Posted on 08/31/2024 12:53:20 PM PDT by grundle
Metals recycle. Steel and, in particular, aluminum.
Glass can be recycled, in theory, but not really in practice. Bottle and jar manufacturers turn all glass recycle into brown glass. They need virgin material for quality reasons for clear or colored glass.
Plastic, theoretically can recycle, but separation is cripplingly expensive. OTOH, it has tremendous fuel value. Paper and cardboard, similarly ,can theoretically recycle, but economically it is a loser. Fresh ,virgin pulp is cheaper, easier and has much better quality control. But, it, too has fuel value.
It is past time to become eco-realists. Recycling is virtue signaling performance art.
Only steel and aluminum have reasonable avenue for effective reclamation. The rest should be burned, and scrubbers can easily address point source emissions from the incinerators.
The mafia in Italy already figured that out.
For the last 50 years I have separated my paper, plastics, and metal as a recycling effort (made pocket change on the metals),amd will continue to do so as a marre=we of convenuenceI wonder what they do with my old dry cell batteries.
Only virgin vinyl goes into those...😁
(Before anyone asks: virgin vinyl = what higher quality LP records are made of)
Oh, my word, very scsry thought! Plastic doesn't tamp down after rainfalls like organic waste.
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