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Plastic recycling is a problem consumers can't solve

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Re: Plastic recycling is a problem consumers can't solve

#81

Post by ThrustVectoring »

lyjackal wrote: post #35
r00fus wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lets start with the supply chain. Don't just dump this on consumers. I want to see less individually plastic wrapped/boxed fruit.

Exactly. In addition to regulation on what is okay packaging, if producers somehow had more responsibility for where the end waste goes, it would encourage a closed system It's in corporations interest to shift the responsibility entirely in the consumer http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-per...

Don't regulate packaging, put a Pigouvian Tax on it. It's far better.

Re: Plastic recycling is a problem consumers can't solve

#82

Post by jcoffland »

samatman wrote: post #43

Startup I will never get around to: A store which sells only bulk and fresh food, and durable containers: mesh bags, Mason jars, glass bottles. Every container, dispenser, and display has a scale, and unlocks with a nearfield chip. Enter the store, tap phone or insert chip card, get a card. Fill up your cart, stick the card back into the slot, get charged, done. One customer service kiosk for buying back clean contai…

So the exact opposite if Blue Apron?

Re: Plastic recycling is a problem consumers can't solve

#83

Post by mikec3010 »

jdavis703 wrote: post #37
aeternus wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is careful sorting of trash/recycling really a good use of time? Seems better to put that effort towards development of techniques to sort en-masse. Likely controversial, but I think there is also an argument for simply throwing hard-to-recycle items in a landfill. If consumption continues to increase, it will likely become economically viable to eventually mine those landfills for raw materials.

I'd say yes it is a good use of our time. I really want ours to be the generation that stops punting problems out to the next generation. I'd be happy if my friend's children don't need to grow up worrying about how to deal with oceans filled with plastics, global warming induced fire storms and flooded coastal cities.

Putting a coke bottle in a recycling vs trash can does nothing to reduce its probability of ending up in the ocean. But doubling the number of trucks picking up waste at my house does double the CO2 emitted into the atmosphere.

Re: Plastic recycling is a problem consumers can't solve

#84

Post by [deleted] »

narag wrote: post #41
gambiting wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is that companies use a stupidly ridiculous amount of plastic. The other week I bought some dessert which had a non-recyclable box, then each portion was in a non-recyclable plastic cup, held in place by a non-recyclable plastic tray with a non-recyclable plastic lid on each cup. Absolutely insane.

That's the place for regulation. Let's forbid the damned thing or at least tax it heavily. Anything not reusable? Make them pay for externalities.

[deleted]

Re: Plastic recycling is a problem consumers can't solve

#85

Post by titzer »

mikec3010 wrote: post #74
idbehold wrote: post #8

Perhaps we should start doing something like what Taiwan did with their trash: https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/separation-anxiety/ > The trucks only accept trash bags officially sanctioned by the government of Taiwan which come in a distinctive blue color, complete with an official seal. The bags range in price and size, from 3 liters to 120 liters. The most popular bag is 25 liters (similar to a tiny bathroom…

Now you doubled CO2 emissions of your fleet and incentivize people to litter or dump in public trash cans. A better solution would be human or robotic waste sorting at the dump, or clean incineration.

Agree completely. Saw it firsthand in Fiji. City trash fee just drives people to dump in the bushes. My suggestion of adding dumpsters was met with concerns about reducing tax revenues. Yeah, they don't have dumpsters because they are afraid people will put trash in them, FFS :(

Re: Plastic recycling is a problem consumers can't solve

#87

Post by moltar »

mikec3010 wrote: post #74
idbehold wrote: post #8

Perhaps we should start doing something like what Taiwan did with their trash: https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/separation-anxiety/ > The trucks only accept trash bags officially sanctioned by the government of Taiwan which come in a distinctive blue color, complete with an official seal. The bags range in price and size, from 3 liters to 120 liters. The most popular bag is 25 liters (similar to a tiny bathroom…

Now you doubled CO2 emissions of your fleet and incentivize people to litter or dump in public trash cans. A better solution would be human or robotic waste sorting at the dump, or clean incineration.

I’ve teavelled entire Taiwan by car and did not notice any excessive dumping.

Re: Plastic recycling is a problem consumers can't solve

#88

Post by jcoffland »

dang wrote: post #72
njarboe wrote: post #67

Comment from a similar recent thread ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17359807 ) Modern dumps are sealed very well and can hold huge amounts. At $50 a ton we will never run out of space. Put everything in the dump. Plastic, green waste, garbage, paper, electronics, etc. Sort out pure metals like steel and aluminum. Do methane recovery on the pile and burn it for power. This will sequester a lot of carbon and at…

Please don't recycle comments from previous threads. It's a fine comment, but HN threads are supposed to be conversations and we're trying to avoid repetition.

I think that's an example of reuse, which is better than recycling.

Re: Plastic recycling is a problem consumers can't solve

#89

Post by searchhay »

gascan wrote: post #51
samatman wrote: post #43

Startup I will never get around to: A store which sells only bulk and fresh food, and durable containers: mesh bags, Mason jars, glass bottles. Every container, dispenser, and display has a scale, and unlocks with a nearfield chip. Enter the store, tap phone or insert chip card, get a card. Fill up your cart, stick the card back into the slot, get charged, done. One customer service kiosk for buying back clean contai…

Depending on where you live, it might already (mostly) exist, minus the NFC part. Grocery co-op in my area has a big back room of bulk goods, sells durable containers too, run by hippies and has been around for decades. The real hurdles with selling bulk & having customers reuse containers is handling tare smoothly and getting customers to remember to bring their containers.

There was a zero-waste grocer in Austin, but they recently went out of business. http://austin.culturemap.com/news/restaurants-bars/04-25-18-...

Re: Plastic recycling is a problem consumers can't solve

#90

Post by gumby »

idbehold wrote: post #8

Perhaps we should start doing something like what Taiwan did with their trash: https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/separation-anxiety/ > The trucks only accept trash bags officially sanctioned by the government of Taiwan which come in a distinctive blue color, complete with an official seal. The bags range in price and size, from 3 liters to 120 liters. The most popular bag is 25 liters (similar to a tiny bathroom…

This works pretty well in Germany too, and in Palo Alto, but it causes people in the UK and in eastern California (and likely other places too) to just dump their trash by the side of the road.
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