3 ms·

In Switzerland we generally only recycle the plastic PET and only drinking bottles (no detergent etc.). Since most of the trash is burned in Switzerland to pro

In Switzerland we generally only recycle the plastic PET and only drinking bottles (no detergent etc.). Since most of the trash is burned in Switzerland to produce electricity and municipal heat it doesn't make sense to recycle other plastics. IMO a bigger focus should be on the additives in plastics and types of plastic that don't burn clean or can't be captured easily instead of banning straws etc. Other issues such a one time use vapes which end up in the trash containing non removable batteries should be banned before laws like requiring plastic bottle caps being permanently attached.

illiac786 2y ago
>Since most of the trash is burned in Switzerland to produce electricity and municipal heat it doesn't make sense to recycle other plastics. I’m missing the logic here. Wouldn’t burning less trash and recycling more plastic make sense at some level?
- sschueller 2y ago
  Reducing plastic use is always a good thing but not when for example banning plastic bags results in more use of an alternative that is less "green" ash to ash. The likelihood of a straw in Switzerland landing in the ocean is practically zero so for example banning them would make little sense when the alternative paper straws had to be imported requiring more CO2 overall.
  - illiac786 2y ago
    Hmmm, you’re making a totally different point now… You wrote in essence, “it’s no point recycling plastic because we burn it” – that just does not make sense to me. It’s like saying ”there’s no point braking because we’re driving into a wall anyway”. Now you’re talking about the fact that paper straw produce more CO2 than plastic straws overall (production, import, etc…) and hence plastic straw don’t need to be banned – which I actually also disagree with but that’s not my question. My question is, why does burning trash means you don’t have to recycle plastic?
    - sschueller 2y ago
      > why does burning trash means you don’t have to recycle plastic? By burning the plastic you eliminate the problem that it causes. You also gain some energy back from it. If you can recycle plastic easily like PET then that is a good alternative but most plastics are difficult to sort and recycle.

illiac786 2y ago

>Since most of the trash is burned in Switzerland to produce electricity and municipal heat it doesn't make sense to recycle other plastics. I’m missing the logic here. Wouldn’t burning less trash and recycling more plastic make sense at some level?

sschueller 2y ago
Reducing plastic use is always a good thing but not when for example banning plastic bags results in more use of an alternative that is less "green" ash to ash. The likelihood of a straw in Switzerland landing in the ocean is practically zero so for example banning them would make little sense when the alternative paper straws had to be imported requiring more CO2 overall.
- illiac786 2y ago
  Hmmm, you’re making a totally different point now… You wrote in essence, “it’s no point recycling plastic because we burn it” – that just does not make sense to me. It’s like saying ”there’s no point braking because we’re driving into a wall anyway”. Now you’re talking about the fact that paper straw produce more CO2 than plastic straws overall (production, import, etc…) and hence plastic straw don’t need to be banned – which I actually also disagree with but that’s not my question. My question is, why does burning trash means you don’t have to recycle plastic?
  - sschueller 2y ago
    > why does burning trash means you don’t have to recycle plastic? By burning the plastic you eliminate the problem that it causes. You also gain some energy back from it. If you can recycle plastic easily like PET then that is a good alternative but most plastics are difficult to sort and recycle.