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chrisdh79 OP t1_itpojvz wrote

From the article: The vast majority of plastic that people put into recycling bins is headed to landfills, or worse, according to a report from Greenpeace on the state of plastic recycling in the U.S.

The report cites separate data published this May which revealed that the amount of plastic actually turned into new things has fallen to new lows of around 5%. That number is expected to drop further as more plastic is produced.

Greenpeace found that no plastic — not even soda bottles, one of the most prolific items thrown into recycling bins — meets the threshold to be called "recyclable" according to standards set by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation New Plastic Economy Initiative. Plastic must have a recycling rate of 30% to reach that standard; no plastic has ever been recycled and reused close to that rate.

"More plastic is being produced, and an even smaller percentage of it is being recycled," says Lisa Ramsden, senior plastic campaigner for Greenpeace USA. "The crisis just gets worse and worse, and without drastic change will continue to worsen as the industry plans to triple plastic production by 2050."

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Foxodroid t1_itr0r68 wrote

>the industry plans to triple plastic production by 2050.

I feel like screaming my lungs out

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whatsamajig t1_itrzv3r wrote

That’s really all you can do. That’s why people are glueing their hands to shit. Everything is so absurd that it shows in peoples reactions to facts like this. The world is a fucking joke at this point. Nothing will be done and regular people like us can simply scream and that is all, oh, and make fun of each other for lashing out in such absurd ways. See Reddit for reference.

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pretendperson t1_itti8wx wrote

You are helping very much with defeatism. Thank you.

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HZCH t1_ittpvjn wrote

Defeatism is doing nothing, they just stated the obvious.

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TeamGroupHug t1_itu6zgi wrote

Sounds like plastic recycling is working as intended. It was an invention of plastic companies so they could continue to produce new plastic.

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Foxodroid t1_itv27ro wrote

Whenever I read that kind of history I'm astonished China isn't celebrated more for executing billionaires.

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StrenuousSOB t1_itsrie5 wrote

Can the majority of it be turned back into oil via Pyrolysis? I don’t understand why we’re not doing that in mass also somewhere in Taiwan or one of those countries they have an incinerator for trash where the air comes out clean beer some kind of scrubber. We should be doing that and the pyrolysis.

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saberline152 t1_ittqmsa wrote

many different kinds of plastics require different processes, not all brands use the same plastics.

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Tulpah t1_ittbwue wrote

didn't someone figure out a way to make plastic into brick?

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T1res1as t1_itxjyvz wrote

Yes you can remelt plastic into bricks. You can even extrude it into 3D printer filament and make stuff. Heck it can even be turned into fuel.

But the article is talking about general waste. Joe Schmoe is not going to sort plastic by type and 3D print anything or pressure cook it into burnable fuel. That shit goes straight into a landfill.

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pawnografik t1_itrticl wrote

I feel like they’re cherry picking the worst offender though. I’d wager that recycling is much more effective in other countries.

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iWillNeverReplyToYou t1_itsei0l wrote

Sure, lets not do any research and just comment with how we feel

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pawnografik t1_itti3i2 wrote

Fine. Here you go. My wager was absolutely right. Recycling absolutely is more effective in other countries.

Key facts:

  • Europe has the highest plastic recycling rate in the world.

  • Since 2006, the amount of plastic packaging waste sent to recycling chains has increased by 92% in the European Union.

  • In 2018, 42% of the amount of plastic packaging collected in the European Union was recycled.*

  • European plastic production accounted for 16% of world production in 2019.

  • 51% of world production is attributable to Asian countries.*

  • 40% of the European plastic demand is allocated to packaging. 20% in construction and 10% in the automotive industry.*

Source: https://www.valorlux.lu/en/recyclable-packaging

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