5 ms·

The article says plastics are washed repeatedly, so I'm trying to figure out if putting dirty plastic in the bin is acceptable or not. My city's recycling instr

The article says plastics are washed repeatedly, so I'm trying to figure out if putting dirty plastic in the bin is acceptable or not. My city's recycling instructions say to wash plastics before putting them in the bin, and if I can't adequately clean something I've been more inclined to put it in the garbage instead. What's the right answer?

cdnsteve 11y ago
Don't use plastic containers at all.
- JshWright 11y ago
  Do you avoid all plastics in your life?
  - cgriswald 11y ago
    GP didn't suggest avoiding all plastics. Using plastic bottles for consumables is different than buying a plastic stepstool is different than having plastic components in some of your devices. Lots of people eschew plastic containers in favor of metal or glass for a variety of reasons, including recyclability and reuse.
    - JshWright 11y ago
      My reply was taking into context their other post in this thread. Perhaps it would have been better suited as a reply to that comment though...
jfoster 11y ago
It also says: > “Unfortunately the bags themselves can’t be recycled—they are too dirty, so they will end up in a landfill.” This holds true for all plastic items that haven’t been cleaned properly—hence, the leaflets calling for us to “rinse our recyclables.” The cleaner a plastic bottle is, the more likely it will be marked for reincarnation as something new. That bit happens before the washing, so I think the advice to wash plastics is correct. Sounds like there may not be harm in placing all plastics into the recycling bin regardless of their cleanliness, though; sounds like they'll just end up as waste if not clean enough.
- userbinator 11y ago
  Unfortunately the bags themselves can’t be recycled—they are too dirty, so they will end up in a landfill I think at some time in the future they should also be excavated and reprocessed, because plastic is a petroleum product and the natural sources are known to be very finite. There is plenty of plastic in landfills that we just don't know how to effectively reprocess, or we would. That's also why I think the biodegradable stuff is not a good idea in the long term; sure it "disappears back into the environment", but overall a lot more energy needs to be spent in producing it --- really, extracting it from the environment --- than just reusing or recycling plastic that has already been extracted and gone through most of the production stages.
  - vpribish 11y ago
    TL:DR - we will never run out of raw materials for plastics The resources used for plastic are so vastly plentiful that considering them unlimited is a good approximation -- they may get more expensive but the market will sort that out. A lot of smart, well-meaning people get derailed by belief in imminent scarcity - and waste their time that could be spent on real opportunities. * only a couple of percent of petroleum and natural gas production is used for plastics http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=34&t=6 http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=34&t=6 * crude oil reserves (a very conservative measure) are immense and growing - http://www.opec.org/library/Annual%20Statistical%20Bulletin/interactive/current/FileZ/XL/T31.HTM http://www.opec.org/library/Annual%20Statistical%20Bulletin/... * natural gas reserves (a very conservative measure) are immense and growing - http://www.opec.org/library/Annual%20Statistical%20Bulletin/interactive/current/FileZ/XL/T32.HTM http://www.opec.org/library/Annual%20Statistical%20Bulletin/... * consumption is growing globally (production is outpacing the growth - hence the crash in crude prices), and in the US (the larges consumer) it's actually fallen over the last 10 years http://www.indexmundi.com/energy.aspx?country=us http://www.indexmundi.com/energy.aspx?country=us in a couple of centuries, maybe, we will have some difficulty meeting the petroleum needs for petrochemicals - but only if we keep using the crude and natural gas for vehicle fuel, heating, and electricity (currently 95% goes to these). Since we are already on the cusp of using renewables (and could switch to nuclear if we needed) for most of these while we are swimming in cheap oil - you should not worry about the future of plastics. So, don't waste your time opposing biodegradables from a 'finite resources' perspective - instead consider air pollution and greenhouse gasses on their own merits.

cdnsteve 11y ago

Don't use plastic containers at all.

JshWright 11y ago
Do you avoid all plastics in your life?
- cgriswald 11y ago
  GP didn't suggest avoiding all plastics. Using plastic bottles for consumables is different than buying a plastic stepstool is different than having plastic components in some of your devices. Lots of people eschew plastic containers in favor of metal or glass for a variety of reasons, including recyclability and reuse.
  - JshWright 11y ago
    My reply was taking into context their other post in this thread. Perhaps it would have been better suited as a reply to that comment though...

jfoster 11y ago

It also says: > “Unfortunately the bags themselves can’t be recycled—they are too dirty, so they will end up in a landfill.” This holds true for all plastic items that haven’t been cleaned properly—hence, the leaflets calling for us to “rinse our recyclables.” The cleaner a plastic bottle is, the more likely it will be marked for reincarnation as something new. That bit happens before the washing, so I think the advice to wash plastics is correct. Sounds like there may not be harm in placing all plastics into the recycling bin regardless of their cleanliness, though; sounds like they'll just end up as waste if not clean enough.

userbinator 11y ago
Unfortunately the bags themselves can’t be recycled—they are too dirty, so they will end up in a landfill I think at some time in the future they should also be excavated and reprocessed, because plastic is a petroleum product and the natural sources are known to be very finite. There is plenty of plastic in landfills that we just don't know how to effectively reprocess, or we would. That's also why I think the biodegradable stuff is not a good idea in the long term; sure it "disappears back into the environment", but overall a lot more energy needs to be spent in producing it --- really, extracting it from the environment --- than just reusing or recycling plastic that has already been extracted and gone through most of the production stages.
- vpribish 11y ago
  TL:DR - we will never run out of raw materials for plastics The resources used for plastic are so vastly plentiful that considering them unlimited is a good approximation -- they may get more expensive but the market will sort that out. A lot of smart, well-meaning people get derailed by belief in imminent scarcity - and waste their time that could be spent on real opportunities. * only a couple of percent of petroleum and natural gas production is used for plastics http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=34&t=6 http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=34&t=6 * crude oil reserves (a very conservative measure) are immense and growing - http://www.opec.org/library/Annual%20Statistical%20Bulletin/interactive/current/FileZ/XL/T31.HTM http://www.opec.org/library/Annual%20Statistical%20Bulletin/... * natural gas reserves (a very conservative measure) are immense and growing - http://www.opec.org/library/Annual%20Statistical%20Bulletin/interactive/current/FileZ/XL/T32.HTM http://www.opec.org/library/Annual%20Statistical%20Bulletin/... * consumption is growing globally (production is outpacing the growth - hence the crash in crude prices), and in the US (the larges consumer) it's actually fallen over the last 10 years http://www.indexmundi.com/energy.aspx?country=us http://www.indexmundi.com/energy.aspx?country=us in a couple of centuries, maybe, we will have some difficulty meeting the petroleum needs for petrochemicals - but only if we keep using the crude and natural gas for vehicle fuel, heating, and electricity (currently 95% goes to these). Since we are already on the cusp of using renewables (and could switch to nuclear if we needed) for most of these while we are swimming in cheap oil - you should not worry about the future of plastics. So, don't waste your time opposing biodegradables from a 'finite resources' perspective - instead consider air pollution and greenhouse gasses on their own merits.