Plastic producers have known for more than 30 years that recycling is not an economically or technically feasible plastic waste management solution. That has not stopped them from promoting it, according to a new report.

“The companies lied,” said Richard Wiles, president of fossil-fuel accountability advocacy group the Center for Climate Integrity (CCI), which published the report. “It’s time to hold them accountable for the damage they’ve caused.”

  • Zerlyna@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    I worked in packaging for 20 years. A bottle CAN be recycled indefinitely… if it’s made from GLASS.
    Source: I worked 8 years for a glass bottle manufacturer.

    • filister@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Too bad most of those bottles got replaced with plastic completely disregarding the impact of the environment they are causing. Not to mention that glass also comes from abundant resources like sand and we don’t risk running out of it anytime soon, the same can’t be said for oil.

      • Passerby6497@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Not to mention that glass also comes from abundant resources like sand and we don’t risk running out of it anytime soon

        Is now a bad time to point out that not only is sand not as an abundant resource as you think, but we’re actually running short of it?

        https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a39880899/earth-is-running-out-of-sand/

        https://theweek.com/news/science-health/960931/why-is-the-world-running-out-of-sand

        • HSR🏴‍☠️@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          10 months ago

          Isn’t this specifically about sand for construction which needs to be coarse enough? For glass packaging you melt that stuff anyway, SiO₂ is SiO₂. Also I imagine the amount of sand needed for glass bottles would be way smaller than what construction industry uses, even less so if you recycle.

          • Passerby6497@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            Specifically sand for construction and glass making. Not saying that glass bottles aren’t a better solution than plastic, just that the main resource needed is rarer than initially implied.

      • Grabthar@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Those glass bottles used to cause an awful lot of horrific deaths and injuries during handling, so from a safety perspective, there is no desire at all to return to glass. Glass bottles are also much heavier than plastic, so have a commensurate environmental impact due to the increased consumption of fossil fuels for shipping as well. Fixing the problems with plastic was a big PR win and saved companies millions in law suits and shipping costs. They won’t go back to glass. The answer is probably re-usable plastic containers purchased by the customer and refilled at stores for the same price (or more) than when sold in disposable plastic packaging. Another PR win in the offing, no doubt.

        • linearchaos@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          IT would be awesome if you walked into a convenience store and they just had everything on tap. You bring in your own bottle and lunch container fill em up and walk out.

    • Just_Not_Funny@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Flexible packaging for 10 years here … we recycle and reuse 100% of the scrap we make in house, even our nylon, PP, and EVOH.