The plastics problem

Re: Make plastics a burning issue, Terence Corcoran, July 12

Reduce, reuse, and recycle all you can but letter writer Jo-Anne St. Godard overlooks the fact that there will always be an irreducible amount of waste that just can’t be used again. Furthermore, thermoset plastics definitely can’t be used again since they will not remelt on account of irreversible crosslinking bonds formed in the curing process. However, much of this irreducible waste can be combusted to release its energy; done properly, this energy can be used to create electricity, which is a much better use of the waste than hiding it in landfills. Furthermore, the immense contraction in volume after burning will result in existing landfill sites having a much longer life before they become full; the klinker that remains is like glass, inert, and unable to pollute the groundwater.

Of course, it should be noted that all of the eight countries mentioned in the original article penned by writer Terence Corcoran have fastidious environmental records. Clearly, burning garbage after removing all recyclable items does not concern them, and to the extent that we can recover the energy and reduce the volume and hazards of landfill, it should not bother us as well. The Recycling Council of Ontario should stick to their mandate and if they are completely successful, there will be nothing at all to burn. I wish them good luck! John Banka, Toronto