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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

#181

Post by donatj »

ErikVandeWater wrote: post #170
vmarshall23 wrote: post #152

This has long driven me crazy. I have a version of this argument with my wife every few weeks. I live in a city that has three bins: compost, landfill, and recycling, and overall the city (SF) does a really good job apparently of sorting trash. But if you want a system that doesn't break down if someone throws a handful of batteries in the compost bin, then someone or something somewhere still has to sort the trash s…

> If the problem is "keep plastic out of the ocean", then solve "why does plastic get in the ocean" problem. But then how can someone start a KickStarter so you have to carry a thick metal straw around with you all day and then have to think about cleaning every time you use it, and in between different drinks if you don't want to have your first drink contaminate the taste of the second? https://www.kickstarter.com/…

I just stopped using straws a couple years ago when I got my tonsils out and couldn't use them – never went back.

Just drink like you would from any other cup. You don't need a straw. And honest to god things taste better without a straw. You'll drink less sugary trash and appreciate it more.

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

#182

Post by skosch »

vmarshall23 wrote: post #152

This has long driven me crazy. I have a version of this argument with my wife every few weeks. I live in a city that has three bins: compost, landfill, and recycling, and overall the city (SF) does a really good job apparently of sorting trash. But if you want a system that doesn't break down if someone throws a handful of batteries in the compost bin, then someone or something somewhere still has to sort the trash s…

You're not wrong, but home diversion isn't entirely pointless. The best tax-funded downstream sorting system is no match for the moldy lasagna covering the scrap paper in your OmniToss Multi-Bin™.

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

#184

Post by astrodust »

emodendroket wrote: post #157
stingraycharles wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“The creators of all this garbage do so because it's profitable” Isn’t this rather something that market forces demand, i.e. the consumer choosing the cheapest option? Don’t get me wrong, I completely agree with the rest of what you’re saying, I just think that the businesses aren’t as evil as you portray them to be. In the end, the solution is probably government regulation by subsidizing alternatives and/or a compl…

I don't know what distinction you're really drawing. Polluting production reduces the costs for producers.

It should be more expensive to pollute. The problem is that clean-up costs are not factored into production.

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

#185

Post by jklinger410 »

gm-conspiracy wrote: post #162
jklinger410 wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This also reminds me, in a way, of the argument I always make about water waste. Yes, it is great to keep your faucet off if you aren't using it. And yes, if enough people keep theirs off, it will make a big impact on water waste. But as an individual, or a neighborhood, you will never waste as much as factory farms, chemical processing, and many other industries. Add to it the fact that these companies produce these…

But the water you and I waste by leaving the sink on, goes back to the water supply. It is not like drywall manufacturing, where the water is tainted and should not be put back into the supply.

This is also an important distinction which I forgot to touch on.

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

#186

Post by mike_ivanov »

dsfyu404ed wrote: post #66
crankylinuxuser wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These kinds of punitive policies have a very obvious side-effect. You dump the garbage in a ravine or stream, or somewhere easy to dump. And so what if you get caught. You get fined a few hundred dollars, where you saved 5x that by dumping. The problem with recycling is it's recycling... There's a reason why the phrase is "Reduce, Reuse, and finally Recycle". The upstream firms are Reducing their costs with little re…

This. Where I used to live the only scrap yard would only accept nonferrous metals and the towns would charge for scrap metal. Washing machines on the side of the road was a routine sight, or it was until a new scrap yard that would accept just about anything metal opened up. edit: I'm struggling to wrap my mind around why this is getting down-voted. I'm providing a real world example of the behavior the person I'm r…

I see this a lot across British Columbia Lower Mainland, but rather with old mattresses and soft furniture. It's relatively expensive to recycle those, so people just dump them in bushes and even on random people's front yards.

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

#187

Post by astrodust »

jcoffland wrote: post #99

It's incredible that corporations are allowed to pump out massive quantities of single use plastic and then we blame the consumer for not recycling it. The idea that the solution is to change the habits of billions of people rather than enforce some rules on a few thousand companies is just crazy.

The entire packaging industry is ridiculous.

For example: Why do garbage bags come in boxes or bags when they could be stored inside a garbage bag that's folded up properly to contain them?

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

#188

Post by bayfullofrays »

colechristensen wrote: post #34

I'm not sure I want to live in a world where people are allowed to vote and drive cars and own guns who can't figure out which bin their garbage belongs inside. I have never lived in a place where the instructions weren't provided and clear. Here are some instructions from Sweden. There are 10 categories. I think there could be more. https://www.affarsverken.se/Documents/Renhallning/Sorterings...

This is a problem with capitalism. A sense of social responsibility is traded for personal satisfaction what I am assuming is some form of subtle aggression to those in non-western cultures knowing that their garbage will be sent to poorer and brown communities to live with.

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

#189

Post by sushisource »

stephengillie wrote: post #69
blang wrote: post #6

I used to live in central New Jersey, where the people of Waste Management would send out quarterly fliers telling people "When in doubt throw it out"[0] I now live in Seattle, and when I tell people this campaign, they get extremely preachy and judgmental. Then when I try to explain that no, it's actually better for the environment, things really go no where. I should probably just give up on that. [0] http://www.ha…

> I now live in Seattle, and when I tell people this campaign, they get extremely preachy and judgmental. Seattle and the region have been leading recyclers for decades. Waste Management sends a similar brochure to King County residents: http://wmnorthwest.com/kingcounty/calendars/guidelines.pdf

Heh, first time I've seen this part:

• Two (2) feet apart with lids opening toward street • At least three (3) feet from cars, trees and mailboxes, fences and utility boxes

Lol. Yeah. As if there's enough room on the street to do that with modern townhouse designs.

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

#190

Post by gfosco »

astrodust wrote: post #187
jcoffland wrote: post #99

It's incredible that corporations are allowed to pump out massive quantities of single use plastic and then we blame the consumer for not recycling it. The idea that the solution is to change the habits of billions of people rather than enforce some rules on a few thousand companies is just crazy.

The entire packaging industry is ridiculous. For example: Why do garbage bags come in boxes or bags when they could be stored inside a garbage bag that's folded up properly to contain them?

Marketing and shelf space reasons.
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