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mydrivec t1_itq3p51 wrote

Reply to comment by nibbleswoodaway4prez in We’re not really recycling anything are we? by Elvish_Rebellion

Followed them for years. Even if you follow them, it’s a wasted effort. This isn’t a consumer problem.

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nibbleswoodaway4prez t1_itq85kd wrote

What do you waste by following the very simple rules? Besides taxpayer dollars, I mean. What do you gain by being one of these people who purposely contaminate the recycling loads?

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mydrivec t1_itq8n1f wrote

How am I not following them technically? I said I put everything with a symbol in?

You print a symbol on your package, it goes in the blue bin.

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nibbleswoodaway4prez t1_itq9e3b wrote

No! Who told you that? Those symbols just mean what kind of plastic they are, they have NOTHING to do with recycling them. So no, you haven’t followed the recycling rules from RIRRC.

https://www.rirrc.org/recycling-composting-disposal/what-to-recycle-in-your-bin-cart

There’s videos, there’s lists, there’s charts, there’s a Facebook page where you can literally message someone and a person gets back to you quickly, you can tag them in comments and a person gets back to within a day or so with an answer. You could take five minutes to figure out how to recycle properly.

Everyone complaining about how hard it is… it’s not hard. You just haven’t tried. When I moved here from a different state that did it differently the first thing I figured out where to find the trash and recycling pickup schedule and the second thing was what goes in the bins, what kind of trash bags like if I had to pay for special bags like other towns do, etc etc. It’d all right on their website and they’re very easy to get a hold of to ask a live person for something that’s maybe somehow not on that very long list.

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mydrivec t1_itqhr56 wrote

I mean that’s the stuff I throw in. I’m not an idiot. But some stuff is labeled recyclable but isn’t. Any cardboard that’s been treated for moisture resistance is a great example. If it goes in your freezer, you can’t recycle it due to the wax coating.

Obviously, you don’t put in random plastics like coat hangers.

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nibbleswoodaway4prez t1_itvb3pi wrote

It’s funny, I sent a question to RIRRC yesterday and this is what they sent me this morning:

Hi, thanks for reaching out and great question! This can certainly be a bit confusing. Wet-strength cardboard is either made of fibers held together by a binding compound to repel water (frozen food boxes, kitty litter boxes, etc.) or the cardboard itself is lined with plastic (such as coffee cups). Fiber recycler add water to re pulp the fiber, so when the fibers are designed to repel water they don't break down in the re pulping process making them not recyclable through this process. Cartons on the other hand are constructed using a layering system. Some are a layering system of wax-paper-wax (like a milk carton) and other are a layering system of paper-plastic-aluminum-plastic-paper (like broth cartons). The buyer is able to separate our the good fibers from the other materials and recycle those good fibers. We hope this helps provide a bit more clarity to the topic!

There’s a reason for why they do what they do, just follow the rules and if you’re not just sure ask them. It’s not a big deal. Should it be easier? Absolutely. No doubt about it. But it’s not for right now, and for whatever reason you’re assuming that just because something SAYS it’s recyclable means it is, it isn’t. I don’t know how else to tell you that, it’s just marketing/greenwashing. Everyone needs to listen to their local recycling company since they’re who dictates what they can and can’t recycle, and I’m sure in the future things will change but it’s been like this for 10+ years here so nobody really has an excuse to not “get it” yet.

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mydrivec t1_iu35lh7 wrote

If I had an award to give, I would. Just wanted to come back to say thank you. I'm looking this stuff up and will try to change my nonchalance toward it. I appreciate being challenged.

Though I must admit, Nibbles needs a new campaign manager because he's not even on the ballot..or maybe he just hasn't announced yet?

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nibbleswoodaway4prez t1_iu47uel wrote

You’re welcome. And Our Lord and Savior Nibbles Woodaway is going to do whatever she’s going to do, campaign or no campaign, she deserves it.

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mydrivec t1_itq8wbm wrote

What I meant by not even trying was that I used to research to figure out which crap doesn’t get recycled even though it has a symbol.

I can’t be bothered anymore.

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