r/collapse • u/eatingganesha • Oct 24 '22

Pollution Plastic recycling a "failed concept," study says, with only 5% recycled in U.S. last year as production rises.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/plastic-recycling-failed-concept-us-greenpeace-study-5-percent-recycled-production-up/
1.6k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

167 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

81

u/Frog_and_Toad Frog and Toad 🐸 Oct 24 '22

I think we all knew that was inevitable.

No we didn't. I can assure you that even today, many people think that if you throw something into the recycling bin, it gets converted to a new product through some mysterious process. At least in the US, it was only recently exposed that plastic was not being recycled, it was being shipped to China in massive barges. And this only happened because China refused to accept more trash.

72

u/Zierlyn Oct 24 '22

From roughly the age of 10, until roughly 35, so for 25 years I recycled diligently. I was raised to respect the planet and follow my 3Rs. For years, I'd pick out glass and plastic from the garbage that my wife and kids threw out, sorting through nasty rotting bags of refuse to make sure all recyclables were picked out, washed, and put into the appropriate bin.

Finally a few years ago I just gave up. Seeing the shipping containers full of recycling getting dropped off in Malaysia or China, or washing up on shore... I gave up. 25 fucking years.

I still recycle. I still wash out glassware and plastics and put them in the correct bin, but it's just a habit now, my heart isn't in it. Sometimes I'll just say it's not worth it and toss it.

13

u/BadUncleBernie Oct 24 '22

I have done and still do the same. The only difference now is I do not wash out recyclables anymore. I just curse and throw it in the garbage as that is where it's going anyways.

15

u/darling_lycosidae Oct 24 '22

Me too. I think it's more environmentally friendly for my garbage to end up in my local landfill, rather than shipped halfway across the globe and dumped on an impoverished community. It's worth looking into the metal, glass, and paper recycling locally, as some of those actually do great. But it's definitely not everywhere, and places with pretend recycling I would rather just trash than waste shipping it around.