Yesterday i did read an researcher did said year 2050 the plastic details become more than fishes outside in the oceans.
So i wonder if there is anyone of you who wanted to support our world by stop plastic details and buy laser cut buildings instead when you build up an layout?
I do really like laser cut and they looks more realistic.

I totally agree with you. Plastic along with paper, metal etc. should be recycled which is easy where I live because every home is issued a recycle bin.

Plastic kits for me. I put them on the layout not in the sea. We also recycle our plastic ,paper and glass etc all go in separate bins to be collected.
Too much plastic packaging which for many items is not required.

Plastic kits in cardboard boxes. Keep the kits for ever and recycle the boxes!

Just had a thought that some kits have lots of sprues ..almost as much plastic as the actual building … so it is important it is recycled after finishing the build.

Today there are thousands of different plastics, from banal and cheap to high-quality and expensive. Plastic recycling usually does not look at what kind of products they mix together. Over time, plastic mixing has been recycled several times and the end product is very questionable?

I prefer the plastic kits (polystyrene or something very close to it). Not sure if the sprues and bits are recyclable.
Paper/wood laser kits are good in some aspects but they can only do flat things well, and are sensitive to water - so I'd rather limit the damage to a layout due to damp/water issues and coffee spills.

On the recycling - in the US there is very specific types only that are recycled and its such a mess of the various forms of plastic from polystyrene to PTFE types, etc ( https://learn.eartheasy....plastics-by-the-numbers/ )
#1 - PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) ...
#2 - HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene) ...
#3 – PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) ...
#4 – LDPE (Low-Density Polyethylene) ...
#5 – PP (Polypropylene) ...
#6 – PS (Polystyrene)...

So IF #6 is recycleable and if they can identify it from the small bits you toss in the bin who knows. That the stuff gets bundled and shipped around the world for recycling is likely some of the problem. Because I'd think if its small plastic bits from models and I send it in the trash to my local landfill, then it should STAY at the landfill. How the heck is it ending up in rivers/streams/oceans. Its not that light that it will blow away. But load up a bunch of stuff in un-shielded bundles on trucks and drive them to a port and load them on ships and ship them around the world, I can see how a lot of stuff blows free or the ship looses loads and things end up in the oceans. Though a lot of the plastic waste in the oceans isn't from any of that - it is from the washed out debris from coastal communities and trash not disposed of in a landfill.

Hello there Anders,

But this means forever cutting down our planet's forests to provide the wood for laser cut models , whereas previously we have made skilful use of plastic, an otherwise difficult, wasted, by-product of the petroleum industry (even greenies drive cars) to make these lovely model buildings which will live on forever in beauty on our layouts and not be cast aside to cause havok in the world of conservationists.
(hope I am not unleashing a whirlwind here with a cheeky comment)

The rural garage in the top righthand corner of the following image (a scene from the coal mine area on the upper level of my layout) is a laser-cut wood product kit I brought home from a visit to Göppingen. The detail is good, and better than you would expect from the composition of the model but I found it a trifle more challenging to construct effectively and thought it was somewhat less detailed compared with the excellent plastic-kit ( Vollmer, Faller & Kibri) buildings that predominate on my layout :





I hope you are enjoying a good summer on the Kattergat :





Best Wishes and Greetings from the Southern Hemisphere,


PJ

Hiya Willie,

I agree with your sentiments.

I think that in the "English-speaking peoples of the world" (as Winston Churchill put it), in most of Europe and the reasonably urbanised areas of South America and Asia, that folk all have the opportunity of appropriate recycling "bins" to put various things in. As you say, the only missing ingredient is the volition of folk to use them.

In regard to your comment re recyclers in china, see : http://www.abc.net.au/ne...dustry-in-a-mess/9243184

Pardon my mirth, but I was quite taken by "via ... bini" (all the major subdivisions of bins are there) that I encountered on the island of Elba (Italy, but Napoleon-influenced history) last month :











But I must admit (Deutschophile that I am) that no-one does the variety, multiplicity and determination of the various domestic recycling bins as our German colleagues (onya ordnung !!).



Regards,

PJ