4 ms·

Toxic chemicals aside, does anyone else have trouble accepting how little effort entities whose job is to recycle put into recycling? The article explains that

Toxic chemicals aside, does anyone else have trouble accepting how little effort entities whose job is to recycle put into recycling? The article explains that recycling facilities throw out black plastic utensils just because the infrared light in sorting machines can't sort it. I've also heard that unscrewed bottle-caps, or other small plastics also fall in the common waste dump at the facility. Perhaps these are the only exceptions. For some of us that have grown up being taught the importance of sorting your trash for the bins by school and TV, it might feel like a betrayal. I would actually like to know the average percentage of the content of domestic recycling bins that the entities on the other side bother to see recycled.

bjxrn 2y ago
The problem is that plastic recycling in general just doesn't work that well. If you want to make any sort of difference then reducing the amount of plastic you use & throw away is essential.
dzhiurgis 2y ago
In Auckland/NZ we are not supposed to put lids or items smaller than 5cm into recycling anymore…
Steve44 2y ago
> that recycling facilities throw out black plastic utensils just because the infrared light in sorting machines can't sort it That is very true. The sorting used near-infrared which struggle to detect these black plastics because the carbon black pigments absorb the light. I've quoted information from one our our suppliers which explains it and what they are doing about it. What is carbon black and why should it be eliminated? Carbon black is a pigment widely used in many materials to achieve dark and opaque colours. However, it poses a problem in sorting centers. Indeed, for packaging to be sorted correctly, it must be detected by a sensor known as "near-infrared," abbreviated as NIR. This sensor detects the type of polymer by identifying bright spots on the surface of the packaging and identifies the range of light reflected from the majority of the polymer. However, the presence of carbon black prevents the packaging from being detected because it absorbs the infrared rays emitted by the device. Undetected packaging is therefore not sorted and subsequently not recycled. It will be rejected and sent for incineration or landfill. What are the alternative solutions for dark packaging? As part of the AGEC (The Anti-Waste Law for a Circular Economy) law, voluntary commitments have been made by various stakeholders, including the GUILLIN Group. We have developed solutions for PP and PET with detectable packaging without carbon black. This solution involves eliminating black dyes in favour of dark dyes validated by COTREP (Center of Resources and Expertise on Household Plastic Packaging Recyclability in France). With this material, our packaging is detectable by optical sorting and can therefore be recycled. Some of our ranges are also available in transparent or translucent versions, giving you additional options.
Steve44 2y ago
> I've also heard that unscrewed bottle-caps, or other small plastics also fall in the common waste dump at the facility. The EU, and UK, recently brought in legislation where the bottle caps are tethered to the bottle. The main reason is to reduce littering, but it does also make recycling easier. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-plastic-bottles-eu-caps.html https://phys.org/news/2024-10-plastic-bottles-eu-caps.html > I would actually like to know the average percentage of the content of domestic recycling bins that the entities on the other side bother to see recycled. https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8515/ https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-... "An estimated 73% of the plastic bottles produced in 2020/21 were collected from households for recycling. The rate was 47% for pots, tubs and trays and much lower for plastic film at just 4%."

bjxrn 2y ago

The problem is that plastic recycling in general just doesn't work that well. If you want to make any sort of difference then reducing the amount of plastic you use & throw away is essential.

dzhiurgis 2y ago

In Auckland/NZ we are not supposed to put lids or items smaller than 5cm into recycling anymore…

Steve44 2y ago

> that recycling facilities throw out black plastic utensils just because the infrared light in sorting machines can't sort it That is very true. The sorting used near-infrared which struggle to detect these black plastics because the carbon black pigments absorb the light. I've quoted information from one our our suppliers which explains it and what they are doing about it. What is carbon black and why should it be eliminated? Carbon black is a pigment widely used in many materials to achieve dark and opaque colours. However, it poses a problem in sorting centers. Indeed, for packaging to be sorted correctly, it must be detected by a sensor known as "near-infrared," abbreviated as NIR. This sensor detects the type of polymer by identifying bright spots on the surface of the packaging and identifies the range of light reflected from the majority of the polymer. However, the presence of carbon black prevents the packaging from being detected because it absorbs the infrared rays emitted by the device. Undetected packaging is therefore not sorted and subsequently not recycled. It will be rejected and sent for incineration or landfill. What are the alternative solutions for dark packaging? As part of the AGEC (The Anti-Waste Law for a Circular Economy) law, voluntary commitments have been made by various stakeholders, including the GUILLIN Group. We have developed solutions for PP and PET with detectable packaging without carbon black. This solution involves eliminating black dyes in favour of dark dyes validated by COTREP (Center of Resources and Expertise on Household Plastic Packaging Recyclability in France). With this material, our packaging is detectable by optical sorting and can therefore be recycled. Some of our ranges are also available in transparent or translucent versions, giving you additional options.

Steve44 2y ago

> I've also heard that unscrewed bottle-caps, or other small plastics also fall in the common waste dump at the facility. The EU, and UK, recently brought in legislation where the bottle caps are tethered to the bottle. The main reason is to reduce littering, but it does also make recycling easier. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-plastic-bottles-eu-caps.html https://phys.org/news/2024-10-plastic-bottles-eu-caps.html > I would actually like to know the average percentage of the content of domestic recycling bins that the entities on the other side bother to see recycled. https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8515/ https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-... "An estimated 73% of the plastic bottles produced in 2020/21 were collected from households for recycling. The rate was 47% for pots, tubs and trays and much lower for plastic film at just 4%."