3 ms·

So much "plastic" packaging nowadays (in the UK) is labelled with "Do not recycle" but no indication of what it's made of. This has annoyed me from an environme

by bloak 6y ago

So much "plastic" packaging nowadays (in the UK) is labelled with "Do not recycle" but no indication of what it's made of. This has annoyed me from an environmental point of view, but probably one should look at it from a health point of view, too. Perhaps those items are made from a material that the manufacturers know has potential health implications and that's why they're carefully not saying what it is? Perhaps the law should require proper labelling of packaging material that is in contact with food just like it requires food ingredients to be listed. If manufacturers were to lobby hard against such a rule, what might we conclude from that?

vkou 6y ago
> Perhaps those items are made from a material that the manufacturers know has potential health implications and that's why they're carefully not saying what it is? Unlikely. It's more likely that they don't know, because they didn't look too hard. The reason it's not recyclable has nothing to do with that, though. It's not recyclable because plastic recycling is very difficult, many plastics can't be recycled, and of those that can, any contaminants will ruin an entire batch. Food is an example of such a contaminant.
- WalterGR 6y ago
  any contaminants will ruin an entire batch. Food is an example of such a contaminant. This is a myth.
  - WalterGR 6y ago
    (It’s too late to edit my comment, but to be clear, food is a contaminant - it’s a myth that any amount of contaminant will ruin a batch...)
froh 6y ago
NPR recently collected some history lots of plastics got some recycling symbols even though most plastics are not recycled for economic reasons: plastics have to be unmixed for true recycling. Most food packaging is landfill. https://www.npr.org/2020/09/11/897692090/how-big-oil-misled-the-public-into-believing-plastic-would-be-recycled https://www.npr.org/2020/09/11/897692090/how-big-oil-misled-...
- fy20 6y ago
  The symbol with three arrows in a triangle and a code does not mean an item is recyclable. The official name is a Resin Identification Code. It lets you identify what material an item is made of, but it does not say whether it can be recycled or not, as that varies depending on local facilities. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resin_identification_code https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resin_identification_code
  - froh 6y ago
    TIL resin identification code. Edit: the original stated purpose, according to the linked wikipedia page, was: facilitate recycling... And if it actually will be recycled depends not only on the facility but also on the cost of doing what needs to be done (for separation and transport), and the possibility of what can be done (laminates). However these constraints are not communicated clearly. I'm 52 years old, I live in Germany, where we "recycle" for ages, about 30 years now, and we tell our kids and grannies and everybody in between to separate the trash because "recycling", and we see benches and other sturdy plastics items "made from trash" and still, only 17% of the collected packaging trash is reliably recycled, while the recycling of other plastics (toys, vehicle parts, any plastics that are not packaging) is also intransparent. https://bmbf-plastik.de/en/publication/plastic-atlas-2019-facts-and-figures-about-world-synthetic-polmers https://bmbf-plastik.de/en/publication/plastic-atlas-2019-fa... https://www.tagesschau.de/faktenfinder/kurzerklaert/kurzerklaert-recycling-101.html https://www.tagesschau.de/faktenfinder/kurzerklaert/kurzerkl...

by bloak 6y ago

vkou 6y ago

> Perhaps those items are made from a material that the manufacturers know has potential health implications and that's why they're carefully not saying what it is? Unlikely. It's more likely that they don't know, because they didn't look too hard. The reason it's not recyclable has nothing to do with that, though. It's not recyclable because plastic recycling is very difficult, many plastics can't be recycled, and of those that can, any contaminants will ruin an entire batch. Food is an example of such a contaminant.

WalterGR 6y ago
any contaminants will ruin an entire batch. Food is an example of such a contaminant. This is a myth.
- WalterGR 6y ago
  (It’s too late to edit my comment, but to be clear, food is a contaminant - it’s a myth that any amount of contaminant will ruin a batch...)

froh 6y ago

NPR recently collected some history lots of plastics got some recycling symbols even though most plastics are not recycled for economic reasons: plastics have to be unmixed for true recycling. Most food packaging is landfill. https://www.npr.org/2020/09/11/897692090/how-big-oil-misled-the-public-into-believing-plastic-would-be-recycled https://www.npr.org/2020/09/11/897692090/how-big-oil-misled-...

fy20 6y ago
The symbol with three arrows in a triangle and a code does not mean an item is recyclable. The official name is a Resin Identification Code. It lets you identify what material an item is made of, but it does not say whether it can be recycled or not, as that varies depending on local facilities. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resin_identification_code https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resin_identification_code
- froh 6y ago
  TIL resin identification code. Edit: the original stated purpose, according to the linked wikipedia page, was: facilitate recycling... And if it actually will be recycled depends not only on the facility but also on the cost of doing what needs to be done (for separation and transport), and the possibility of what can be done (laminates). However these constraints are not communicated clearly. I'm 52 years old, I live in Germany, where we "recycle" for ages, about 30 years now, and we tell our kids and grannies and everybody in between to separate the trash because "recycling", and we see benches and other sturdy plastics items "made from trash" and still, only 17% of the collected packaging trash is reliably recycled, while the recycling of other plastics (toys, vehicle parts, any plastics that are not packaging) is also intransparent. https://bmbf-plastik.de/en/publication/plastic-atlas-2019-facts-and-figures-about-world-synthetic-polmers https://bmbf-plastik.de/en/publication/plastic-atlas-2019-fa... https://www.tagesschau.de/faktenfinder/kurzerklaert/kurzerklaert-recycling-101.html https://www.tagesschau.de/faktenfinder/kurzerklaert/kurzerkl...