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Another insanity is that companies that produce certain waste are required to offer to recycle it. That's fair in most circumstances, in others, not so much. I

Another insanity is that companies that produce certain waste are required to offer to recycle it. That's fair in most circumstances, in others, not so much. I live in Hawaii, and I usually buy local eggs. They come in a polystyrene container, and polystyrene is something that shouldn't end up in landfills. So the company graciously offers to recycle the container for me, the only thing I have to do is mail it to Washington State. From Hawaii. (Thankfully, Hawaii incinerates most trash, so that goes straight in the trash!)

jogjayr 8y ago
Your example of the egg company is insane. I wonder why they don't simply use cardboard containers instead.
- henrikschroder 8y ago
  My best guess is that Hawaii doesn't have a wood pulp industry at all, so cardboard containers have to be imported. But Hawaii imports a ton of oil already, so having a local factory that makes plastic packaging out of oil is probably cheaper.
jpatokal 8y ago
Out of curiosity, why do your eggs come in polystyrene containers? Most of world uses cardboard.
- henrikschroder 8y ago
  The polystyrene containers are clearly in the minority of the brands that I can buy here, it's just that the ones I prefer come in it. If you buy eggs that come in cardboard at my local Safeway they're usually mainland eggs. It would be interesting to know if the environmental impact of the plastic containers for the local eggs offset the environmental impact of transporting mainland eggs to Hawaii. Hawaii has a high percentage of oil-powered electricity, and it burns all trash, so me throwing the plastic container in the trash should offset some oil, which drastically reduces the impact of the plastic container per se. So the polystyrene containers might be the better option. Figuring out the actual best environmental option is really really hard. And the exercise above is just for god damn egg cartons. Then again, there's plenty of low-hanging fruit to solve before my choice of eggs start to count. If you live in a place that has landfills, that should be the number one priority to fix. Landfills are terrible, burn the trash instead, it allows you to recover a lot of energy.

jogjayr 8y ago

Your example of the egg company is insane. I wonder why they don't simply use cardboard containers instead.

henrikschroder 8y ago
My best guess is that Hawaii doesn't have a wood pulp industry at all, so cardboard containers have to be imported. But Hawaii imports a ton of oil already, so having a local factory that makes plastic packaging out of oil is probably cheaper.

jpatokal 8y ago

Out of curiosity, why do your eggs come in polystyrene containers? Most of world uses cardboard.

henrikschroder 8y ago
The polystyrene containers are clearly in the minority of the brands that I can buy here, it's just that the ones I prefer come in it. If you buy eggs that come in cardboard at my local Safeway they're usually mainland eggs. It would be interesting to know if the environmental impact of the plastic containers for the local eggs offset the environmental impact of transporting mainland eggs to Hawaii. Hawaii has a high percentage of oil-powered electricity, and it burns all trash, so me throwing the plastic container in the trash should offset some oil, which drastically reduces the impact of the plastic container per se. So the polystyrene containers might be the better option. Figuring out the actual best environmental option is really really hard. And the exercise above is just for god damn egg cartons. Then again, there's plenty of low-hanging fruit to solve before my choice of eggs start to count. If you live in a place that has landfills, that should be the number one priority to fix. Landfills are terrible, burn the trash instead, it allows you to recover a lot of energy.