But please put your plastic in the bin marked plastic.
Comment on nets
sp3tr4l@lemmy.zip 2 days ago
Plastic Recycling is Largely A Myth.
The world produces an average of 430 million metric tons of plastic each year. The United States alone produces tens of millions of tons of plastic waste annually. Yet on average, only about 5 to 6 percent of plastic in the U.S. is recycled.
Basically, the vast majority of plastic either literally cannot be recycled, at all, or would be astoundingly expensive to properly seperate according to it’s different types and run through the recycling process.
Oil companies have known this for decades, and with other issues surrounding pollution … they’ve promoted anything that makes an individual feel guilty when they know that even if all individuals followed the suggested course of action, it would have a negligible impact.
ZMoney@lemmy.world 2 days ago
sp3tr4l@lemmy.zip 1 day ago
recyclingcenternear.me/7-types-of-plastic-explain…
Which of the 7 different kinds of plastic go in which bins?
Are the labels on the plastic even correct? Do they even exist at all?
Does your local recycling / garbage take away service specify?
Does the processing center they are taken to actually bother to seperate them?
Has any of your plastic waste touched food, or touched other plastic that has touched food?
If so, its probably considered contaminated and unrecycleable, and is just put into a landfill, as it would take a lot of time and effort to sanitize it.
Zink@programming.dev 1 day ago
I like how under the entry for PVC pipes, they used an image of what looks like terracotta pipes.
I have black and white PVC pipes in my shed, but no clay colored ones, lol.
zaperberry@lemmy.ca 1 day ago
Orange PVC pipes are used plenty in my neck of the woods. I see them regularly used for fire suppression system piping.
kofe@lemmy.world 1 day ago
I worked at a public disposal area for a little while and can attest that at least my flyover state/zipcode does separate and sanitize plastic. Cardboard was the only thing that couldn’t have touched oil (including pizza). We only accepted plastics #1 and #2, though, and part of my job included climbing into the dumpster and sorting through. I’d miss it if workers rights weren’t simultaneously such shot here
easily3667@lemmus.org 1 day ago
Lol at “landfill” being different from “dumped into nature” in your brain
sp3tr4l@lemmy.zip 1 day ago
A proper landfill is a set aside, contained area, that has systems in place for things like managing pollutants from leaking into the water table, keeping people and animals away from it so as to not infect themselves, monitoring the temperature and emmissions of the landfill, etc.
They aren’t all so advanced or well staffed, but a whole lot of landfills are, and they are better for the environment and human and animal populations than just letting trash pile up everywhere, willy nilly.
They obviously are not perfect, but they are certainly bettwr than nothing.
easily3667@lemmus.org 1 day ago
Your explanation doesn’t make me less amused but is interesting
sp3tr4l@lemmy.zip 1 day ago
You clearly have no clue about how waste disposal and managent works then, maybe learn some of the basics before publically embarassing yourself next time.
As the saying goes:
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
aeternum@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 day ago
fun fact: BP created the carbon footprint to turn the guilt onto the end consumers, and away from them.