
'Plastic recycling is a myth': what happens to your rubbish? - pseudolus
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/17/plastic-recycling-myth-what-really-happens-your-rubbish
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aurizon
The only way to make recycling work is to make the waste worth something. It
works well with beer and wine, with a deposit, 95%+ of beer/wine waste gets
recycled. If tossed, the deposit is enough to induce street people to return
the old container for the deposit. Going a step further, I propose all items
sold have a dual bar code. One part is the point of sale (POS) universal
product code (UPC). I propose to add a serial number AND a buyer number to
this. The serial number is for that piese of waste, the buyer number is
whoever bought it. Buyer number is permanent, tied to you and your address.
The tie between the purchase and the items number and the waste item will
prevent counterfeit garbage being made to get the deposit. The potential
deposit thief will not know what was bought and for how much or where, sso
faked ecycle returns will fail. Now a can or bottle is onlt worth 5 o 10 cents
and does not drive countefeiting which 50 cents or $1 would - unless the check
sum of who/what/where is consistent with the item returned. Deposits need to
be substantial, like 50 cents or $1 per item so the genuine buyer pays that
when he buys it. The fee is large enough to motivate a high rate of return -
which 50 cents or $1 will do. Recycling trucks will have bar code readers and
each item must be scanned and the deposit credited to the buyer. The bar code
will also allow the truck to divert each item into a category box where the
items are all alike for best recycling practice. This will slow the process,
but the process will be highly automated znc can be done while the truck
moves, or back at a depot to keep truck mobility high. This means ALL
packaging. All plastic bags are outlawed, only paper allowed. paper bags
reinforced with jute or hemp (jute/hemp are fibrous plant used for rope or
reinforcing bags because it biodegrades). All packaging will, in time, be
fully identifiable as well as biodegradeable. With all plastic being capable
of a detailed machine sort and segregation the waste plastic will all be of
one type for bext ability to recycle. If someone tosses waste on the ground,
the bar codes will identify who tossed it and he can either be fined or lose
part of the recycle fee. Street people will be able to recycle items found on
the street and will earn that fee. At 50 cents or $1 that fee will motivate
street people strongly - might even cause fights?? Once an items is scanned as
recycled, the cash goes to the buyer/reycler's account or the street persons
one. Once this happens, the name is wiped from the system, but his cash
remains as his deposit returned tax free, as it was his money in the first
place. The street person also gets the $$ tax free

This sound like 1984, well, it is - in a way. We are heading down a globally
unsustainable path with our trash. We either die of it, or we defeat it. Only
people who die of it are 1984 casualties - those that recycle and get the $$
are not recorded, not taxed and are helping the world as we all must see the
rising sea of trash needs to be dealt with rationally.

~~~
beatgammit
Instead of all that complexity, why not just expand the small deposit to other
items as well? If people are willing to gather bottles for the deposit, let
them gather other plastic waste as well. In fact, it could be as simple as
charging/redeeming based on weight.

~~~
aurizon
People being larcenous, it needs both a carrot AND a stick to make it work.
Simple cheap methods will allow shirkers to avoid the intent of full
compliance driven by a high return fee with the bar code hoopla to defeat
people who return fake old packages with only the bar code to identify it.
With a 120 cent bottle worth 50 cent refund and inductry making fake bottle
would soon emerge. NO? Yes. When they had a wolf bounty with a fee paid for
each wolf killed, they said just bring us the ears = less weight. Immediately
a fake wolf ear industry appeaed as civil serpents did not look closely at
rotting stinking wolf ears returned. After a few months, the fraud was
discovered. So the 100% link of customer ID, coupled with serial nunbered
bottle ID as well allow an electronic system to verify the buyer, the product
and the return. Of course the cutomer migth want to avoid this by having a
friend buy it and toss the bottle, but then a street person would m find and
return and would get the rebate, but that would also show who tossed it away
and a $50 fine would go to the buyer. If they did not care about that $50,
being rich dogs, then that fine would help the compliance business.

We must face the physical reality of our trash risks overwhelming our society
- look at Italy, where local trash mafia build monster trash piles in the face
of weak and crooked politicians.
[https://www.google.com/search?q=italian+garbage+crisis&oq=it...](https://www.google.com/search?q=italian+garbage+crisis&oq=italian+garbage+crisis&aqs=chrome..69i57.6143j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8)

~~~
aurizon
I meant a 10 cent bottle worth 50 cents refund. Plenty enough to drive a fake
bottle industry...

