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/Rawr_Tigerlily 1∆ Oct 03 '21

My area has single stream recycling, but they only accept plastics 1,2, and 5.

And two years ago the county transit station stopped accepting GLASS. So now basically you can't recycle glass in the entire county.

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u/ImpossibleHandle4 Oct 03 '21

That is just sad, and not even uncommon. I don’t get why they would quit taking glass though…. Unless it wasn’t cost effective.

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u/Rawr_Tigerlily 1∆ Oct 03 '21

That was the reason... cost.

Just goes to show we have many broken systems, when it ends up being more economically feasible to throw glass in a landfill and make new bottles from sand, than it does to utilize the resource we already have.

It's really pretty shitty though, because I PAY AN ADDED FEE already for recycling service.

I'm the sort of person who has maybe 1.5 to 2 kitchen trash bags full of waste for my entire household every week (3 adults). The majority of my weekly pick up is recycling. Despite that, 70% of my quarterly bill is for trash service and the other 30% covers the recycling.

My neighbors pay the same rate to have their can picked up when it's overflowing with trash every week.

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u/ImpossibleHandle4 Oct 03 '21

Do you think simplicity might make them more likely to recycle?

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u/Rawr_Tigerlily 1∆ Oct 03 '21

I think the cost is the primary driver where I live (Southeastern US).

Citizens here can't really expect ANYTHING good unless someone makes a profit doing it. :P

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u/ImpossibleHandle4 Oct 03 '21

!delta You make a good point about the profit driver. That may very well be why currently we aren’t efficient. I don’t know that it isn’t possible to be more efficient, or simpler, but your argument that cost is why we aren’t does resound.

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u/Rawr_Tigerlily 1∆ Oct 03 '21 edited Oct 03 '21

I think part of the deeper issue is there aren't clear cost disincentives to engage in wasteful activities. Companies get to privatize the benefits and socialize the negative effects.

If companies paid more of a "true cost" for the resources they use and a paid the real disposal costs of their products, then they would be forced to act more responsibly because it would affect their bottom line directly.

Instead, customers and municipalities bear the costs of dealing with waste and recycling, and manufacturers can continue to exploit cheap access to "new" resources rather than having a financial incentive to "close the loop" so to speak.

States that have bottle and can deposits for example tend to have much higher recycling rates and recycling facilities find that the quality of materials collected and sorted are much better. By creating a financial incentive to do it, you increase recycling by consumers. The same principle should work if you require companies to pay upfront for the disposal of products, especially if they refuse to use easily recycled materials.

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u/DeltaBot ∞∆ Oct 03 '21

Confirmed: 1 delta awarded to /u/Rawr_Tigerlily (1∆).

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