Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

realbusabusa t1_j5wfhf4 wrote

Make Amazon take back all the cardboard they ship

16

phunky_1 t1_j5wrd4l wrote

... at least cardboard will break down naturally and is recyclable unlike most of the plastics that are not really recyclable regardless of it having a triangle on it.

Glass has no recycling value either because there is no market for it.

In RI they used to just grind up all the recycled glass and use it as fill for layer separation in the landfill because no one would buy it.

The best material for recycling is aluminum.

In general, recycling is myth.

Almost all of it just gets treated as trash anyway ever since China stopped accepting it. My recycling and trash gets dumped in the same truck, it wouldn't surprise me at all if it is just a farce and there is no divider in the truck to separate it.

15

TituspulloXIII t1_j5yr7bd wrote

Aluminum is the best, plastic containers need to go away and just use cans. Easy to recycle. If i buy something, I try my best to buy it out of an aluminum can if at all.

As far as cardboard/paper goes. I heat the house with wood. All Cardboard/paper just gets thrown into the stove (save it in the basement during the summer)

2

twicelife_real t1_j5wv7o7 wrote

Can’t glass be melted and reblown? Make it mandatory for companies to use a certain % of recycled glass in all their glass containers sold in the state.

Ban plastic containers. Every single thing in the grocery store and Walmart/target can be sold in some form of cardboard. And this will create a business opportunity for people to figure out other non-plastic/biodegradable containers. You have to force a market opportunity.

The problem is that companies like to keep costs low and will lobby against these types of things. At the very least, we should hold them accountable for the waste they produce via fines/taxes.

And the state should have an online return tax, that companies like Amazon have to report to the state, just like with sales tax. If you return something, you pay a tax to the state. 10-20%+ of what Amazon sells is returned and either thrown out or liquidated, adding to packing waste, landfill waste, and truck pollution. Make it financially unappealing to the customer to return something , which will in turn force better purchase decisions.

6

ioncloud9 t1_j5ynyc6 wrote

If you think about it, its disgusting how short a shelf life so many products have before ending up in the landfill. Factories and businesses making trash with a brief moment of not being trash. We should be trying to phase out any plastic that isnt recyclable and even reduce the amount of recyclable plastics used. Replace with paper, aluminum, or glass. Even if the paper is not recyclable, paper is far more renewable and doesn't break down into microplastics that end up in our food and water supply. Yes aluminum and glass are more energy intensive, but use more green energy to make them, and the cleanup is far less labor and energy intensive as metals and glass break down even if they arent all recycled.

Also absolutely no to repurposing plastics for other things like flooring, benches, shoes. All of that doesnt eliminate the end of life issues for plastic waste, which is the biggest problem. Its just kicking the can down the road a year or two.

3

realbusabusa t1_j5wfji3 wrote

Also, this isn't a crisis and therefore won't be addressed until it is truly out of control

4

bent_peepee t1_j5zk0vk wrote

not hard to fix:

  • ban all single use plastics.
  • better recycling infrastructure
3

Actonhammer t1_j5y4bcl wrote

The biggest problem is the people! People are so dumb, they put everything in the recycling bins. I see it all the time. Everyone acts like theu care about recycling but they have no idea what doesn't belong in the recycling bin.

I didnt read the link, I just get infuriated by people thinking coffee grounds and plastic bags go in the recycling bin

2

AvogadrosMoleSauce t1_j616flv wrote

Ban all single use plastic unless manufacturers pay for them to be collected and recycled.

Charge by weight to throw out items.

Mandate composting.

2

CTrandomdude t1_j5yxexa wrote

Ohh I know. Let’s burn the trash and creat energy. We need power and we need a place to put our trash. Has anyone thought of this? Ohh wait. Never mind.

1