What I Think Should be Done With Our Recycling

Originally Published: July 17, 2019

So, it’ll probably be better to preface this with what currently happens with our recycling.

So, when you throw a water bottle into your recycling and take it out to be picked up, sources are somewhat unclear, but it seems that some of it, for example much in New York, a lot of the recycling goes to Sims Recycling and gets actually recycled. [1]

However, in many more cases, it seems to go to China, via Hong Kong, where it’s sorted and recycled.

Or at least used to be.

Some time ago, China decided that it wasn’t going to accept any more of our recycling.

So what happens to it now?

It sits in warehouses and yards in Hong Kong.

And nobody wants it there.

What will happen is that the recycling company will drop it off in Hong Kong, despite China no longer taking it, and it ends up in properties around Hong Kong wherein the owners of the properties, and now the recycling try to sell it off to somewhere other than China, like Thailand, for example. [2]

And, as you can tell, this isn’t exactly an ideal situation for what’s done with our recycling.

So what would I do differently?

Well, I’d more or less just do the process that Sims seemingly does.

I would have the recycling sorted, cleaned, trash thrown out, and then have it all put onto pallets and sold out to manufacturers as if it were just the raw materials.

Maybe I’d have it smelted somewhere else before that, since the raw recyclables have plastic and paper labeling and that lining inside of canned food cans. Though I imagine that the manufacturers, if they’re buying raw materials like this, can simply do that themselves.

Perhaps there’s some flaw that Recycling buffs will see in this process, and if that’s so then I’d like to hear it.

But for now, I’d like to hear what you have to say. What do you think about the current recycling process and would you do anything to change it? If so, then what?

Sources

[1] What Happens to Your Recycling After It’s Collected? | NowThis

[2] Dirty Business: what really happens to your recycling | Sky News