The problem is that you are indeed part of a tiny minority - but that isn't a problem in practice!

Properly sorting stuff is hard. You can't just look at whether something is vaguely plastic-ish or paper-ish, you actually have to inspect every single item for the recycling label. There are dozens of tiny gotchas to stumble over.

Luckily we don't actually need to do all that. There are automated plants which can take in a mixed domestic waste stream, and separate out things like metal and the various forms of plastic. This means you no longer have to worry about people sorting it incorrectly, and you no longer have to worry about people who can't be bothered to sort at all. It's a win-win, really.

Our recycling company can't even just name the numbers that are recyclable. They give us a list of examples and name some items, but it's nowhere near comprehensive even for some things commonly used. For example, reusable plastic food storage containers (tupperware-like items) are not listed. To-go containers are prohibited, but these are heavier, more durable plastic.

If something seems recyclable, I'll throw it in on the chance that the sorters will accept it, rather than guaranteeing it goes to the landfill by putting it in the trash bin.

I stopped recycling plastic when it became clear that 70% of the collected plastic was being burned just like the regular trash. The only things I will recycle are PET bottles, glass, aluminum cans and paper.

At the start of this year my municipality recognized that collecting plastics separately was simply a net loss environmentally and economically and removed all plastic waste containers (except for PET). Instead they will now simply try to recover some of the useful plastics for recycling from the mixed trash and burn the rest with the trash.

When the plastic recycling stream contains 70% trash that you can't use, then recovering the 30% from the plastic recycling stream is barely more economical than recovering that from the mixed trash stream.

The real danger with plastic is that it'll go to some under regulated recycler which picks out the 30% of plastic that it can recycle and then dumps the rest in the nearest river. If I put it in the trash in a modern country I can be sure it'll at least end up in a land fill or the equivalent. And in contrast to the incredibly wonderful glass and aluminium recycling systems plastic recycling doesn't really save that much production energy.

I have two indoor bins: one for plastics/recycling and one for garbage. I line both with trash bags.

Unfortunately, the city gets very upset about the recyclable materials being in plastic bags (something about it messing up their machines). I like it better this way because I don't have an indoor bin full of loose, used plastics and paper which feels unorganized and dirty.

I feel like these small, yet annoying, inconveniences hurt participation (in addition to the countless stories of plastics and garbage just being thrown into the same hole in the ground, or into an ocean patch off the coast of some other country).

My local grocery store sells paper bags that are the exact right size to line the city provided recycling bin.

That's awesome, I will look into that to see if my local grocery does the same! Now that I think about it, there's probably paper-based bin linings that you can buy from Amazon

You may as well just throw everything in the trash then. You should be cleaning your recyclables. If the bin is "dirty" then you are doing it wrong.

I'm expected to clean my recyclables? Exhibit A of ridiculously annoying tasks that could (should) be delegated to a recycling facility.

Well yes, that's a lot easier than trying to do it at the recycling facility. Do you expect the garbage man to do your dishes? The easiest time to rinse off the container is immediately after it is opened. By the time the container gets to a recycler the residue will be caked on. You use plastic bags to protect yourself but you aren't thinking of anyone else.

> Do you expect the garbage man to do your dishes?

Why would the garbage man do my dishes?

Look, I throw away my trash because it's super convenient and the city provides a wonderfully helpful service of hauling my garbage off for me. But if the city comes to me and says "Hey, we want you to come out here and help us dig the landfill, because it's actually easier if you do it" -- then I'd probably just light my garbage on fire or toss it in a river.

Then like I said, treat everything like trash. Recycling requires some effort on your part.

Thanks for the heads up, but I'll probably just keep throwing my dirty plastic into plastic bags and letting the recycling facility figure it out.

Why? Just out of spite?

Yes.

Here's a video from my state Department of Ecology explaining why you shouldn't do this, and why you are actually making it worse for everyone. Cursory web searches on the topic say the same thing. Bagged recyclables can't be sorted so they just get diverted to landfill.

You could actually make the world a better place by throwing your bagged recyclables in the trash because then you aren't actively harming the recycling process.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhLGcSVZJnM

Sorting I’ve not got an issue with at all. It’s the requirement to wash plastic containers through most parts of the UK that gets me. Not because of the effort, but because I can’t believe it’s more efficient for me to wash butter dishes and jars using warm water and soap (alongside every other house), than for the recycling centre to put in a big collective washer.