5 ms·
It's also the fact that the recycling systems are still behind consumer expectations. Many would look at a plastic bag and expect that it could be broken down
by winrid 3y ago
It's also the fact that the recycling systems are still behind consumer expectations.
Many would look at a plastic bag and expect that it could be broken down and reused, or that the glass in a lightbulb could be recovered. If we cared more about reuse than cost, we would. Hopefully sorting machines will continue to improve and be able to sort out bags without getting clogged all the time.
I agree it hasn't "backfired" in any way.
- runsWphotons 3y agohad no idea you cant recycle plastic bags. really? why not?
- winrid 3y agoThey can be, if pre-sorted correctly. But just putting them with the rest of the recyclables usually causes problems with clogging equipment - they get wrapped around things, then everything has to stop and workers have to go into the machines to clean them out. I assume future generations of equipment will improve on this but this equipment is pretty expensive to replace so it will take a while...
- JohnFen 3y ago> They can be, if pre-sorted correctly. There's no way to do this in my area. Nobody will accept plastic bags for recycling.
- keskival 3y agoIt depends. In Spain plastic bags are recycled along with other plastic and metal in the same bin.
- modo_mario 3y agoA lot of things you'd think can be recycled actually can't be. This video gives a good overview about the reason this belief is so prevalent.: https://youtu.be/PJnJ8mK3Q3g https://youtu.be/PJnJ8mK3Q3g
- isleyaardvark 3y agoYou can, but generally only in certain places in their own bin. Some grocery stores and some Home Depots offer plastic bag recycling.
- limitedfrom 3y agoThey can be. For example in SF, they should be combined and put into a bigger plastic bag[1] to be recycled. [1] https://www.recology.com/recology-san-francisco/what-goes-where/ https://www.recology.com/recology-san-francisco/what-goes-wh... (see under Recycle tab)