So why can't we spend all this money we're wasting debating what plastic stuff to ban figuring out how to recycle these things instead? (or down-cycle, plastic contaminated paper pulp from cups seems like a natural fit for filter media)
Recycling doesn't work. I recently read that only 10 % of plastic gets recycled. Recycling is just a way to pass responsibility onto the customer. Bans and regulations require the corporations to fix this problem.
Plastic is hard to recycle since there are multiple types and there can be multiple types in one product. Also generally the recycled plastic is not as strong and usable as the original type and it's more expensive. Recycling plastic is not the answer.
Most of the recycling claims by companies with the exception of aluminum is used as a way to make consumers feel better about using and trashing a product.
But we're not talking about recycling plastic. We're talking about products that can be recycled that are contaminated with plastic (e.g. plastic bags that clog up machines and plastic liners for paper products that presumably contaminate the paper pulp). It's a materials handling problem. It should be solvable.
