‘Forever chemical’ bans face hard truth: Many can’t be replaced
stopthatgirl7@kbin.social to 
japantimes.co.jp
As lawmakers around the world weigh bans of 'forever chemicals,” many manufacturers are pushing back, saying there often is no substitute.
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I support this approach. Any company manufacturing products which are not readily biodegradable must put in place a scheme to capture and render that product inert before they're allowed to sell it.
New type of plastic that can't be recycled? Better figure out a recycling process and sort out the logistics of implementing that process wherever you intend to sell it.
Chemicals in your cleaning agent that don't break down harmlessly after a reasonable time frame? Either re-engineer your chemicals until they do, or develop a process to prevent them ending up in the waterways.
Can't do that? You arent manufacturing it.
Steel is not biodegradable, so your plan means the end of nearly all manufacturing. I doubt it will be adopted.
But steel is recyclable.
Stainless steel, even with its anti-corrosion properties, will eventually break down over thousands of years from the effects of weathering. So it's technically biodegradable, but not really on our timescale, I guess.
Edit: Steel is not biodegradable, because it can't be broken down by biological processes. I was confused on the word.
Biodegradable does not mean susceptible to weathering. It means susceptible to bacterial decomposition.
Oh, okay and thanks for the correction. It makes sense now that i actually look at the word. I just always assumed it meant things that can be decomposed by the environment.