added by sari · updated 9mo ago
What You Think About Landfill and Recycling Is Probably Totally Wrong
- When you recycle plastic, you prevent it from polluting the oceans. This myth is based on the enduring delusion that plastic from curbside bins can be efficiently turned into other products. But sorting the stuff is so onerous and labor-intensive—and the resulting materials of so little value—that recycling plastic is hopelessly unprofitable in the... See more
from The Perverse Panic over Plastic by John Tierney
sari added
- But politicians and environmentalists have other ideas. They’re doubling down on their mistakes by banning more plastic products and demanding alternatives that are more expensive, less convenient, and worse for the environment. Even experts familiar with the facts succumb to magical thinking. Yes, they acknowledge, we shouldn’t be exporting our pl... See more
from The Perverse Panic over Plastic by John Tierney
sari added
- without a market demand, those recyclables are almost useless; placing them in the recycling bin won’t make a difference if you can’t make money off of them. If the demand isn’t there, or the quality of the materials post-use is incurably dirty, they end up in landfill or incinerators.
from 7 Things You Didn’t Know About Plastic (and Recycling) by National Geographic
Mike Tannenbaum added