https://qz.com/82640/china-doesnt-want-your-trash-anymore-and-that-could-spell-big-trouble-for-american-cities/
... but Japan might.
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-10-08/china-doesn-t-want-world-s-trash-but-japan-does
The problem is that what Japan wants (electronics with high-value rare metals) is different from what China no longer wants (plastic and cardboard).
I've always said that the main purpose of most recycling programs (certainly plastic and paper), is not environmental, but it's to assuage consumerist guilt about all the shit we buy. I often hear people say "In my city it's great. They recycle everything. They've even started taking #7 plastic."
Unfortunately *nobody* can recycle #7 plastic. The effective *definition* of #7 plastic is "plastic that can't be recycled." But people feel really virtuous by putting it in the recycle bin instead of the trash. If nobody steps into the breach the new Chinese policy will cause, lots of "recycling" will go straight into the trash (as substantial amounts do already because of contamination and the economics of recycling).
I say all this as my storage area fills up with cardboard and plastic delivered daily from Amazon (lest anyone imagine this pot thinks he isn't black).
>China
They pack some it inside products and sell it back to us. A couple of years ago, there was a wtf thread on reddit ...seems the guy bought a cheap, heavy punching bag from China. The seam split and a bunch of compacted trash spilled out.
>recycle
> 7
Nor glass. Not unless the recycler buys a pulverizing machine to turn it into sand. There's an old thread w/ article on that around here somewhere.
>glass
Much of the developing world steams the hell out of their cola/beer bottles and reuse them. It seems like something that could be done in the developed world too. Maybe we'll start doing that when plastics get more expensive?
>> cola/beer bottles and reuse them
I have childhood memories of milk bottles being re-used like that. It makes good sense to do that locally ... not so much if long-distance transport would be involved.
>> storage area fills up with cardboard and plastic
Alas, that's the dark side of ecommerce.
Quote from: buckworks on October 16, 2017, 01:21:29 AM
It makes good sense to do that locally ... not so much if long-distance transport would be involved.
True. Even then it might be hard. I had the chance to talk to a product developer for P&G who was involved in the Sunny Delight product launch in the late 1980s(?) and he said their original plan was to use reusable bottles and use that as a marketing point.
When they did the energy calcs, though, they found that the extra weight of the glass bottles meant that they uses more petrol carting them around than they used making virgin plastic. Obviously, there are other considerations there (landfill space, etc), but from an energy use, carbon footprint perspective, it was a net loss.
That equation changes if you start talking about self-driving electric trucks fueled by sun and wind (which reminds me of a link to post...), but until then, it doesn't make sense from an energy perspective (the wastestream perspective being different of course)
Quote from: buckworks on October 16, 2017, 01:21:29 AM
>> storage area fills up with cardboard and plastic
Alas, that's the dark side of ecommerce.
Honestly, I would say "consumerism" although even then... the majority of our waste is plastic and cardboard generated from food that we buy in person. Definitely true for plastic. The cardboard problem is perhaps an ecomm/Amazon problem... but we have a ton of Costco food container cardboard too.
This was partly hidden from us before we went to Costco because the grocery store removes things from cases and *they* deal with the cardboard. At Costco, we end up buying the whole case and we handle the cardboard
We've put a lot of effort into getting people to recycle, but we have not put the same effort into getting people to use recycled products. We should not have to offshore so much of our stuff.
Amazon boxes recycle into toilet paper.
That said, plastic remains a big problem.
Quote from: Brad on October 16, 2017, 12:41:25 PM
Amazon boxes recycle into toilet paper.
Yes, all of this stuff "downcycles" - you don't recycle boxes into boxes, so this is why I buy toilet paper made from recycled paper. I do not, however, buy recycled toilet paper. A key distinction ;-)
Hhh. We still need a bigger domestic demand for recycled products.