Path: ...!fu-berlin.de!uni-berlin.de!individual.net!not-for-mail From: Chris Buckley Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written Subject: Re: Pearls Before Swine: Rat The Luddite Date: 14 Aug 2024 17:35:55 GMT Lines: 50 Message-ID: References: <17fobjtemh0r464olg57kk4b5j8ol72v3u@4ax.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Trace: individual.net rXKr3J87tZXXKKgG+2hcjA2uqB1ADytTaSADt3XGWSrCEM6nhx Cancel-Lock: sha1:thOS6rvRU77i/2rmQSi2Qx7SIZ8= sha256:NhnMCXS3LYhDCnnS5R4g8ocLnEvsukBtIqoDGcNb/Sw= User-Agent: slrn/1.0.3 (Linux) Bytes: 3116 On 2024-08-14, Paul S Person wrote: > On Tue, 13 Aug 2024 22:15:25 -0700, The Horny Goat > wrote: > >>On Thu, 08 Aug 2024 18:35:55 GMT, scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) >>wrote: >> >>>The only solution is to completely eliminate single-use >>>plastics. I'd even go so far as to include milk and >>>juice jugs in that ban (glass is far more recyclable >>>and aside shipping weight, similar in cost). >>> >>>Paper milk cartons can eliminate the plastic lid. >> >>What does "single use" mean? I understand in the context of fast food >>cups but how about less common items like those 4 liter milk jugs I >>get my milk in (and generally put out each week in the recycling bin) >>or similar such items - for instance my cheddar comes wrapped in >>plastic and once the cheese is eaten, that plastic wrapper isn't >>getting used again > > He is explicitly including milk and juice, suggesting we go back to > glass. > > Which is fine, so long as, when I drop one on the floor and it breaks, > he comes over, cleans up the mess, and gives me my money back. > > Plastic jugs don't break as often, although I suppose you could get > one to do so if you tried hard enough. > > There is a /reason/ we replaced glass with plastic, at least in some > cases. In addition to the inconvenience of glass, it is not nearly as economically recyclable as most people think. Nearby local counties have stopped recycling glass because it just costs too much. Much cheaper for the county to just throw it away. An older news report (5 years ago, all I could easily find) among other things says: The issue is that glass comes in many colors and often breaks, making it too difficult to separate from other materials. Plus, there isn’t as big of a market for recycled glass, compared to other products, such as cardboard and plastics. https://wtop.com/local/2019/05/trashed-can-the-dc-area-clean-up-its-waste-problem/ Chris