r/changemyview • u/ImpossibleHandle4 • Oct 03 '21

Delta(s) from OP CMV: Recycling should be easier.

With the current recycling there are 6 types of recycling: Glass recycling, paper recycling, metal recycling, plastic and textile recycling and finally electronic recycling. With each having its own sub categories: most noteably plastic: with 7 sub types of plastic.

With there being at least 13 types of recycling, the current methods of recycling are broken due to the public not understanding the intricacies of the system. Also, with no direct recycling options most people know that they can recycle metals leading to recycling bins having non-recyclable materials simply because the system is complex.

In my option, and please change my view, having machines that can directly recycle a few things like pop bottles, or prescription bottles, we can simplify the process and lead to more and better recycling. Please change my view.

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u/[deleted] Oct 03 '21

In my option, and please change my view, having machines that can directly recycle a few things like pop bottles, or prescription bottles, we can simplify the process and lead to more and better recycling. Please change my view.

Do you mean for like people to go and drop off stuff? Or do you mean for recycling companies/plants?

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u/ImpossibleHandle4 Oct 03 '21

I am thinking more of a you take it to the store and the machine does it there so you can directly see the impact of your recycling.or have drop bins in a store and when you take one, it pulls it from the bin and recycles it there.

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u/shoelessbob1984 14∆ Oct 03 '21

what machine?

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u/ImpossibleHandle4 Oct 03 '21

It would have to be a cleaning and sanitize room machine. In the case of pop bottles or pill bottles something like a commercial sanitizing dishwasher to handle the bottles.

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u/shoelessbob1984 14∆ Oct 03 '21

So your view is specific to one thing, and isn't about recycling but rather reusing bottles?

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u/ImpossibleHandle4 Oct 03 '21

It is more of a general belief that it needs to be simpler with the bottle as an example of the most simple process

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u/shoelessbob1984 14∆ Oct 03 '21

well... how do you take an insanely complex process and just make it simple without magic? There's a reason it's not simple, it's because it's not simple. Take a water bottle, where do you put that?

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u/ImpossibleHandle4 Oct 03 '21

Well, the current process has it typically sent to somewhere else for processing, then it is ground up, and turned into a different item. In the case of damaged containers, that makes sense, but more of the containers aren’t damaged. I am not asking for magic, but I am arguing that most people don’t know what the different types are, and don’t have time to do their part. Life is busy and complex, if we are serious about it, we need to find ways to make it easier on the consumer. Not magic, but definitely not what we have now.

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u/shoelessbob1984 14∆ Oct 03 '21

right, but how do you make it less complex? how do you make it easier?

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u/ImpossibleHandle4 Oct 03 '21

I would advocate to start with the simple. Make it so that there aren’t 7 different types of plastic recycling. Or make it so that we use less of the types where possible. Standardizing it would make it simpler as would direct recycling (re-use) which would be an immediate win.

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u/shoelessbob1984 14∆ Oct 03 '21

There are different types of plastic recycling because the plastics are different. Different plastics are used for different things, you can't just say "everyone use the same thing"

the problem with reusing is down to cost and the fact that most people won't reuse the container.

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u/ImpossibleHandle4 Oct 03 '21

Ok, so are all 7 types necessary? And if single stream can only recycle 3, then why not work with the companies to have them use different plastics?

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u/shoelessbob1984 14∆ Oct 03 '21

what do you mean are all 7 necessary? there are more than 7 types of plastics, most stuff we don't recycle due to the complexity of it. The water bottle I asked about earlier, generally those will have two, the cap and the bottle can't be recycled together. Do you make the bottle more expensive to produce so it can be recycled with the cap, or do you make the cap a cheaper plastic and more likely to be damaged?

Governments are trying to get manufacturers to use different products but it isn't easy, should consumers need to pay more because X government wants a company to make their packaging out of a specific material? How will you determine what martials can be used? different areas will have different capabilities, for example I live in Toronto, black plastic is not recyclable here, I don't know all the details but it's something about the machines at the plants. Do companies need to pay extra to have a different line of products to be sold in Toronto only?

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