Plastic recycling directory ends, citing lack of 'real commitment from industry'
Plastic recycling directory ends, citing lack of 'real commitment from industry'
A national directory for plastics recycling drop-off locations was taken offline, six months after an ABC News investigation.
Surprise, surprise: the industry lied.
The industry will only voluntarily choose to do anything if it's believed to be profitable. Notice how the vast majority of measures implemented regarding plastics — like the removal of single use bags, straws, utensils, etc — are all overheads/expenses that primarily impact consumers? The industry successfully converted those expenses into profits via selling flimsy "reusable" plastic bags, as well as forcing consumers to buy rubbish bags they didn't have to previously, while remaining free to wrap everything they sell in dozens of layers of single use plastics!
My wife recycles single use plastic bags by cutting them up, turning them into yarn, and knitting re-usable bags out of them.
Any chance you have any links on this that you can share?
Sorry. She doesn't put them online and if she did, I wouldn't want to reveal her identity. But this looks similar- https://craftbits.com/project/tote-knitted-plastic-grocery-bags/
Walmart and Target both declined ABC News' interview requests at the time, as well as requests to see what happens at their stores to plastic bags that they collect for recycling. Walmart issued a statement at the time that read in part that they were "pursuing initiatives to reduce the use of single-use plastic including plastic bags." Target also issued a statement, writing that they "take seriously the role we play in reducing waste," and were "committed to looking at our processes to improve our recycling efforts."
Supposedly, Wal-Mart was going to be all about reusable bags and encourage the use of such. They were supposed to have done this at the beginning of this year. They haven't.
“committed to looking at our processes” but not committed to actually improving or changing any process.
I once worked in a "temperature monitored" warehouse in Florida. We used to joke about it, like "Yep! It's 110F in here. Carry on!".
I know someone that used to work at Fred Meyer and one of her duties was to take the bag recycling around the back of the store and put it in the dumpster.
One of the most frustrating things to me is that there's so much stuff that doesn't need to be made of plastic, but is. Stuff like the handle on a food strainer is made of plastic, but can easily instead be made of metal, rubber, or wood/bamboo. Save the plastic for stuff that actually needs it, like sealing foods that would otherwise spoil immediately or leak through something. Hell, glass is an alternative for a lot of stuff, if we actually bought in bulk and had refill stations for stuff like milk, juice, soap, shampoo, detergents, oils (food and automotive), etc.
So much stuff is made out of single use plastics that just...doesn't need to be.
this is about the thin grocery store bags. What surprised me was they had a few that actually were recycled it seems. Anyway its about the directory indicating recycling drop off locations and not the recycling which I thought at first. It came out because of an investigative report that showed most where going to landfills and incinerators with some going overseas and some actually being recycled.
Yeah. Only 4 out of 55 instances tracked made it to a recycling center. Target and Walmart did not want to comment on the fact that they were largely just throwing them away.
I have become pretty pessimistic with this stuff though so 4 blew me away and technically the offshore might be recycled (but again pessimistic). I figured it was a goose egg but at least that means that using reusable bags is definately the way to go.
"Best we can do is superfluous greenwashing PR bullshit."
-Industry
Yes fuck plastics. 90% of shit nowadays doesn't need to be made from it. You can instead use Stainless Steel, Aluminum, Copper, wood, glass, cotton, bamboo, cardboard, paper, etc
Plastic recycling has been a sham for as long as it's been around. If you put plastics in a 'recycle' bin, assume it will end up as landfill.
At the very least, it's better to put it in landfill than into the ocean or into our bodies.
But the way I see it only things like medical or emergency equipment should be allowed to use plastics if it means the item is cheaper and will save lives. But otherwise, fuck plastic, companies should be forced to use alternative materials instead.
Of the 46 trackers ABC News and nine ABC-owned stations and affiliates secured to bundles of "recyclable" plastic bags and dropped off at Walmart and Target stores across the country, the vast majority – after months of tracking – had not ended up at locations associated with plastic bag recycling. Half the trackers launched last pinged at landfills or trash incinerators, while seven stopped pinging at transfer stations that do not recycle, sort, or transfer plastic bags to recycling facilities, and six last pinged at the store where they were dropped off and hadn't been heard from in months.cycling
The locations of three other trackers in the U.S. were inconclusive, while a further three trackers last pinged thousands of miles overseas – in Asia. By May, 2023, only four of ABC's 46 trackers last pinged from U.S. facilities that say they are involved with recycling plastic bags.