Plastic producers have known for more than 30 years that recycling is not an economically or technically feasible plastic waste management solution. That has not stopped them from promoting it, according to a new report.
“The companies lied,” said Richard Wiles, president of fossil-fuel accountability advocacy group the Center for Climate Integrity (CCI), which published the report. “It’s time to hold them accountable for the damage they’ve caused.”
The thing is, chemists knew it. Nobody wanted to hear it. There are only three things worth recycling: Aluminum, glass, and electronics.
That’s extremely reductionist and inaccurate. Most metals can be recycled easily, not only aluminium.
Aluminium is typically used as is though, while many other metals are used as alloys. I suspect that it makes things much easier when you don’t have to worry about composition.
Note that I don’t really know anything much about metals or recycling, so I might be completely wrong.
Aluminium is typically used as is though
That would result in some shitty products. Aluminium is also mostly used as alloy, pure aluminium is pretty soft.
Well, as a american- everywhere I’ve ever worked has had a recycling bin but it’s always treated as another trash can. Just something that depresses the absolute fuck out of me.
Why couldn’t we switch back to glass as our primary container material? Wasn’t that always fully recyclable?
Apparently we’re running out of sand. That’s going to make the transition to glass harder. I’m not saying I don’t agree because I would definitely prefer glass than plastic.
Figure out which ones lied. Then figure out the estimated cost of actually recovering and recycling plastics that weren’t recycled. Then take that number, add 20% for “processing fees” and charge it to the companies, split up by their market caps.
Those companies will then go bankrupt and with the money they tried to pay Uncle Sam, said Uncle can buyout the remainder of the companies that are actually doing something worthwhile and operate them as a public trust.
This is an application of ai that I don’t think people have caught onto yet… Doing the calculation. Everyone and their descendents who got rich screwing the environment and others will pay reparations and the few people who can stop the financial computer network from carrying it out won’t since everyone will want to find out what happens. Ai is capable of orchestrating this reckoning.
