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"Recycling doesn't work" is not true. Recycling of metals works great and is essential. Recycling of glass works well too. Recycling of paper even works. It's

"Recycling doesn't work" is not true. Recycling of metals works great and is essential. Recycling of glass works well too. Recycling of paper even works. It's recycling of plastic where it gets complicated. Some plastic recycling does work, but much does not. That's where the public has generally been mislead the most. The other place is that mant businesses that do home "recycling" service send what is picked up to a landfill or incinerator. This is straight up fraud and should be prosecuted. But please let's not over simplify a complicatwd issue to the point of lying. Recycling does work and is essential in many cases.

freshpots 4y ago
Exactly, and recycling keeps excess materials out of landfills. Landfills are filling up and it is hard get approval and land for new ones.
- eru 4y ago
  Well, the lack of approval is a bureaucratic problem in some areas. Otherwise, landfills filling up is a non-problem. Earth has enough space.
PaulKeeble 4y ago
Anything that is injection moulded (basically all plastic) can only have 1/3 of its pellets from recycled sources and it then can't be recycled again. At the very best assuming the industries claims of recycling were actually met (which they aren't) at most you would get 1.33x uses out of a piece of plastic, that is it. Its not recycleable, its almost just one use. I personally don't think there are too many issues with clean and reuse and indeed a lot of the shapes are standard and if we forced more standards we could probably reuse plastic 10+ times and vastly decrease our need for new plastic. That would require companies to make a cycle for their packaging however and they are really don't want to and so far no government has thought it might be a good idea to force them to.
eru 4y ago
Mostly agreed. However, isn't recycling of glass pretty pointless, as it doesn't really safe you energy compared to making fresh glass? Metal recycling really is a bright spot!
- throwaway4aday 4y ago
  It negates most of the cost of digging and transporting sand.
- timeon 4y ago
  Glass can be reused also for other things like foam-glass insulation.
  - eru 4y ago
    Yes. And you can also stick it in a landfill for a few hundred years until someone comes up with a better idea for how to use it.

freshpots 4y ago

Exactly, and recycling keeps excess materials out of landfills. Landfills are filling up and it is hard get approval and land for new ones.

eru 4y ago
Well, the lack of approval is a bureaucratic problem in some areas. Otherwise, landfills filling up is a non-problem. Earth has enough space.

PaulKeeble 4y ago

Anything that is injection moulded (basically all plastic) can only have 1/3 of its pellets from recycled sources and it then can't be recycled again. At the very best assuming the industries claims of recycling were actually met (which they aren't) at most you would get 1.33x uses out of a piece of plastic, that is it. Its not recycleable, its almost just one use. I personally don't think there are too many issues with clean and reuse and indeed a lot of the shapes are standard and if we forced more standards we could probably reuse plastic 10+ times and vastly decrease our need for new plastic. That would require companies to make a cycle for their packaging however and they are really don't want to and so far no government has thought it might be a good idea to force them to.

eru 4y ago

Mostly agreed. However, isn't recycling of glass pretty pointless, as it doesn't really safe you energy compared to making fresh glass? Metal recycling really is a bright spot!

throwaway4aday 4y ago
It negates most of the cost of digging and transporting sand.
timeon 4y ago
Glass can be reused also for other things like foam-glass insulation.
- eru 4y ago
  Yes. And you can also stick it in a landfill for a few hundred years until someone comes up with a better idea for how to use it.