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Recycling in the US (and many Western countries, for that matter) is a sham. It always was. (aus.social)

submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by ajsadauskas@aus.social to c/green@lemmy.ml

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Recycling in the US (and many Western countries, for that matter) is a sham. It always was.

In reality, most of the plastic placed in recycling bins were never turned into new products.

Now China has stopped taking that waste, the myth of near infinite consumption without the guilt of waste has been exposed for the lie that it always was.

That's not to say that we shouldn't aim for a sustainable circular economy. Of course we should.

But we'll need much bigger changes to make it happen.

"For decades, we were sending the bulk of our recycling to China—tons and tons of it, sent over on ships... But last year, the country restricted imports of certain recyclables... Waste-management companies are telling [municipalities] there is no longer a market for their recycling.

"These municipalities have two choices: pay much higher rates to get rid of recycling, or throw it all away.

"Most are choosing the latter.

"When [its kerbside recycling] program launched, Franklin [in New Hampshire] could break even on recycling by selling it for $6 a ton. Now the transfer station is charging the town $125 a ton to recycle, or $68 a ton to incinerate.

"This end of recycling comes at a time when the US is creating more waste than ever. In 2015, the most recent year for which national data are available, America generated 262.4 million tons of waste, up 4.5% from 2010 and 60% from 1985."

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/03/china-has-stopped-accepting-our-trash/584131/

#Recycling #CircularEconomy #Politics @green #ClimateChange #Environment

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[–] siobhansarelle@tech.lgbt 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

@skyfire101 @energisch_ @cooopsspace @ajsadauskas @green

Then there is going back to glass. My earliest memories of drinking pop, featured the milk man delivering bottles of fizzy pop through a hatch in the shed.

[–] skyfire101@aus.social 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

@siobhansarelle @energisch_ @cooopsspace @ajsadauskas @green I have distant memories of milk being delivered each night and the empty bottles being taken away to be washed and reused, (the ultimate recycling).

[–] energisch_@troet.cafe 0 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

@skyfire101 we have a deposit system in Germany for all beverage bottles - others aren't allowed any longer -but there are still too many that are not cleaned and reused but are PET bottles that need a lot of energy to be recycled into new bottles or other plastic things. The best recycling is re-use. siobhansarelle@tech.lgbt @cooopsspace @ajsadauskas @green

[–] skyfire101@aus.social 1 points 2 years ago

@energisch_ @cooopsspace @ajsadauskas @green there is a deposit scheme for soft drink bottles in South Australia and where I am, but you don't get very much per bottle!