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Plastics can't be recycled. Even the best quality HDPE resins can only be down-cycled once, and are turned into pens, toys and other low quality plastics stuff

Plastics can't be recycled. Even the best quality HDPE resins can only be down-cycled once, and are turned into pens, toys and other low quality plastics stuff you don't want to have close to food.

1970-01-01 2y ago
I'm afraid the plastic recycling factories haven't gotten this memo. https://youtu.be/g1WTgGyirDw&t=247 https://youtu.be/g1WTgGyirDw&t=247
- michael9423 2y ago
  Plastic resins lose quality in every recycling process (impurities, residues, etc.), so during "recycling", pure new plastics is added. Even in PET recycling - which is the most effective "recycling" process that exists - PET bottles only contain an average of 17% recycled PET and the rest is brand-new PET. PET bottles are only recycled one or two times. Most of the "recycled" PET actually goes into other production, like films and textiles, because it's too impure. When plastic gets "recycled", it actually gets down-cycled into products that are no longer recyclable. So what happens in the end is that the toxic plastics gets concentrated into products where the law does permit these toxins to be present. Only organic waste and paper allows true recycling. https://www.oceancare.org/stories_and_news/europas-schweiz-plastik/ https://www.oceancare.org/stories_and_news/europas-schweiz-p...
  - kjkjadksj 2y ago
    Metals are pretty well recycled, no?
    - michael9423 2y ago
      Yeah I'm talking about the household waste people are told to separate into their bins.
      - Novosell 2y ago
        We separate glass and metal where I live.
  - 1970-01-01 2y ago
    Molecular plastic recycling allows 100% renewal.
    - michael9423 2y ago
      If you are talking about chemical processes, that's not economically practical. It only happens in the lab, not in the real world.
      - 1970-01-01 2y ago
        Real world: https://www.eastman.com/en/sustainability/environmental/circularity/site-locations/tennessee-site https://www.eastman.com/en/sustainability/environmental/circ...
        michael9423 2y ago
        You have to understand that recycling is probably the most corrupt industry that exists. This is due to the broken incentives that go against all free market principles. Recycling companies are actually paid to process plastic waste. And then they are paid a second time when they sell it. And they still lose money, so they are paid a third time with direct government subsidies. The plant has been just operating for a couple weeks and there exists no independent reports of what they produce. Lots of government money is flowing into this, creating incentives for corporations to keep trying. The industry may be able to force this through the sheer amount of government subsidies at one point, but this does not make it economical or ecological. “Regular recycling is difficult enough, but chemical recycling causes even more problems,” Goldsberry said. During her tenure covering the plastics industry, she said she encountered many advanced recycling project announcements that went silent after a year or so. “If they were making new plastics from co-mingled plastic waste through advanced chemical recycling, they would really be promoting it. She said burning plastics for fuel is a more efficient and easier solution to the global plastic waste problem." https://www.plasticstoday.com/advanced-recycling/is-chemical-recycling-a-silver-bullet-or-a-lead-balloon- https://www.plasticstoday.com/advanced-recycling/is-chemical...
PaulHoule 2y ago
There are processes for “chemical recycling of plastics” that either convert polymers back to the monomer (pretty easy for styrene) or to mixed petrochemicals (such as pyrolysis). There are other problems, but the economics are always going to be tough for them because bulk plastic monomers and other petrochemicals (even fuels) usually cost about 50 cents a pound which is a hard price to beat even when you don’t consider the cost of gathering and transporting all that plastic.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]

Plastics can't be recycled. Even the best quality HDPE resins can only be down-cycled once, and are turned into pens, toys and other low quality plastics stuff you don't want to have close to food.

1970-01-01 2y ago

I'm afraid the plastic recycling factories haven't gotten this memo. https://youtu.be/g1WTgGyirDw&t=247 https://youtu.be/g1WTgGyirDw&t=247

michael9423 2y ago
Plastic resins lose quality in every recycling process (impurities, residues, etc.), so during "recycling", pure new plastics is added. Even in PET recycling - which is the most effective "recycling" process that exists - PET bottles only contain an average of 17% recycled PET and the rest is brand-new PET. PET bottles are only recycled one or two times. Most of the "recycled" PET actually goes into other production, like films and textiles, because it's too impure. When plastic gets "recycled", it actually gets down-cycled into products that are no longer recyclable. So what happens in the end is that the toxic plastics gets concentrated into products where the law does permit these toxins to be present. Only organic waste and paper allows true recycling. https://www.oceancare.org/stories_and_news/europas-schweiz-plastik/ https://www.oceancare.org/stories_and_news/europas-schweiz-p...
- kjkjadksj 2y ago
  Metals are pretty well recycled, no?
  - michael9423 2y ago
    Yeah I'm talking about the household waste people are told to separate into their bins.
    - Novosell 2y ago
      We separate glass and metal where I live.
- 1970-01-01 2y ago
  Molecular plastic recycling allows 100% renewal.
  - michael9423 2y ago
    If you are talking about chemical processes, that's not economically practical. It only happens in the lab, not in the real world.
    - 1970-01-01 2y ago
      Real world: https://www.eastman.com/en/sustainability/environmental/circularity/site-locations/tennessee-site https://www.eastman.com/en/sustainability/environmental/circ...
      - michael9423 2y ago
        You have to understand that recycling is probably the most corrupt industry that exists. This is due to the broken incentives that go against all free market principles. Recycling companies are actually paid to process plastic waste. And then they are paid a second time when they sell it. And they still lose money, so they are paid a third time with direct government subsidies. The plant has been just operating for a couple weeks and there exists no independent reports of what they produce. Lots of government money is flowing into this, creating incentives for corporations to keep trying. The industry may be able to force this through the sheer amount of government subsidies at one point, but this does not make it economical or ecological. “Regular recycling is difficult enough, but chemical recycling causes even more problems,” Goldsberry said. During her tenure covering the plastics industry, she said she encountered many advanced recycling project announcements that went silent after a year or so. “If they were making new plastics from co-mingled plastic waste through advanced chemical recycling, they would really be promoting it. She said burning plastics for fuel is a more efficient and easier solution to the global plastic waste problem." https://www.plasticstoday.com/advanced-recycling/is-chemical-recycling-a-silver-bullet-or-a-lead-balloon- https://www.plasticstoday.com/advanced-recycling/is-chemical...

PaulHoule 2y ago

There are processes for “chemical recycling of plastics” that either convert polymers back to the monomer (pretty easy for styrene) or to mixed petrochemicals (such as pyrolysis). There are other problems, but the economics are always going to be tough for them because bulk plastic monomers and other petrochemicals (even fuels) usually cost about 50 cents a pound which is a hard price to beat even when you don’t consider the cost of gathering and transporting all that plastic.

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]