Companies knew for decades recycling was not viable but promoted it regar
Oh no, big oil lied to us? The same big oil that hired think tanks to gaslight us about climate change after an Exxon funded study found that climate change was real and caused primarily by humans? No! Couldn’t be! Say it ain’t so!
“They’re resin codes. Why would anyone associate three arrows forming a triangle with recycling? It’s not our fault consumers see any resemblance.”
‘They lied’
Speaking of which (from March 2023):
CLEARWATER — The FBI met with Clearwater officials last week to offer assistance as the city investigates lapses in its recycling program that stretch back years, interim City Manager Jennifer Poirrier said.
Poirrier could not confirm whether the FBI has launched an investigation of its own, or what aspects of the problem the agency might be exploring. But she said agents reached out to help after seeing media reports about the city’s recent failure to recycle any materials it collected from residents.
Remember when the petroleum industry sold us disposable plastic bags as a way to “save the trees”?
To anyone paying attention to the natural progression of capitalism in our society, this should come as no surprise. At every turn we are incentivised to lie, cheat and steal at the detriment of current and future communities. Little will come of this “revelation” and frankly I’m exhausted.
And it’s been known for a while now that plastics recycling is bullshit. Yet nothing has really happened.
1 and 2 are viable … in certain situations. Had they left resin codes off anything else, things would look different. But once you get to “other” and believe that’s going anywhere other than a landfill, that’s an education problem.
Well the other issue, for example, my recycling pickup only takes very specific containers.
Even if it’s the right plastic, they’ll only take round containers like jugs and tubs, no take out trays, no lids, etc.
Honestly though, in a lot of cases even if its possible to recycle it… if some shmuck isn’t poised to profit off it noone will do it. Maybe I am just a doomer, but it hurts knowing that we have the tools to make such a better world… And instead we’ve built this special little hell in our corner of the universe
