this post was submitted on 20 Jul 2025
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[–] unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de 129 points 1 day ago (35 children)

The thing is just that its not that one woman, but hundreds of millions if not billions of people that follow trash separation rules.
This would actually have a pretty large effect, however sadly the recycling system is broken and often just a complete lie in many places in the world.

[–] jaennaet@sopuli.xyz 19 points 1 day ago (3 children)

the recycling system is broken and often just a complete lie in many places in the world.

In many places in the world, or mainly the US? I keep seeing this claim repeated but usually any proof is just about the US

[–] Gloomy@mander.xyz 21 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] tetris11@feddit.uk 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

Arent they still off-sourcing the actual recycling to a 3rd world country?

[–] basxto@discuss.tchncs.de 8 points 1 day ago

Especially for paper no … or rather it’s complicated. There is demand for recycled paper and we have lots of products which are made with these.

If I understand it correctly, Germany imports more waste paper than it exports. But the quality between those two differs

Nah, at least not most of them. Electronics recycling however is one where i wouldnt be surprised if it gets offloaded to elsewhere.

[–] Krudler@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

I've ranted in various places over the years but it's 100% true in my city in Canada.

Decades ago we built a massive publicly-funded recycling system because the City could actually draw profit from the collection and sale of materials.

But about 15 years ago China stopped buying the waste, and it became a new shell-game of collecting the material but literally unable to do anything with it or sell it, so any that does get sold mostly ends up in the down-stream recycling economy, where the bulk of it ends up being burned. The rest goes into the regular old landfill. Even waste cardboard has no value anymore.

People who separate recycling in our city now, are just pre-sorting it for the waste management company and keeping it out of their regular waste (profit) stream.

We do have our ewaste centers but knowing people that work there, I can say anecdotally I've been informed that the metal and rare metal waste is collected and sent for processing in Ontario, the rest of the bits (all the plastic which is 90% of eWaste) goes into the regular waste stream where it's buried or burned, but never recycled.

Notice how Pepsi and Coke don't use recycled plastic? If that doesn't condemn the whole recycling "meme" as a sham, I don't know what would.

[–] basxto@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Regarding the wording. In German(y) we have two kinds of "Verwertung" (utilization). The material one (recycling) and the energetic one (incineration). Both is viewed as reusing the waste. Sometimes energetic utilization can supply the power and/or heat needed for material utilization.

Burning it doesn’t have to be as bad as burying it.

EDIT: I guess it depends on how it gets burned. The company, my dad worked for, used it to produce steam, for the chemical companies located there, among other things.

[–] Dicska@lemmy.world -2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

But about 15 years ago China stopped buying the waste

Guess where that waste used to go

[–] Krudler@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Don't be that smart ass that thinks he's cool and guarding some super secret information, and he only speaks in riddles and leading questions.

Everybody knows where that plastic went.

[–] Dicska@lemmy.world 0 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Wow. You got it perfectly right: everybody knows where that plastic went. This is why I wrote it like that, and didn't have to explain how it got dumped in the ocean all along. I wasn't playing riddles, I assumed it was otherwise obvious and common knowledge. Jeez, sorry if it didn't come off the way I meant.

[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I think a lot of first world countries like do it (e.g. the UK sends around 60% away), because recycling elsewhere is cheaper than doing it at home.

And it's cheaper still if you don't bother to check that it hasn't just ended up in a landfill in Bangladesh or something.

I think also part of the issue is that plastic can be recycled, but not in the same way as metals or glass. That plastic bottle might get shredded and used in road surfacing (where it will doubtless leak micro plastics everywhere), which is probably not what most people envisage when they clean it up and separate it nicely.

[–] jaennaet@sopuli.xyz 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I had to check, and it looks like at least as far as plastic goes, in Finland it's sent to two domestic recycling plants, and everything they don't have the capacity to handle is shipped to Sweden's Site Zero in Motala (dunno where they go from there.)

But yeah, something like using shredded plastic for road surfacing definitely isn't what I'd call a sensible way to recycle the material. It's just adding an extra step before getting to "microplastic endocrine disruptors EVERYWHERE"

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