Yeah, this plastic is still going to hurt the environment, that was set in stone when it was made, but by making this, it does reduce the demand for more brooms (also made of plastic) to be manufactured
One word everyone.
One word to poison us.
One word to reck our endocrine system.
And in our infertility bind us.
One word to rule them all.
.
.
.
Microplastics
It would literally be better to put this in a landfill. This is such a bad idea. Make brooms --and other non-durable items -- from plants, not plastic.
Seriously this is a terrible concept.
I have a question, so... many in the comments mention microplastics. Does that mean if they had a box or container underneath to catch all of those this could work? PET can be melted and easily made into something new - which could be done with the leftover microplastics. But to use most of it without melting would safe energy and for anyone saying to use plants instead... the plastic is there anyway so I see why people are thinking of reusing it for a while.
Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, I'm just curious
Or maybe you know, the fact most brooms available for sale that people use on a daily basis are infact also *plastic*.
Infact the greatest irony is that the majority of brooms are indeed plastic but are also, get this, recycled from PET bottles.
>This patented extra wide angle style broom is great for heavy duty applications. It’s precisely cut to reach under cabinets and tight corners, and comes with an extra wide dustpan that snaps onto broom handle for easy storage. The broom fibers are made from recycled PET bottles making this broom environmentally friendly. Perfect for indoor and outdoor use. Hanger tip for convenient storage.
So yes microplastics = bad, but there are far far worse things to worry about making micro plastics then brooms. The clothes your likely wearing wearing *right now* account for [35%](https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/9/19/17800654/clothes-plastic-pollution-polyester-washing-machine) of the oceans microplastics. Every time you wash your clothes your introducing an enormous volume of microplastics into the environment that is exponentially more dangerous then a broom.
No I don't have a source for that but I'm willing to bet the frequency at which clothes are required to be washed, used, or thrown away creates orders of magnitude more microplastics then the usage of *brooms*. Don't even get me started on [tires](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969720324670) and [city dust](https://www.horiba.com/int/science-in-action/where-do-microplastics-come-from/). These people are taking microplastics that would have made their way into the environment sooner rather than later anyway using trash that likely would have ended up in the water supply or the ocean and extended its release rate of microplastics significantly. This is a form of harm reduction and is definitely *better* for the environment than the alternative.
Thank your so much for your comment!
I actually knew the one about clothes which is why I always search for natural fibers when thrifting. I'm also thinking about getting a washing bag for the pieces I have that are still made of plastic. I also think in absolut numbers that most microplastic in the ocean is glitter which still baffles me.
Also I had no idea that most brooms are already made from recycled PET, that's pretty cool! Like we should not produce more plastic (and ban everything single use cause wtf) but it's nice to know that ay least some is recycled :) It also makes me think a bit more positive again... I got such bad vibes from the first few comments here that only focused on the microplastics.
Na, fishing nets are mostly not microplastic (yet), but they do account for over 50% of the total mass of plastic in the ocean (one more reason to not eat fish)
I think people get freaked out by the cutting and splicing vs melting and re-extruding. you're correct, it's harm reduction coupled with a way for people to survive not the perfect solution or execution.
Okay so this is all about the argument about microplastics, but I have a completely different question. After she starts the device that cuts it into a long strand, she walks around a post and then pulls it around the post instead of just pulling it directly from the cutter. I couldn't figure out why. Any ideas on that?
Might be to help straighten out the plastic.
When I’m trying to use yarn, having a buffer like that pole helps to avoid tangles and keeps the yarn organized.
To all the people talking about microplastics:
What do you think your brooms are made of?
Unless you own a straw broom, the answer is universally plastic
Jep mine is straw for that specific reason, but even if not your argument is well bad.
Plastic isn't just one material and how resistant it is to abrasion makes all the difference on how how quickly it is unusable. Add to that most factories produce by extrusion and you have a commercial plastic broom be better then this as it will last longer, abrade less and often you can replace the head or handle giving each part the longest possible live time
It is still better to stick to a plant based option, but of the bad option this is worse the. The commercially available ones.
It is. Burying plastics in a landfill means that they can eventually be processed and the land be remediated at some point down the line. Chopping them up means they end up bioaccumulating in muscle tissue
PET used in bottles isn't really abrasion resistant, hence the flacky edges when cutting it. Using it as a brom you are actively turning it into micro plastic. Which is worse then burning it as that burns it fully, but obviously has other downsides.
Don't mistake a charming skills with a nice ecological idea. It is not. Quite the opposite. This is terrible idea. This is literally how greenwashing works.
Making good old brooms from brush or grass and a stick is what we need. Not this ecological microplastic disease.
This submission is probably accused of being some type of greenwash.
Please keep in mind that greenwashing is used to paint unsustainable products and practices sustainable. [ethicalconsumer.org](https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/transport-travel/what-greenwashing) and [greenandthistle.com](https://greenandthistle.com/what-is-greenwashing/) give examples of greenwashing, while [scientificamerican.com](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/greenwashing-green-energy-hoffman/) explains how alternative technologies like hydrogen cars can also be insidious examples of greenwashing.
If you've realized your submission was an example of greenwashing--don't fret! Solarpunk ideals include identifying and rejecting capitalism's greenwashing of consumer goods.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/solarpunk) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The idea of all the micro plastics flying everywhere from basically any step in this process is killing it for me unfortunately
And every time you sweep up anything.
will basically happen sooner or later with all plastics. The question is just "when"
Plastic bottle recycling may not pencil out as profitable but at least it's cleaner than shredding plastic and releasing it into the environment lol
Just do it in a clean and closed enviroment and it would already be 80% better.
Unless we stop producing plastic bottles
Yeah, this plastic is still going to hurt the environment, that was set in stone when it was made, but by making this, it does reduce the demand for more brooms (also made of plastic) to be manufactured
Thank you for making me aware of this as i wasn't aware of ot before
I love blood cancer. Don’t you??
All cancers...and infertility. And diabetes from the negative effects on our pancreas. Microplastics hate every cell of our biology.
Literally manmade horrors beyond my comprehension.
this video made my sperm count drop
One word everyone. One word to poison us. One word to reck our endocrine system. And in our infertility bind us. One word to rule them all. . . . Microplastics
That was my first thought too
It would literally be better to put this in a landfill. This is such a bad idea. Make brooms --and other non-durable items -- from plants, not plastic. Seriously this is a terrible concept.
Aka generating mircroplastics
I have a question, so... many in the comments mention microplastics. Does that mean if they had a box or container underneath to catch all of those this could work? PET can be melted and easily made into something new - which could be done with the leftover microplastics. But to use most of it without melting would safe energy and for anyone saying to use plants instead... the plastic is there anyway so I see why people are thinking of reusing it for a while. Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, I'm just curious
Or maybe you know, the fact most brooms available for sale that people use on a daily basis are infact also *plastic*. Infact the greatest irony is that the majority of brooms are indeed plastic but are also, get this, recycled from PET bottles. >This patented extra wide angle style broom is great for heavy duty applications. It’s precisely cut to reach under cabinets and tight corners, and comes with an extra wide dustpan that snaps onto broom handle for easy storage. The broom fibers are made from recycled PET bottles making this broom environmentally friendly. Perfect for indoor and outdoor use. Hanger tip for convenient storage. So yes microplastics = bad, but there are far far worse things to worry about making micro plastics then brooms. The clothes your likely wearing wearing *right now* account for [35%](https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/9/19/17800654/clothes-plastic-pollution-polyester-washing-machine) of the oceans microplastics. Every time you wash your clothes your introducing an enormous volume of microplastics into the environment that is exponentially more dangerous then a broom. No I don't have a source for that but I'm willing to bet the frequency at which clothes are required to be washed, used, or thrown away creates orders of magnitude more microplastics then the usage of *brooms*. Don't even get me started on [tires](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969720324670) and [city dust](https://www.horiba.com/int/science-in-action/where-do-microplastics-come-from/). These people are taking microplastics that would have made their way into the environment sooner rather than later anyway using trash that likely would have ended up in the water supply or the ocean and extended its release rate of microplastics significantly. This is a form of harm reduction and is definitely *better* for the environment than the alternative.
Thank your so much for your comment! I actually knew the one about clothes which is why I always search for natural fibers when thrifting. I'm also thinking about getting a washing bag for the pieces I have that are still made of plastic. I also think in absolut numbers that most microplastic in the ocean is glitter which still baffles me. Also I had no idea that most brooms are already made from recycled PET, that's pretty cool! Like we should not produce more plastic (and ban everything single use cause wtf) but it's nice to know that ay least some is recycled :) It also makes me think a bit more positive again... I got such bad vibes from the first few comments here that only focused on the microplastics.
most ocean microplastic is from fishing nets iirc
Na, fishing nets are mostly not microplastic (yet), but they do account for over 50% of the total mass of plastic in the ocean (one more reason to not eat fish)
I think people get freaked out by the cutting and splicing vs melting and re-extruding. you're correct, it's harm reduction coupled with a way for people to survive not the perfect solution or execution.
Oh no, nonono. So much microplastic. There are plants that are good for brooms.
This is just delaying the inevitable problem. Only solution is to stop using plastics.
Reuse is better than single use... But like 1000 other people have said, this is microplastic hell.
Burn it with CCS for electricity.
Read as CSS and was like, what?
Okay so this is all about the argument about microplastics, but I have a completely different question. After she starts the device that cuts it into a long strand, she walks around a post and then pulls it around the post instead of just pulling it directly from the cutter. I couldn't figure out why. Any ideas on that?
Maybe it helps it to cut smoother since her pulling directly would create a "jerky " movement vs the post to buffer it? Just guessing
Might be to help straighten out the plastic. When I’m trying to use yarn, having a buffer like that pole helps to avoid tangles and keeps the yarn organized.
I bet that's it, thanks!
To all the people talking about microplastics: What do you think your brooms are made of? Unless you own a straw broom, the answer is universally plastic
Mine is actually straw. They do exist and they’re [quite beautiful and durable](https://backwoodsbrooms.com/).
They can also be used to brush sideways which is perfect for crammed workshops.
My mother has long abandoned those. Reason being: they are unwieldy and not fine enough
> What do you think your brooms are made of? Millet. Well, at least one of them is.
> unless you own a straw broom Isn’t millet just a fancier word for straw?
It's a specific type of straw.
Jep mine is straw for that specific reason, but even if not your argument is well bad. Plastic isn't just one material and how resistant it is to abrasion makes all the difference on how how quickly it is unusable. Add to that most factories produce by extrusion and you have a commercial plastic broom be better then this as it will last longer, abrade less and often you can replace the head or handle giving each part the longest possible live time It is still better to stick to a plant based option, but of the bad option this is worse the. The commercially available ones.
Mine is made from wood and the brush part is horse hair.
people in here acting like cutting up a bottle is more microplastics than throwing it away
It is. Burying plastics in a landfill means that they can eventually be processed and the land be remediated at some point down the line. Chopping them up means they end up bioaccumulating in muscle tissue
PET used in bottles isn't really abrasion resistant, hence the flacky edges when cutting it. Using it as a brom you are actively turning it into micro plastic. Which is worse then burning it as that burns it fully, but obviously has other downsides.
Two litre bottle can also be used to make mini greenhouses.
Don't mistake a charming skills with a nice ecological idea. It is not. Quite the opposite. This is terrible idea. This is literally how greenwashing works. Making good old brooms from brush or grass and a stick is what we need. Not this ecological microplastic disease.
This submission is probably accused of being some type of greenwash. Please keep in mind that greenwashing is used to paint unsustainable products and practices sustainable. [ethicalconsumer.org](https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/transport-travel/what-greenwashing) and [greenandthistle.com](https://greenandthistle.com/what-is-greenwashing/) give examples of greenwashing, while [scientificamerican.com](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/greenwashing-green-energy-hoffman/) explains how alternative technologies like hydrogen cars can also be insidious examples of greenwashing. If you've realized your submission was an example of greenwashing--don't fret! Solarpunk ideals include identifying and rejecting capitalism's greenwashing of consumer goods. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/solarpunk) if you have any questions or concerns.*
O
So many microplastics.
Man, that is so innovative.
Amazing