From Hugh Boyd, Glasgow, UK
You write that, as yet, plastic removed by Mr Trash Wheel from rivers flowing into Baltimore harbour can't be separated into reusables, so it is incinerated to generate electricity (14 December 2019, p 28). Recycling is fine, but it only postpones the day when the plastic starts to break down into smaller and smaller pieces. Incineration completes the life cycle of plastic from ancient sunshine energy to energy for present-day use, getting rid of the incinerated plastic completely. There are social problems, but these can be overcome by, for example, building incinerators far from housing.
