can lose up to 70% of its mechanical strength after 6 days worth of exposure to high-intensity UV radiation. It should be noted, however, that even with the additives, polypropylene will still degrade relatively quickly when exposed to sunlight for a prolonged period of time.
Polypropylene is sensitive to ultraviolet wavelengths of 290-300, 330 & 370 nm (nanometers). These are considered the spectra maxima of polypropylene.
Even though polypropylene has great mechanical strength and is highly chemically resistant, it is not suited for prolonged exposure to sunlight. Polypropylene is also not easy to coat so it's best to simply keep this material out of direct sunlight altogether.

UV-Resistant Plastics, Polypropylene vs. Nylon.

 

[Sewer bill]

This thread got me thinking about exotic alloys as plastic substitutes because they perform similar roles mechanically in aerospace and drilling applications like wear rings and damper or shock bands.

So I want a precipitation hardened alloy of nickel chromium titanium aluminum cobalt molybdenum putter with a hollow wing and a flight plate of about 3 thousandths of an inch thick.

Some of the aged alloys with aluminum over 2% are actually flexible and some of them with low molybdenum can withstand shock loads.

It would ring like a bell and would spark with bright gold on galvanized baskets and chains. Probably would cost over 100k though.

 

[ThrowaEnvy]

While you were coming up with that I was wondering about an epoxy blend of nail clippings and dead skin cells... a disc that could uniquely be you.

 

[txmxer]

While you were coming up with that I was wondering about an epoxy blend of nail clippings and dead skin cells... a disc that could uniquely be you.

The keratin line? Maybe grind up baby teeth while at it.

 

[Moose33]

Some of the hemp/corn derivatives are getting pretty decent. They seem to be more brittle, so we might have to replace them more often.

 

[Naenae]

So I want a precipitation hardened alloy of nickel chromium titanium aluminum cobalt molybdenum putter with a hollow wing and a flight plate of about 3 thousandths of an inch thick.

Some of the aged alloys with aluminum over 2% are actually flexible and some of them with low molybdenum can withstand shock loads.

It would ring like a bell and would spark with bright gold on galvanized baskets and chains. Probably would cost over 100k though.

So cue up the economies of scale!

Your image of the reaction with the chains sounds epic.

 

[Flick Maniac]

That would add a cool element to the game. Tree hits result in the disc shattering, Limit the number of discs in the bag, and voila...a new factor in the calculus of shot risk.

its not the only thing they do with it. they have it replacing porcelain in bathroom sinks for example

 

[ru4por]

The keratin line? Maybe grind up baby teeth while at it.

The keratin line? Maybe grind up baby teeth while at it.

While you were coming up with that I was wondering about an epoxy blend of nail clippings and dead skin cells... a disc that could uniquely be you.

Again....Soylent Green!!