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A comment on 'Moment of reckoning': US cities burn recyclables after China bans imports. Parent comment

Re:'Moment of reckoning': US cities burn recyclables after C... by drawkbox on Wednesday February 27, 2019 @11:21AM (#19264175)
Add to that, more bottled water should be in actual glass bottles not plastic.

Make it more recyclable like beer bottles or old school Coke bottles.

Aluminum and glass are better for recycling than plastic, if the cost is higher so be it, doesn't stop people from buying beer bottles.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:'Moment of reckoning': US cities burn recyclables after C... by fixvzbdjzis on Wednesday February 27, 2019 @12:52PM (#19265268)
Well glass tastes better, so sure.

But the benefits are not obvious. If we assume diesel as a substitute good for plastic [1] then the additional weight of transporting glass could cause more waste (by burning additional diesel)

So, if a commmunity doesn’t have a local wash and refill center, it’s not obvious that plastic wins.

[1] you can make diesel from plastic (not easy, but probably easier than recycling mixed plastic). Assuming the plastic will go to the oceans otherwise, that’s a pretty good thing to do since diesel will get burned anyway and plastic is diverted from the seas.

[ Parent | on HN ]