5 ms·

This isn't actually all that new, 25 years ago when I worked at a large Motorola facility, I was always amused when I worked late, which was often, of having th

by yborg 6y ago

This isn't actually all that new, 25 years ago when I worked at a large Motorola facility, I was always amused when I worked late, which was often, of having the janitorial staff empty my wastebasket into the large bin they pushed around, and then dump the contents of the paper recycling basket into the same bin. It hasn't been economical to recycle paper waste streams in the US maybe ever.

maxerickson 6y ago
Did you actually do the legwork to connect the actions of the janitor to company policy and the economics of recycling in the area? Like, I would guess the janitor was just being lazy, and their actions provide little to no information about either the actual policy at the company or economics of recycling where it was located. The substantial amount of recycled fiber in many products suggests that it isn't particularly uneconomic.
- Joeri 6y ago
  Lazy, or rushed? The pressure on cleaning staff in many office buildings is significant, especially if they’re under contract at one of the major cleaning companies. Their itineraries are timed to the minute.
- jessaustin 6y ago
  Gosh it's convenient that the environment depends on the heroism of janitors. I certainly don't want to be a hero...
- slfnflctd 6y ago
  I worked as a janitor for a while in the midwest. Lots of office workers had paper-only bins under their desks. Except, there was no place for janitors to put that paper, anywhere in or around the building. Just one big garbage dumpster. As someone else pointed out, we were also under massive time pressure. Even if we had wanted to recycle the paper, there wasn't a way to do so unless we set up our whole own system, packed it into our personal vehicles every night and drove it to a recycling center miles away (all unpaid). Anyone who broached the subject was mocked.
bobthepanda 6y ago
When the whole Chinese banning recycling imports thing started, one of the few municipal recycling systems not affected was New York City, because they had taken the time to set up a full local supply chain for the recycling. About half of NYC's recycled paper gets turned into pizza boxes. https://citylimits.org/2019/09/17/other-cities-face-trash-crises-but-nyc-is-navigating-chinas-recycling-import-ban/ https://citylimits.org/2019/09/17/other-cities-face-trash-cr...
- rahimnathwani 6y ago
  "About half of NYC's recycled paper gets turned into pizza boxes." That's not what the linked article says: "The other 50 percent of the city’s paper waste is transferred to Pratt Industries’ paper mill on Staten Island, were much of the city’s waste paper is recycled into pizza boxes." It doesn't say how much of the paper waste going into that mill is actually recycled, and it doesn't say how much of the portion that's recycled is recycled into pizza boxes.

by yborg 6y ago

maxerickson 6y ago

Did you actually do the legwork to connect the actions of the janitor to company policy and the economics of recycling in the area? Like, I would guess the janitor was just being lazy, and their actions provide little to no information about either the actual policy at the company or economics of recycling where it was located. The substantial amount of recycled fiber in many products suggests that it isn't particularly uneconomic.

Joeri 6y ago
Lazy, or rushed? The pressure on cleaning staff in many office buildings is significant, especially if they’re under contract at one of the major cleaning companies. Their itineraries are timed to the minute.
jessaustin 6y ago
Gosh it's convenient that the environment depends on the heroism of janitors. I certainly don't want to be a hero...
slfnflctd 6y ago
I worked as a janitor for a while in the midwest. Lots of office workers had paper-only bins under their desks. Except, there was no place for janitors to put that paper, anywhere in or around the building. Just one big garbage dumpster. As someone else pointed out, we were also under massive time pressure. Even if we had wanted to recycle the paper, there wasn't a way to do so unless we set up our whole own system, packed it into our personal vehicles every night and drove it to a recycling center miles away (all unpaid). Anyone who broached the subject was mocked.

bobthepanda 6y ago

When the whole Chinese banning recycling imports thing started, one of the few municipal recycling systems not affected was New York City, because they had taken the time to set up a full local supply chain for the recycling. About half of NYC's recycled paper gets turned into pizza boxes. https://citylimits.org/2019/09/17/other-cities-face-trash-crises-but-nyc-is-navigating-chinas-recycling-import-ban/ https://citylimits.org/2019/09/17/other-cities-face-trash-cr...

rahimnathwani 6y ago
"About half of NYC's recycled paper gets turned into pizza boxes." That's not what the linked article says: "The other 50 percent of the city’s paper waste is transferred to Pratt Industries’ paper mill on Staten Island, were much of the city’s waste paper is recycled into pizza boxes." It doesn't say how much of the paper waste going into that mill is actually recycled, and it doesn't say how much of the portion that's recycled is recycled into pizza boxes.