- cross-posted to:
- memes@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- memes@lemmy.world
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We sort trash in 4 bins and one bag.
- Paper
- Glass and metal
- Bio, food waste
- General waste that doesn’t belong in the other bins.
- Isn’t a bin but a plastic bag for plastic.
Lets say we didn’t have a bag specifically for plastic, that waste would have ended up in 4. Most of 4 is burned. By putting plastic in its own bag it increased the amount of plastic returned to waste management and reduced the amount left out in nature and burned.
We’ve been dealt a shit hand, but we can try making the best out of the situation. Giving up isn’t an option.
Here we just ship out plastic to SEA and they toss out whatever they cannot use
the people who try to force the burden of a species worth of impact onto individuals are always just running cover for corporations n conglomerates; give them time to build society’s tolerance for bleakness and whatever industrial-scale crime they’re doing and internalise guilt for it before coming back to win the pr war and make money in some other slightly less evil way
Recycling started off as the third R and last resort, the first two were Reduce and Reuse. Those were not compatible with an economy based on consumerism and growth, so Recycling became the focus, creating an industry to pick through the few things that could be recycled and trashing the rest, and encouraging the public to buy more because it’s not a problem as long as you participate.
And if you don’t participate, all the problems are your fault. Not the companies making the stuff, they’re just doing what you want.
They also told us all this stuff was recyclable. They got us to separate our trash. Municipalities changed their waste collections services. Added new trucks. For 40 years. Then they were like “yeah, none of this stuff can actually be recycled”. lol. And THEN after they got called out on that, they’re like “yeah, we lied last time. But now we really are working on a way to recycle these things. And it’s really really going to work this time totally for sure.”
The problem isn’t just recycling; it’s consumption. Also, aluminum still holds some value. What else is worth recycling?
Glass
Glass used to be washed and reused. It’s a lot more energy (and therefore greenhouse gases) to melt and reform into whatever.
Supply for high quality white sand used for almost all glass making will be exhausted in 2037, according to British Geologist Michael Welland.
There will be a point in the near future where recycling glass will be less expensive than sourcing high quality sand.
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Yes, ship all Amazon packages in metal boxes! I like this future 😎
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Cardboard boxes? That will never catch on
I have plastic in my testicles and I don’t even have any.
Maybe you have plastic testicles now… isn’t evolution amazing!
MY GOD… The plastic took your testicles?!? WHY ARE WE NOT DOING SOMETHING ABOUT THIS???
Reuse repair and recycle are in this order for a reason.
Companies should use recycle as a last resort. And especially should consider repair when producing items.
However people buy cheap new shit more often than try to repair sth.
Fuck consum economy
the order is actually Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.
i think it’s reconsider (buying this product), reuse, recycle
The problem is plastic can’t be broken down and reassembled forever. Recycling isn’t Lego. The focus should be finding ways to reuse something without altering it too much. But yeah it’s not gonna save the planet sadly.
I mean, plastic recycling is easy; burn it with filters, then put the filters in the hole where the oil came from. Then use a biodegradable replacement according to your needs.
What do you mean with filters?
Those active coal and/or electrostatic ones you put in the chimney?
But why put them in the hole? If you have no clean burning, the filter mostly gets carbon, which can be burned again. Some plastics like PVC release HCl, so you need to scrub that, but the result is harmless table salt. The biggest issue is formation of dioxins, so you need to have a high flame temperature to make sure everything burns clean. Otherwise dust etc. could contain heavy metals, but that is not directly from the plastic.
I mean, climate change is coal © we take out of reserves in the form of oil and gas (from times where climate was warmer) and then burn it with oxygen (O) to CO².
Yes, plastic is a problem with pollution. But no matter how much we recycle it or if it rots away over centuries, hurting animals and poisoning environments: the end result is still that it is processed oil © out of a hole, contributing to greenhouse effect.
This is actually incorrect, you can absolutely break plastic into its basic constituents and create new plastic. But that costs more than simply using already existing oil.
The cheaper downcycle method is roughly separating the plastics and using certain ones to make new items like plastic bags, buckets etc.
You can? I thought it deteriorates with every time that’s being done but maybe that’s just true for the methods that are economically viable.
The polymer decomposes when you heat it up, yes. But you can also start from scratch, so to speak. But that is a more involved process. The same way you can reuse steel or melt it completely new.
That’s interesting, thanks for the input!
