3 ms·

There is enough landfill space effectively forever. It's really not a problem. > What makes you question the need for recycling? The environment makes me ques

by ars 6y ago

There is enough landfill space effectively forever. It's really not a problem. > What makes you question the need for recycling? The environment makes me question it. Everything I've seen shows recycling anything except metal is bad for the environment. We only do it because it makes people "feel good". The right thing to do with: Metal: recycle it Glass: bury it Paper: bury it Plastic: burn it Everything else: bury it

spookthesunset 6y ago
You can compost food waste paper like paper towels, cardboard takeout boxes, etc... compost makes a lot of sense.
cromat3 6y ago
Why is glass recycling bad for the environment?
- ars 6y ago
  Because transporting it (it's heavy) and recycling it consumes more resources than making it fresh. Additionally glass is harmless in the environment, and it's not something we can ever run out of. So why do it? Additionally, if you actually do want to recycle things, glass shards contaminate everything, making it much more difficult and expensive (i.e. consumes more resources) to do it.
  - labawi 6y ago
    What you're describing is mostly a failure of US commingled recycling system. Meanwhile most of EU countries successfully recycle about 90% of collected glass, collected in glass-only containers. Making new glass can be an issue, as it typically uses sand, which is not very renewable and sand mining in many countries causes massive issues with flooding, droughts, sinking, black markets, even sand mafia! No we should not landfill everything after a single use, or we will soon run out of reasonably accessible raw materials in suitable forms.
    - ars 6y ago
      That's sand for concrete and beaches you are talking about. Sand for glass is not in short supply. And no, we will never run out of it - the planet is made of it.
samcheng 6y ago
If you look at the free market for recyclable materials, you will find that clean paper and especially clean cardboard are valuable feedstocks for paper/board processing, and should definitely be recycled.
imtringued 6y ago
Why not turn organic waste into charcoal/carbon and bury that? It would be considered CO2 sequestration.

by ars 6y ago

spookthesunset 6y ago

You can compost food waste paper like paper towels, cardboard takeout boxes, etc... compost makes a lot of sense.

cromat3 6y ago

Why is glass recycling bad for the environment?

ars 6y ago
Because transporting it (it's heavy) and recycling it consumes more resources than making it fresh. Additionally glass is harmless in the environment, and it's not something we can ever run out of. So why do it? Additionally, if you actually do want to recycle things, glass shards contaminate everything, making it much more difficult and expensive (i.e. consumes more resources) to do it.
- labawi 6y ago
  What you're describing is mostly a failure of US commingled recycling system. Meanwhile most of EU countries successfully recycle about 90% of collected glass, collected in glass-only containers. Making new glass can be an issue, as it typically uses sand, which is not very renewable and sand mining in many countries causes massive issues with flooding, droughts, sinking, black markets, even sand mafia! No we should not landfill everything after a single use, or we will soon run out of reasonably accessible raw materials in suitable forms.
  - ars 6y ago
    That's sand for concrete and beaches you are talking about. Sand for glass is not in short supply. And no, we will never run out of it - the planet is made of it.

samcheng 6y ago

If you look at the free market for recyclable materials, you will find that clean paper and especially clean cardboard are valuable feedstocks for paper/board processing, and should definitely be recycled.

imtringued 6y ago

Why not turn organic waste into charcoal/carbon and bury that? It would be considered CO2 sequestration.