Tim McCormackOct 1, 2023

[EDIT: Ugh, this turns out to be wrong -- it's actually 78% of 11%. See page 89 of https://www.systemiq.earth/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/BreakingThePlasticWave_MainReport.pdf -- misleading representation. 8.5% ain't nothing, but it's nothing like a majority. Thanks to those who replied to correct this!]

The good news: The majority of ocean microplastics come from one source, which means we could dramatically reduce their occurrence by focusing on just one solution.

The bad news: It's car tires. https://www.thedrive.com/news/tire-dust-makes-up-the-majority-of-ocean-microplastics-study-finds

Show threadAaron

@timmc They're making tires out of metal now. Have you heard of nitinol?

https://www.smarttirecompany.com/

The SMART Tire Company

Reimagining the wheel™ using advanced materials and innovative design. A private company in partnership with NASA.

The SMART Tire Company
Oct 2, 2023 at 7:38amWeb
Show threadMagnus AhltorpOct 2, 2023
@hosford42 @timmc They’re called “wheels”, and we use them on these metal roads called “railways”. They’re very efficient. Very low rolling resistance.
Show threadAaronOct 2, 2023

@ahltorp @timmc Yes, very clever, but I watch trains go by from my front yard daily, so I already know about this type.

Sarcasm aside, they really are making metallic tires that never go flat, capable of traveling to areas that rails don't reach. They're made from coils of nitinol, a shape memory alloy.

Show threadMagnus AhltorpOct 2, 2023
@hosford42 @timmc That could probably be useful in some way, but the only product that they seem to have is a bike tire, and that is rubber. All the automotive applications have a lot of “will be” in the text, and even then it’s rubber.
Show threadAaronOct 2, 2023

@ahltorp @timmc It's probably added for the purpose of traction. I bet if they worked on it, they could find alternatives that don't generate microplastics during use.

I do agree with other people (and I suspect you) in the comments here that public transportation in the form of railways is probably a better solution, but it's good to have other tools at our disposal. Also, here in Texas, at least, public transportation is a novelty that isn't available in most places. There's a lot of infrastructure and city planning that goes into the switch, and I don't see that happening anytime soon even if the vast majority of people support it.

Show threadMagnus AhltorpOct 2, 2023

@hosford42 @timmc One form or another of non-rail transport is needed, but not in the massive scale we have today. And making cars work better is not the priority we need to have now.

If all road-building activity would be redirected to building rail, the current road networks could be used by those who actually need them. Not much rail needs to be built to ease the pressure on roads. This is of course dependent on political will.