Recycling Plastic

R

RobinWren

Member
Location
BC
I am very diligent in regards to recycling, the plastic that is not accepted in the bluebox I take to the depot. The plastic that I am referring to is sandwich bags, bags that contain frozen foods, any other plastic coverings or bags, I stuff them in the dog food bags. Yesterday when I went to the depot to drop them off I was told to resort into hard and soft plastic? when did this happen? I was fit to be tied because I had three full bags. By the way they have accepted my bags like this for years. I bought them home put them back in the garage to resort another day.
 

Recycling and sorting requirements are specific to the facility you use. Some require little sorting while others require a lot. It depends, in large part, on who the facility sells that particular recyclable material to and what their buyer's requirements are.

Our facility stopped accepting all plastics as recyclable material at the beginning of covid. Plastics now go into normal, burnable household waste.
 
RobinWren said:
I am very diligent in regards to recycling, the plastic that is not accepted in the bluebox I take to the depot. The plastic that I am referring to is sandwich bags, bags that contain frozen foods, any other plastic coverings or bags, I stuff them in the dog food bags. Yesterday when I went to the depot to drop them off I was told to resort into hard and soft plastic? when did this happen? I was fit to be tied because I had three full bags. By the way they have accepted my bags like this for years. I bought them home put them back in the garage to resort another day.
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I for one believe the whole entire recycling campaign is nothing more than a put-on.

At the end of the day everything that's separated so carefully is gathered up and disposed of in the same pit. This has been proven again and again in news blips I've heard, articles I've read, and television investigations I have watched.

I would have taken all of that plastic you accumulated and given it a classic heave-hoe right into the regular landfall waste area.

I refuse to kowtow/cowtow to such nonsense.
 
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Unfortunately, Aunt Marg is right about recycling not being as efficient, and not keeping plastics out of landfills. Some plastic can be recycled only once, or twice. But at least, even that is helping to stall filling up landfills. I think the problem with recycling is the money angle. It costs a lot to sort out materials from the trash, which can be recycled. And the price of the recycled stuff is more than new unrecycled materials. It's a different story with the metals. Recycled metal is way cheaper than newly smelted metal. I think, in the future, recycling will pay well.
The problem with landfills is that they don't remain dormant. You can't just bury the stuff, and walk away. You have created the ultimate toxic stew. You have to keep them from polluting the water, not leaking, and to properly vent the gases, which can explode. Besides running out of places that we can safely use as a dump, it costs a lot to keep them from damaging the environment.
 
In this area, we sort and recycle some plastics other types of plastic go in with the garbage.

It gets a little confusing but I do the best I can without stressing over it.

IMO the solution should be to start at the beginning of the manufacturing cycle and eliminate the use of as much plastic as possible. Until that happens about all we can do is be selective about where we shop and what we buy.
 
If we could return the plastic to the place that supplied it to us, then they returned it up the line to their supplier, it would eventually reach the people who made the plastic item......then they would/should be made to reuse it.
 
Aunt Bea said:
In this area, we sort and recycle some plastics other types of plastic go in with the garbage.

It gets a little confusing but I do the best I can without stressing over it.

IMO the solution should be to start at the beginning of the manufacturing cycle and eliminate the use of as much plastic as possible. Until that happens about all we can do is be selective about where we shop and what we buy.
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Our approach too.

Costco is one of the worst for over wrapping products.
 
How many states or provinces have a deposit on bottles. In BC we even have a fee on plastic water bottles so they’re rarely seen in the trash or along the roadside.
 
They used pick up plastic here with the numbers 1 through 7, but now it's only 1 and 2. It's probably decided by the market as to what can be sold to be recycled into another product.
 
The types of plastics are divided in to seven separate categories and different towns, counties. etc. differ on what types they recycle so it's up to individuals to figure what they put in to recycling and what types go in to regulate trash. That means you have to get out your magnifying glass to check which of the seven numbers appears on your little yogurt cup. It is said by 2050 the total tonnage of plastics in the world's oceans will be equal to that of fishes. I read recently my Zero Water Filter releases micro particles of plastic in the water. They should call it "Clean And Chunky" Filter.
 
My first thought was throw it in the garbage, I cannot do that so I will spend some time resorting. My neighbour recently bought a copier, he was told to return the packaging to the store . Things are looking up.
 
If you really care about plastic recycling, and I do, I strongly suggest watching this extremely informative video on youtube, you'll be glad you did.
 
Many things we buy come in plastic. I actually use bags I buy food in as garbage bags and for cleaning the litter box. I keep the litter bag in a covered container in the bathroom. I use empty cereal bags, some chip bags (that are strong enough) to double bag and out to the garbage that goes.

WINCO Foods in California were not allowing re-usable produce bags. I can get around that by using their bags. Also I have stopped buying plastic wrap and bags. I'm using wax paper and wax paper bags. I don't know how much it's actually helping but it's worth a try.
 
RobinWren said:
My first thought was throw it in the garbage, I cannot do that so I will spend some time resorting. My neighbour recently bought a copier, he was told to return the packaging to the store . Things are looking up.
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I always wonder about these situations. Does it waste more energy to drive to the store and return the packaging than it saves.

It’s all very confusing to me.

I wish we could all have our own personal carbon allowance to use as we see fit. Some folks would choose air conditioning while others would choose air travel etc...

The good thing is that more people are becoming aware of the challenges and the choices.
 
where I am they only want hard plastic and only some
types, no coloured except white and clear, I saw one of
the trucks that collect the plastic driving into the new
incinerator a few months ago, so the recycling stops
when I do it, the council just dumps it.

I often read about somebody who lives in a remote area,
who takes any kind of plastic and turns it back into oil, he
makes Diesel, but can make petrol if he adds stuff to it, I
often wonder if the Council try and charge him duty, all
fuel does carry a tax at the point of sale.

Mike.
 
We put all our plastic into the recycling bins. What it happens after they're picked up every other week is beyond our control. Hopefully, most of it is actually being recycled, although I wouldn't bet money on it.

What pisses me off is when there's a disaster somewhere and you see these pallets of water and these little 16oz bottles are handed out to victims who are without food and water. Why not distribute bigger bottles or bring in some big water tanks and let them use refillable bottles? That's an unbelievable amount of waste.

And airline food. Last time I flew, I couldn't believe how much waste there was! Every morsel of food was individually wrapped in plastic, and was served on a disposable plastic tray, which was also wrapped in plastic, and plastic eating utensils and cups. I felt guilty as hell after eating and looking at all that waste sitting on the little fold-out table.
 
The good news with all of this is that a variety of new materials are in development as well as research into being able to process mixed plastics and turn them into something else. Wife and I have been involved in recycling since early 80's and we currently work on sorting and bagging styrofoam. We have a local manufacturer that will take styro and process it and turn it into new styro products. Of course, bad news is that it's still styro which won't break down in God's lifetime. Best we can do for now until the stuff is banned. I know some of the big chains such as McD's and Starbucks are eliminating styro and using paper-type products for their cups. Our organization was able to get a local law passed that one has to pay for plastic bags in the stores. At the same time, city provided reusable bags for free. There shouldn't be anyone in America putting groceries in plastic bags. All you have to do is bring reusable cloth or paper bags to bag your groceries. We also use cloth bags for veggies that are breathable and washable. No one should be leaving veggies in plastic.
 
"Malaysia sent 4,120 tons of plastic trash back to 13 rich countries, saying it refuses to be the 'rubbish dump of the world' Malaysia says it returned 4,120 tons of plastic trash to 13 affluent nations in late 2019."
 
Just prior to the pandemic our city/province was doing really well eliminating plastic bags. There was a fee at the stores. The majority of the people were using their own bags or paying for paper. For a while the fee was eliminated since absolutely no personal bags were allowed. We can bring our own bags now except you have to pack your goods now.
 
It shouldn't be recycled, it should be banned. We're drowning in it.

That plastic bottle, in some form, will still be on earth in a million years, long after mankind, and its climate change, has disappeared.
 

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