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As a very young child, I remember there were paper drives... Newspaper drives. Like, you let your newspapers that are printed on real wood pulp pile up, then t

As a very young child, I remember there were paper drives... Newspaper drives. Like, you let your newspapers that are printed on real wood pulp pile up, then the Boy Scouts come and pick that pile up. But two things: 1. Who the hell still gets a physical newspaper anymore? (Yes, we all know you do, Captain Pedantic.) 2. Were I a physical paper subscriber, I would toss it in the recycling bin (a dearth of which were why we had "paper drives" back in the day) when I'm done. Bottles were recycled, yes, and Federal law requires that every time the topic comes up that we all be reminded that glass bottles weigh a fuckton, and the extra fossil fuels required to tote them around might make it a net loss on environment-saving. Though I'll admit I've not seen solid numbers (as in, perhaps a real study) one way or the other.

truculent 3y ago
Something I often wonder about this is how much are the assumptions about the fuel cost of transport based on the current economic mode? For example, if we outright banned plastic bottles, would that incentivise a more distributed network of recycling and bottling centres, bringing the transport costs back down? Likewise, I see similar statistics around plastic packaging reducing food spoilage during transport. To a know-nothing like me, it feels as though the real effect would be lessened by the economy finding a new equilibrium in response to a plastic ban, but I have no idea how much we might expect that effect to be, or what kind of timescale and capital investment it might require.
foxyv 3y ago
There are zero waste alternatives that don't even need to recycle. You just wash containers when they are returned and then re-use them. I honestly would prefer that to all the junk in weird boxes and marketing that intentionally makes it harder to shop. I started buying spices in bulk lately and it's less than 1/10 the cost of packaged spices... https://ecocart.io/zero-waste-grocery-shopping/ https://ecocart.io/zero-waste-grocery-shopping/
29athrowaway 3y ago
Mail spam not only produces more trash than newspapers, it also uses types of paper that are less recyclable.
- mikestew 3y ago
  $4 in the U. S. makes most of it go away: https://www.dmachoice.org/static/about_dma.php https://www.dmachoice.org/static/about_dma.php After a few years, some new stuff slowly creeps back in, but for the most part what shows up in my mailbox is stuff I care about.
  - xkcd-sucks 3y ago
    Or, you can get on the "Deceased Do Not Contact List" for free :) https://www.ims-dm.com/cgi/ddnc.php https://www.ims-dm.com/cgi/ddnc.php

truculent 3y ago

Something I often wonder about this is how much are the assumptions about the fuel cost of transport based on the current economic mode? For example, if we outright banned plastic bottles, would that incentivise a more distributed network of recycling and bottling centres, bringing the transport costs back down? Likewise, I see similar statistics around plastic packaging reducing food spoilage during transport. To a know-nothing like me, it feels as though the real effect would be lessened by the economy finding a new equilibrium in response to a plastic ban, but I have no idea how much we might expect that effect to be, or what kind of timescale and capital investment it might require.

foxyv 3y ago

There are zero waste alternatives that don't even need to recycle. You just wash containers when they are returned and then re-use them. I honestly would prefer that to all the junk in weird boxes and marketing that intentionally makes it harder to shop. I started buying spices in bulk lately and it's less than 1/10 the cost of packaged spices... https://ecocart.io/zero-waste-grocery-shopping/ https://ecocart.io/zero-waste-grocery-shopping/

29athrowaway 3y ago

Mail spam not only produces more trash than newspapers, it also uses types of paper that are less recyclable.

mikestew 3y ago
$4 in the U. S. makes most of it go away: https://www.dmachoice.org/static/about_dma.php https://www.dmachoice.org/static/about_dma.php After a few years, some new stuff slowly creeps back in, but for the most part what shows up in my mailbox is stuff I care about.
- xkcd-sucks 3y ago
  Or, you can get on the "Deceased Do Not Contact List" for free :) https://www.ims-dm.com/cgi/ddnc.php https://www.ims-dm.com/cgi/ddnc.php