I think paper has overloaded the system. I have heard that the big cities have warehouses full of newspapers to be recycled with no takers. My father-in-law was a chemical engineer at a paper mill and he once said that old newsprint is a useful addition to the mix but at only a certain percentage. I don’t remember what it was but it was not half.I remember being surprised that it was so low. I had been zealous for recycling and finding out things like that dampened my enthusiasm.Now when I hear local pols hustling a recycling ordinance I know that they will have to raise taxes to pay for it.
“Now when I hear local pols hustling a recycling ordinance I know that they will have to raise taxes to pay for it.”
That’s the general progression - first it’s voluntary, then it’s mandatory, then they make you pay for it.
I’m surprised the various “thermal depolymerization” outfits aren’t going through paper and plastic bottles by the trainload, cranking out oil by the megabarrel.