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A Global Trash Glut Hurt a $25B Industry

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Re: A Global Trash Glut Hurt a $25B Industry

#5

Post by goodcanadian »

mymythisisthis wrote: post #2

Can't this be a 'make work' project? Get people working. Or, sort recycling/garbage for half a day, and get half a day of free technical training in something like welding or auto mechanics?

The problem is not a lack of people sorting. Quite the opposite, in fact. There is a glut of sorted recyclables and the prices people can get for it have collapsed.

Re: A Global Trash Glut Hurt a $25B Industry

#6

Post by sp332 »

goodcanadian wrote: post #5
mymythisisthis wrote: post #2

Can't this be a 'make work' project? Get people working. Or, sort recycling/garbage for half a day, and get half a day of free technical training in something like welding or auto mechanics?

The problem is not a lack of people sorting. Quite the opposite, in fact. There is a glut of sorted recyclables and the prices people can get for it have collapsed.

If the recycling were getting sorted for free, more recycling stations would be viable businesses.

Re: A Global Trash Glut Hurt a $25B Industry

#7

Post by devops_monkey »

sp332 wrote: post #6
goodcanadian wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is not a lack of people sorting. Quite the opposite, in fact. There is a glut of sorted recyclables and the prices people can get for it have collapsed.

If the recycling were getting sorted for free, more recycling stations would be viable businesses.

Not really. The bigger problem at the moment is that the market for recycled materials has effectively disappeared. No one is buying these commodities right now. Chinese government owned businesses spent a lot of money buying US paper and plastic mills then shut them down so they could bring those industries to mainland China. Then they discovered that it wasn't as good a business as they hoped. Now they have stopped buying our recycled materials so prices have dropped. Some commodities prices have even gone negative, meaning recycling facilities are paying to have materials removed from the warehouse. So even if sorting was free, most materials are either sitting in warehouses or simply going into the landfill. source: I work in the industry.

Re: A Global Trash Glut Hurt a $25B Industry

#8

Post by zimbatm »

> The reduced demand from China and continued supply from the U.S. flooded the world trash market and drove down the price of garbage everywhere.

This sentence doesn't make sense. If there is more demand for trash recycling, how is it not driving the price up?

Re: A Global Trash Glut Hurt a $25B Industry

#9

Post by tylerflick »

pjc50 wrote: post #3
mymythisisthis wrote: post #2

Can't this be a 'make work' project? Get people working. Or, sort recycling/garbage for half a day, and get half a day of free technical training in something like welding or auto mechanics?

Like everything else, where would the money come from?

A tax to capture the cost of the trash being thrown away.

Re: A Global Trash Glut Hurt a $25B Industry

#10

Post by Scoundreller »

devops_monkey wrote: post #7
sp332 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the recycling were getting sorted for free, more recycling stations would be viable businesses.

Not really. The bigger problem at the moment is that the market for recycled materials has effectively disappeared. No one is buying these commodities right now. Chinese government owned businesses spent a lot of money buying US paper and plastic mills then shut them down so they could bring those industries to mainland China. Then they discovered that it wasn't as good a business as they hoped. Now they have stopped…

Even if commodity prices are negative, there’s still a price where it’s cheaper than landfill, no?
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