[mbrumlow]

Nobody cares about the efficiency of recycling. Existing pro-recycling orgs will want no part of this and do what they can to stop it.

This is because if it becomes easy then it won’t matter and all the marketing, non profit orgs and everything goes away, making it a non problem.

While I am sure you will find people who will like these ideas and want them, they will have zero control.

At this point recycling is a marketing thing. And it’s more important that people think about the cause than solve the problem.

[darkwater]

Well, it's actually good to have that kind of marketing. First, because there are people that don't care anyway and keep mixing things. So, robots can be useful just the same. And for the ones that actually follow the marketing, it's a good incentive to try to reduce the usage of one use plastics and packages in general. Recycling is the last of the 3 Rs for a reason.

[_carbyau_]

Honestly I am so frustrated with the approach of "lets take a population of millions of people and ask them all to sort perfectly". 'Tis a silly thing. Some people won't care, some people will care but mistakes will happen, some people will care about money more and so will deliberately dump things in the wrong bucket.

Get everyone to dump their crap into one pile and actually invest in industrial processes to sort the crap out.

Huge con: this is a complex problem with possibly poisonous/explosive ramifications if it goes wrong.

Huge Pro: If we can solve this issue, that is a society changing capability, forevermore.

Or until armageddon/robot overlords/singularity/zombie plague at least.

[ltsorry]

Picking up after your dog. Putting the grocery cart away after unloading. Shoveling the sidewalk in front of your house. Waiting to the side of the subway doors. Not talking during movies.

We are asked to do hundreds of little things that mildly inconvenience us in order to maintain some social contract. Sure they could be made easier/nonexistent with better technology, but I:

1) don't see why asking people to do their part is silly

2) don't see why this particular problem would be more frustrating than e.g. the others I've mentioned. I feel like they are all similar on the "effort" scale.

Although I guess I'd admit that asking people to sort recycling properly is very different than relying on them to.

[BHSPitMonkey]

> Picking up after your dog. Putting the grocery cart away after unloading. Shoveling the sidewalk in front of your house. Waiting to the side of the subway doors. Not talking during movies.

If 10% of people don't put their cart away, then 90% of carts still get put away. If 10% put things into the recycling bin that shouldn't go there, then 100% of that batch of material becomes unsuitable for recycling process unless expensive remediation is done first.

[madmask]

If those things can be automated, we should not waste time doing them. It’s not like they are enjoyable anyway. Count the time wasted sorting stuff and multiply for millions and millions of households

[_carbyau_]

I have no issue with the simple niceties of life. It's nice to do the nice things for those around and helps create a high trust society.

But I don't think this is a good system of caring for our environment. If we cared properly, rather than half-arsing it we'd have a proper industrial system with known outputs that we could improve upon. Instead we seem to have a "feel good you did your part, now forget about it" process. I guess it is shambling it's way to something more but it doesn't seem like it's in a rush - kinda the same way the world agrees on acting on climate change but no one is in a rush.

[artificialprint]

Japanese sort really well. Most European countries too

[recycledmatt]

Most folks when they think of recycling, think of the blue bin they put out every week.

That’s about 25% by weight of all that gets recycled in the country.

Metals, industrial scrap, and other sources are 75% of what gets recycled in the US.

We are blue collar businesses, with high labor costs. Many are exploring robotics actively for repetitive tasks. We have some robots in our process, looking for more when the ROI makes sense.

It may not be 100x, but there will be value in robots in recycling.

[daralthus]

just pet bottle recycling by itself is a multi-billion dollar industry globally [1]

[1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PET_bottle_recycling)

[genewitch]

Soda bottles can be washed and nearly directly used by 3d printers. Spiral cut the bottle, Thermoform it into a continuous cylinder (it folds it in and heats it to make it solid, then immediately fed to the printer or spooled.

If plastic recycling was actually being done and was profitable I don't think there'd be a Pacific garbage patch and pfas in my heart right now.

[muzani]

Big corporations definitely care about recycling. Sustainability is a major issue for them, not for marketing and such, but because they're thinking 50 years down the line. If they can't keep making xPhones then, they'll need to find a new product or invade a country, and both of these things need to be planned decades in advance. If recycling is a gimmick, it's more to stakeholders than consumers.

[Gothmog69]

You seem uninformed of the realities of recycling.

[Xmd5a]

Plastic recycling, as commonly understood and promoted, is largely a myth. While technically possible, the reality of plastic recycling falls far short of public perception and industry claims.

# The Reality of Plastic Recycling:

- Low recycling rates: Only 9% of all plastic worldwide is actually recycled[1][2]. In the United States, the recycling rate for plastic waste is even lower, at just 5-6%[5].

- Limited recyclability: Most types of single-use plastic cannot be recycled in the United States. Only plastic #1 and #2 bottles and jugs meet the minimum legal standard to be labeled recyclable[1].

- Downcycling: The majority of recycled plastic is of inferior quality, resulting in downcycling rather than true recycling[2].

- Economic challenges: Recycling plastic is often not economically viable compared to producing new plastic[4].

# Industry Deception:

The myth of plastic recycling has been perpetuated by the plastic and oil industries for decades:

- Misleading labeling: The Resin Identification Codes (RICs) on plastic products were created by the industry to give the impression of a vast and viable recycling system[3].

- Disinformation campaigns: The fossil fuel industry has benefited financially from promoting the idea that plastic could be recycled, despite knowing since 1974 that it was not economically viable for most plastics[3].

- Lack of commitment: In 1994, an Exxon chemical executive stated, "We are committed to the activities, but not committed to the results," regarding industry support for plastics recycling[5].

#Environmental and Health Impacts

- Pollution: Most plastic items labeled as recyclable often end up in landfills, incinerators, or polluting the environment[1].

- Health hazards: Plastic waste contamination affects soil, water, and air quality, potentially impacting human health[4].

Conclusion

The concept of widespread plastic recycling is largely a myth propagated by the plastic industry to distract from the real issues of plastic pollution and to avoid regulation. While some plastic can be recycled, the current system is far from effective or sustainable. To address the plastic crisis, focus needs to shift from recycling to reducing plastic production and consumption.

[1] https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/the-myth-of-single-use-plasti...

[2] https://www.plasticsoupfoundation.org/nl/blog/recycling-myth

[3] https://www.earthday.org/plastic-recycling-is-a-lie/

[4] https://kosmorebi.com/en/plastique-le-mythe-du-recyclage/

[5] https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/the-plastic-industry-knowi...