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"...or burning it in huge incinerators like the one in Chester, which already torches around 3,510 tons of trash, the weight equivalent of more than 17 blue wha
by blakesterz 8y ago
"...or burning it in huge incinerators like the one in Chester, which already torches around 3,510 tons of trash, the weight equivalent of more than 17 blue whales, every day."
I love that they compare it to the weight of a blue whale!
"There isn’t much of a domestic market for US recyclables – materials such as steel or high-density plastics can be sold on but much of the rest holds little more value than rubbish"
It's clear to me from the article, does that mean paper and cardboard as well? It seems to be mentioned that China won't take it, but is that getting burned now?
- bryanlarsen 8y agoIIRC it's the mix that's the problem. Pure newsprint has value, but it takes very little laminated paper or food contamination to make it cheaper to throw it all out than to sort it.
- Scoundreller 8y agoAnother issue is that optical scanners read the code on plastics, but the black plastic on things like to-go coffee can’t be read (they absorb the light). Small changes like “Number 5 plastics cannot be black in colour” would help without any consumer impact.