3 ms·

> worthwhile to recycle People say this implying that there is something about the material which makes it inherently "worthwhile" and that's just not true any

> worthwhile to recycle People say this implying that there is something about the material which makes it inherently "worthwhile" and that's just not true anymore. Recycling has advanced quite a bit and these days what makes things not "worthwhile" to recycle can have as much to do with how they are designed and disposed as with the utility of the underlying material. A cottage cheese tub is made from recyclable plastic but it's not "worthwhile" for a recycler to collect them if they aren't rinsed. Cardboard is useful but moreso if flattened. Though not at all if a plastic liner is still glued inside. I encounter people all the time not knowing if a thing is recyclable and if so how to prepare it. The worst part is that people often even put extra effort into recycling but because they don't understand how the recycler consumes the items they actually harm the recycler with improper disassembly. You could have one icon for things like pop cans and milk jugs which are recyclable without modification. Similarly, there could be icons for compound packaging. You might have a symbol that means a box must have a plastic liner removed and the box be flattened. The important thing is consistnecy. People might even begin to shift their shopping habits towards products that came in easy to recycle packages. But consumers can't even really index on that currently because they have to get pretty educated on their local recycler's practices to know this.

maxerickson 6y ago
Recycled polypropylene isn't particularly marketable is what I meant. It's worthless, even when it is clean. From the POV of the recycler, it's an unwanted byproduct of collecting #1 and #2 bottles. And it's pretty much the same story for every other plastic I did not explicitly mention in my other comment. Mandates banning bad packaging would do more than trying to train consumers.
- DubiousPusher 6y ago
  > From the POV of the recycler, it's an unwanted byproduct of collecting #1 and #2 bottles. From the wikipedia article linked above. "When many plastics recycling programs were first being implemented in communities across the United States, only plastics with RICs "1" and "2" (polyethylene terephthalate and high-density polyethylene, respectively) were accepted to be recycled. The list of acceptable plastic items has grown since then" > Mandates banning bad packaging would do more than trying to train consumers. A ban would be great. I think it's not politically feasible on a large scale in the U.S.
  - maxerickson 6y ago
    If you click through to the recycler that the wiki article cites, they aren't wildly explicit about it, but they only want plastic bottles (the ones made with 1 and 2 plastic). https://www.rumpke.com/docs/default-source/default-document-library/acceptableitems.pdf https://www.rumpke.com/docs/default-source/default-document-... There's not pictures of random plastics, and they aren't asking for yogurt tubs by name.

maxerickson 6y ago

Recycled polypropylene isn't particularly marketable is what I meant. It's worthless, even when it is clean. From the POV of the recycler, it's an unwanted byproduct of collecting #1 and #2 bottles. And it's pretty much the same story for every other plastic I did not explicitly mention in my other comment. Mandates banning bad packaging would do more than trying to train consumers.

DubiousPusher 6y ago
> From the POV of the recycler, it's an unwanted byproduct of collecting #1 and #2 bottles. From the wikipedia article linked above. "When many plastics recycling programs were first being implemented in communities across the United States, only plastics with RICs "1" and "2" (polyethylene terephthalate and high-density polyethylene, respectively) were accepted to be recycled. The list of acceptable plastic items has grown since then" > Mandates banning bad packaging would do more than trying to train consumers. A ban would be great. I think it's not politically feasible on a large scale in the U.S.
- maxerickson 6y ago
  If you click through to the recycler that the wiki article cites, they aren't wildly explicit about it, but they only want plastic bottles (the ones made with 1 and 2 plastic). https://www.rumpke.com/docs/default-source/default-document-library/acceptableitems.pdf https://www.rumpke.com/docs/default-source/default-document-... There's not pictures of random plastics, and they aren't asking for yogurt tubs by name.