SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/21/us-plastic-recycling-landfills
A Guardian investigation reveals that cities around the [US] are no longer recycling many types of plastic dropped into recycling bins. Instead, they are being landfilled, burned or stockpiled. From Los Angeles to Florida to the Arizona desert, officials say, vast quantities of plastic are now no better than garbage.
The "market conditions" on the sign [Pearl] Pai saw referred to the situation caused by China. Once the largest buyer of US plastic waste, the country shut its doors to all but highest-quality plastics in 2017. The move sent shockwaves through the American industry as recyclers scrambled, and often failed, to find new buyers. Now the turmoil besetting a global trade network, which is normally hidden from view, is hitting home.
"All these years I have been feeling like I'm doing something responsible," said Pai, clearly dumbstruck as she walked away with a full bag. "The truth hurts."
[...] [Cobe] Skye and [Habib] Kharrat emphasized that the situation was not unique to Los Angeles. "From what we're hearing from our colleagues, what's happening in Los Angeles county is representative of what is happening all over the US and all over the state as a result of these international policies," said Skye.
The China ban revealed an uncomfortable truth about plastic recycling, Skye said: much of this plastic was never possible to recycle at all.
"[China] would just pull out the items that were actually recyclable and burn or throw away the rest," he said. "China has subsidized the recycling industry for many years in a way that distorted our views."
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Thursday June 27 2019, @01:11AM (5 children)
PET drink bottles. especially clear, would likely be one of those high value plastics that don't get incinerated. The plastic pouch that once contained lunchmeat and is covered in salty liquid on one side and paint on the other? Not so much.
(Score: 3, Funny) by fustakrakich on Thursday June 27 2019, @03:22AM (4 children)
The plastic pouch that once contained lunchmeat and is covered in salty liquid on one side and paint on the other?
They can chop that up into nano-particles an just mix it into our Oatmeal and canned beans. Nobody will ever know.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2, Touché) by bob_super on Thursday June 27 2019, @08:11AM (1 child)
Trump failed at starting the Iran war, so we're dangerously low on some critical Soylent ingredients.
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Thursday June 27 2019, @07:06PM
Trump failed at starting the Iran war
Patience. The day is still young.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Thursday June 27 2019, @01:37PM
Great. You shit the nanoparticles out, flush them, and they go out into the Pacific, or the Gulf, or the Atlantic, or even the Great Lakes. We all realize that all of our cities use one of those bodies of water as a cesspool, don't we?
(Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Thursday June 27 2019, @10:21PM
I foresee a new fast food chain starting up...