Plastic. It takes a really really long time for plastic to biodegrade. The actual figures are in hundreds, thousands, and millions of years (depends on what kind of plastic). However, despite this fact, we continue producing a huge amount of plastic products. We know that it clogs up sewer systems. We know that it poses a major problem in landfills. We know that it kills sealife. We know and we know and yet we do nothing. That is why I would like to propose a simple principle that we should practice while busy with our drive for progress.
This is the principle.
"The rate at which we produce a certain product must not exceed the rate at which we can break it down."
Therefore, before we develop technologies that speed up the production of plastics, or any other product, we should develop technologies first that speed up its "biodegration" (if there's such a term).
