Yeah recycling and waste power generation are much more advanced in Europe. America had a lost opportunity. In America we will just landfill our recourses and be resource pigs until we run out then try to dig our landfills back up. Unacceptable!
I'm so strict about sorting things into waste bins, that I reach into the bin when I see a material that doesn't belong in that bin. (Ex: if I see paper in the trash, I reach and put it in the recycling).
That's not safe something sharp or contained could be in that trash you put your hands in, for example a needle could be in the trash can one piece of paper is not worth potential injury
Repurposing items help cut down on trash and recycling. Shred newspapers for mixing in with the garden (if you actually garden), use grocery bags for lining your small trash cans around the house or cleaning out the kitty litter box etc etc etc
"it's important to note that every city is different" Well there's a glaring problem, streamlining the recycling process for an entire country is REALLY important.
I should be working at a recycling center if the employees are finding free money 💸 I'm careful not to throw any money away or recycle it, so I don't know how that happens
Also guys, if people want to help the environement, buy containers 100 percent recyclable ,glass instead of plastic bottles, paper wrap instead of plastic, bring your own clay material cup to work and ban vending machines and if you have no choice but to buy the plastic containers, reuse them yourself as many times as you can before discarding them. it also helps if you check the recycling information on the product before you purchase it. And oh God does 100% coton not feel a lot better to wear on a hot summer day?
Cute theory but be careful what you wish for.... glass is extremely heavy and has to be keep absolutely pure for recycling. Paper stuff that replaces plastic is often plastic laminated or wax coated both are non recyclable and by semantics only degradable.
@@fbboringstuff - Actually studies show that glass is more sustainable since it can be reused. It's less profitable for corporations who convince use it's for our convenience. Also there is no need for the variety we have, that's all selfish on our part. Not caring about 100 years from now.
I'm old enough to remember, in hindsight, that in Soviet Union did exist cool things that now seem unthinkable of. I'm talking about glass bottles return points. They were in each ang every neighborhood, even in the countryside. For example, you bought lemonade, beer, milk, kefir, baby food in glass, then you took it to the Point and got some kopeks for that. Ideal. There were the rumors even about such people who scrounge around for empty bottles, took them to the points, and over the few years were able to collect enough money for a new car. However, it was not possible to buy a new car in the SU, haha
We need to keep educating and updating each year. In my residential area, we’ve been asked to wash our plastics before sorting them into our recycle bins. If we don’t clean them out, they go straight to landfill. We need better education/information. Especially for our house hold waste.
most plastic bags have the symbol, yet cant be recycled in the bins, like the video mentioned, you need to take it to a special location (i take it to my local supermarket). Just because it has a recycling triangle doesnt mean it is, infact each number means something different
the numbers are different. it is quicker to have a simple to follow rule for a lot of people, especially those who are lazy or don't have much time to check.
a well made video. It highlights the benefits of recycling materials and helps the awareness for people to be responsible for proper trash sorting. Thank you NOW THIS.
Great message....but I fear the people coming to watch these kinds of videos already care about the environment and already recycle. The trick is to get the message to those apathetic, lazy or uninformed citizens. Not knowing that recycling is important is like a smoker saying they didn't know cigarettes were bad for you. It's 2019 and everybody should know: don't smoke and recycle responsibly.
Plastic bags could be recycled but everything is money driven. The more valuable the waste the more of it will try to get reclaimed. Outside of the money part there is little motivation to actually help the planet.
I 100% agree. companies only care about the money. usually the 'nice things' they do are due to them not wanting anyone to hate them and stop buying their stuff
They COULD be recycled, but recycling them would actually create more pollution, waste more energy, and contaminate and waste water. It's pretty hopeless if you read more.
@@butchasmr So what would you propose they do with trillions of plastic bags? Go the lazy and thoughtless route and landfill them? They will never go away unless recycled.
this is so frustrating to watch.. i worked in london for 3 months and i saw the same thing happening ! people don't throw away correctly! also, i thought branded restaurants like Wasabi could provide their own recycling bin ?! i felt so hopeless. what can we do to improve?
This is great & definitely worth doing...however, most people are unaware that plastic can only be recycled 2-3 times before it degrades on a molecular level, thus becoming useless. Still, please recycle anything & everything you're able to.
You are right about the 2 or 3 times for certain specific usages, however the recycling can be endless when put to the right use example: paving, construction materiel like composites such as isolation coumpounds or even landscaping décorations
We live in N. Texas where our city also has a similar advanced sorting facility (don't call them recycling, they only sort), and I exchanged a few emails with the person at waste mgt for the city, and told me similar things. Issues with people 'wish-cycling' I think she also called "aspirational recycling" where people put non-recyclable items into the recycle bin. Another big problem is dirty recyclables placed in the bin - they need to be clean to be recycled. She also mentioned that middle states tend to use domestic recyclers, but coastal states would export, but we of course know that China and other SE Asian countries are now refusing to accept our exported recyclables because they are overcapacity, and they are often low quality or dirty thus harder to recycle. Our family focuses on the refuse side of the cycle, so yeah we could all just be great at sorting our recyclables, but it's more effective to just not buy them in the first place. In addition to using reusable shopping bags (even using reusable produce bags), containers for bulk foods, and foods that come in either cardboard or glass, or meats/fish from the butcher section wrapped in paper instead of plastics, refusing straws (as in the video, they don't get recycled) and plastic ware (we carry our own stainless steel large boba size straws, and utensil sets and stainless water bottles when we go out). It's amazing how little real trash we accumulate for our family of three plus an elderly parent in our household. It's all packaging, so when you can avoid it, it drastically reduces the total amount of rubbish. Food scraps are composted in our back yard. Anyhow, we don't care if haters use the argument that it doesn't make a difference b/c it's on a small scale - who cares? We know we're doing the right thing, and not waiting for governments to get their act together to do then do the right thing, which seems to be the contrarian argument.
this isn't a recycling plant, this is a sorting plant. I thought we were actually recycling, not sorting it, smashing it and packing it to sell to "3rd parties." What are these 3rd parties doing with it?
Ah right, of course. So NPR says China used to buy most of it, but they don't want it anymore and so rumor has it the sorted material as shown in this video is all pilling up in warehouses all over the country with no buyers. www.npr.org/2017/12/09/568797388/recycling-chaos-in-u-s-as-china-bans-foreign-waste
NOPE. Now that China stopped being the world's trashbin, first world countries are sending their crap to landfills. Google "Plastic ban in china" Or search in youtube. Or watch the documentary "Plastic China"
Its actually kind of hard to recycle where I live. My city got rid of the public recycling bins cause so many people were using it as regular trash apparently.
Recycling things like paper, plastic, and metal helps the earth by cutting down on trash. Yet many people throw away their newspapers, bottles, and cans instead of recycling them. The question, then, is how to encourage more people to recycle. One way that works is to put recycling containers in more places. Seeing more recycling bins helps people remember to use them. Another way is to teach people why recycling is important. If we make recycling easier and teach people why it matters, more people will join in.
I'm putting more into my recycle bin than I was a few months ago. It used to be there was a rule here that the only plastic that was recyclable was #1 and #2, and only if they were bottles with necks. Also, the collection company rejected the boxes frozen food came in. But, I recently checked with the collection company, and discovered things have changed. They now accept the frozen food cartons and plastic food containers #1 through #7. Of course, they don't want contaminated material, so I rinse and possibly wipe the food plastic.
Notice I wrote "plastic food containers"? The collection company doesn't want bottles that contained motor oil or other petroleum products. Residue of these chemicals can contaminate the recycling process, potentially turning a partially processed batch into waste. The bottles might be acceptable if I cleansed them with detergent. But, that could mean introducing the chemical into the sewer, which is unacceptable.
I'm changing my life to become zero waste or close to it... But you know what, I feel like it would make more sense if the responsibility was NOT put on the consumer. The governments should ban plastic all together, and they should provide ways for us to produce less trash.
Cincinnati has a recycle reuse hub and I can recycle almost anything that Rumpke recycling won't take, products that say you can't recycle actually actually can be recycled there which I can't understand why it's not being done. Thanks Cathy
I've been recycling since 1995,and composting biodegradable stuff where possible for at least as long,and I send so little to the conventional rubbish destined to landfill that I'm still very slowly using up rolls of plastic sacks given to every household in our neighbourhood by the local council during the noughties. But even with the numbered kitemarks for different types information on recycling of plastics is refrequently conflicting as to what actually will and will not be accepted apart from platic wrap/polythene and materials like polystyrene,styrofoam,etc. not. Fortunately our local supermarket has a plastic bag recycling drop-off thingy and the recycling scheme is a user friendly one where the recycling plant not the public does most of the sorting,so aside from people who need help with age and mobility type issues it must just be laziness and thoughtlessness that is behind some people not doing it when they could with little effort.
The recycle bins were right there next to the trash! I can see if you have a bottle or plastic cup and there is only one trash bin and nowhere to recycle - I mean I have been lazy and done this too. But the bins were right there.
"After the bales (of recyclables) are sorted, they are sold to 3rd party companies" Then what happens next? This video stops at this feel-good step. In reality, many of those "3rd party companies" are in developing countries, where poor people continue the processing under horrendous conditions.
Are you living in bubble??? Scores of containers of "recycled"plastic have just landed back in Canada because no one is buying and the recipients threatened legal action.Recycling-at least for the time- is dead. World economy is too protectionist .
@@tonyh7994 Because of eco-politics and the pandemic, recycling is mostly a waste of time and energy.All that really changes for many "recyclables" is that the go in a different trash pile-hidden from prying eyes.
Working in corrections we are not offered recycling bins. It’s always just trash bins. We work a lot and long hours and a good percentage of us drink monsters or Red Bull’s to help get thru the day. I can’t imagine all those cans that could be recycled yearly
I took a trip there myself & the place is awesome so this where my recyclables go from where I live in Queens I recommend coming here the separations are really cool here
I'm having a hard time even getting my own family and friends to recycle. For the whole nation or even the world to abide by our reduce, reuse, recycle program seems like a pipe dream. I really wish the world would change, but I honestly think we have to ride out this mess we made until we become extinct. Until then, I'll keep trying my best to protect this world.
My ability to recycle and the reactions of others depended on where I was and who I was around; when I'm usually around men (various ages over 25, usually blue collar like me) they scoff or laugh at my attempt to do so, which is discouraging. More white collar individuals and women across the board are usually more supportive. I live and was born in CT, but lived in the deep South for awhile, and unless you take beer cans to a junkyard to sell for money, talking about the environment or recycling in any way for the benefit of the community usually gets you ridiculed and laughed out of the room. In general, less educated people seem to be dismissive of it. For example, our company wastes a lot of paper printing work orders for our plant and i save the sheets to use as scrap papers for us to take notes on as we carry out repairs and such. So far, despite people somewhat agreeing with what I do as being useful, nobody has done it. We can do so much better!
4:20 in Slovakia, plastic foils and bags are recycled and collected in a bag with other plastic for recycling, they are even processed in Slovakia. :):):):)
Ok, I watched this because I was told that if you're plastic still has food on it, that it will just be sorted back into the dump so I try really hard to make sure my plastic and whatever else is clean before I recycle it. Also, I know Kroger takes plastic bags and I think Walmart does too.
Here in Ohio I have been recycling cans since 2004, it's not hard to get a lot because I never see anyone else picking them up or pulling them out of trash cans, part of that is because they only pay roughly 40-50 cents per pound. In New York or Michigan you see lots of people collecting cans because they pay 5 cents a can or bottle, anyways I get pretty much every can on the side of the road or in parks in a three city radius so I get to 500 lbs pretty quickly then turn them in. But anyways I encourage everyone to recycle, every bit helps
My sister moved back out to Akron, Ohio to live with our Dad around same time, 2004. Coming from PNW we had been recycling for a while at that point and she was so shocked her school in Akron, it was I believe an all girls catholic school so not a public school, but they didn't even know what recycling meant...she started a whole thing teaching how to do it at her school and I truly think my sister was a huge influence in getting Ohio on board with recycling...just kind of cool and thought about that when I saw your comment.and here in Oregon they pay 10 cents a bottle...pretty awesome. Tho there is a deposit for those bottles when your buying at the store.
4:34 Plastic, especially plastic bags often end up in illegal, unregulated dump sites in Malaysia because of this. Companies will cut costs by sending plastic waste to Asia, which is dumped or burned near towns and lakes and makes more pollution. This is why I use cloth bags as much as possible.
That's right, I see to recall China refusing trash/recycling from the US some years ago. It doesn't seem that long ago, but it was probably over 5 yrs ago, maybe 10 yrs ago? I dunno. Some time after that, other nations started to also refuse to accept our trash/recycling. I reckon US didn't suddenly stop producing trash/recycling. Hmm...wonder where it goes now?
I don’t think the people in my neighborhood actually recycle. Our green recycle bin is picked up every other week. And my family’s is full in about a week to a week and a half meanwhile my neighbors never fill theirs at all.
Recycling is not the answer. It's nice to reuse something, such as plastic, a few times. But it degrades in quality every time it's recycled and therefore ends up at a landfill or incinerator (or worse, the environment). We need to greatly reduce the amount of plastic we produce in the first place. Recycling is pushed strongly by plastics producers because it ensures that the public continues buying more plastic.
My local place which has a population of 50K+ serving is very picky...the types of plastic containers is very restrictive and they must be clean (we live in a desert so using water, ugh). Also, if 10% of the truck is not wanted, they throw the whole thing out. I'm sure we are rare in how well we take care, so I wonder if they even recycle at all. ESP anything that doesn't give them (much) money reselling it. All that said, we are a family of 4 hungry ppl, who eat in, though we like our single serve/semi prepared, and we are able to only use 1 kitchen trash bag per day.bathroom trash etc takes longer..the trash truck could come once every 3 weeks with their big bins or two for the one time purchase we use from Lowe's. We recycle a lot, and we use water from handwashing to clean or paper towel for Peanut Butter. They also don't take cardboard/paper, so luckily we have a state worker who has that for office recycling. The main thing, above all else, is REDUCE and then REUSE...all before RECYCLE P.S. Do you think the restrictions/cleanliness (I'm not talking bites just the remnants) is right of them to ask of us? Do we really need to be so careful? Can we put in plastic regardless of number?
Pretty much nothing get recycled if the package is dirty, is considered contaminated. The only way is to use existing bottles and refill shampoo, drinks, cleaning supplies etc.
well in my are alot of the paid trash services just take it to the dump vs recycling especially if its after 5pm and the recycle center is closed. A fact alot of customers dont know majority of the time its sent to the landfill if trucks are late. yet customers pay extra for recycling pickup if s county doesnt provide it free
The problem is you need to force “trash” to be sorted into the recycling process, people definitely need to do better but they likely won’t. It has to be intercepted so it doesn’t go to a landfill. Also…..why not ship landfill items to various forms of recycling centers???? Like it’s gotta be dealt with some time
For the people that don't care, I think we need to design a smart trash can, a trash cab that sorts trash from recyclables with a separate bin, that way for people that don't care about recycling they will still be doing a good deed without even knowing it, problem is creating such a trash can especially on a global scale.
I grew up recycling so it kinda grinds me to see people throwing that stuff in the garbage. We recycle as much as we can, burn the paper products, and throw everything compostable in the trash. Each week in my family of 4 we only have one bag of trash because of this, while the neighbors might have 3 bags. Kinda sucks too because our town got rid of the recycling bins saying they couldn’t afford them
I always sort through the garbage out at home. My wife is a neurologist, but for some reason, she struggles with sorting this material 😂😂😂. However we’re doing our part for the world!
It's cheaper to dump your problems off to others when what they pay for it is less than it costs you to crush it....plus they dump on their land and not USAs. It's called kicking your can down the road (for someone else to deal with).
That's actually crazy how theres a recycle bin literally right next to a trash can and people dont even use it. If its plastic or paper put it in a different bin if you can, truuuuly cannnot be that difficult
I still don’t know if i should put a plastic trash bag inside my recycle bin and dump them together or just bring bin and dump whatever inside it to the large dumpster.
An overlooked issue is lobbying from “Big Trash”. Most counties in the US provide recycling service but not trash. Big trash is lobbying counties to stop that to get more service for themselves. Keep an eye on your local districts and be aware of who’s in your politicians pockets.
i've wanted to know the answer to this for YEARS wow i actually didnt know plastic was made from natural resources, i thought it was all synthetic in a lab now i wanna know how plastic gets recycled
Around here, Nothing. It goes into Recycling bin, goes into truck. then Truck goes to Landfill. Its actually Sad. I did a Ride along on a Recycling Truck. Even the Driver doesnt know why they have Recycling bins anymore if it goes right to landfill. He been driving since they Started to do the Recycling stuff. He told me, it all goes to the Landfill still. As long as they have Recycling bins and trucks to pick it up. doesnt matter where it goes. it only matters to the state that they have the bins and trucks and the Garbage company gets bit more Money and tax relief.
Tips for recycling your take-out/fast food trash - tear off the portions of your paper take-out bag or pizza box that has grease on it. Those portions with grease can't be recycled! Toss that part in the trash and put the rest of the materials in the recycling!
the problem with this is that they stack everything up.. so i waste time cleaning my plastic and in the end it get mixed with dirty plastic and nothing gets recycled???
You have to use your reuseable bag 200 times before it is a net benefit for one use of a plastic bag. Thats right, 200 plastic bags = 1 reusable bag, and I reuse my plastic bags multiple times, by folding them and storing them for easy reuse. People often forget that plastic is very energy and co2 effective compared to other means. It is not the plastic that is bad, but how we dispose of it. The plastic bag should go into the incinerator after it has been used multiple times.
A huge issue is that hundreds of thousands of people accross the US don't have access to recycling. It depends on what state or area you live in. When I lived in Kentucky and a few other states, there were no recycling bins or recycling trucks. 0% is being recycled. Naturally, schools aren't teaching recycling anymore. It's not that people are at fault here. Its the government that needs to set it as a priority. There is no incentive nor education on it, and in the worst cases, no access. Ideally there should be a culture created of recycling, and South Korea and Japan are examples of this.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS NEED TO BE TAKING FIELD TRIPS TO THESE FACILITIES!
luckily my school did! i went to one many years ago - it was super interesting!
zero one I KNOW RIGHT OR IKR
Last year my class when to the water shed. Where all the toilet and sink water is reused. Smelliest and most disgusting trip ever
YESSSS
I went on one once. It was cool.
This is why bottle return is so important. It gives incentive to the people who participate, and gets materials reused.
Lies again? Prime Cups Reduce Reuse Recycle
A lot of businesses put recycling trash cans out to make it look like they recycle then just dump those cans with the rest of the trash.
Call your city at 311 if you're sure this is true.
I saw a janitor who did that. No one gave him the means of keeping the recyclables and trash separate, so both went into his only container.
Hotels
Because there is no market for most recyclables
This more than likely is the result of your community having a Materials Recovery Facility(MRF). your trash and recyclables are all sorter at the MRF.
Recycling is a great tool but not the answer. Always remember it’s REDUCE, REUSE and then recycle as the last option unless it has to be thrown out.
Absolutely!
Well I never had kids....that's how I reduce waste 🌎
@Sugar Xyler the Cherokee I had a kid once but it got "thrown in the trash" if ya know what I mean! 😉
@@SUGAR_XYLER I guess your parents didn't have your mindset...
Crazy to see how the USA is decades behind Europe and other regions on this issue. Nicely detailed video nonetheless.
what are you talking about?
Europe is the one behind on recycling we are behind the organic collection
Well, it's still WAY ahead of Russia!
NekroStevo I'm from a country in Europe, and our recycling rate is 15%-17%...
Yeah recycling and waste power generation are much more advanced in Europe. America had a lost opportunity.
In America we will just landfill our recourses and be resource pigs until we run out then try to dig our landfills back up.
Unacceptable!
I'm so strict about sorting things into waste bins, that I reach into the bin when I see a material that doesn't belong in that bin. (Ex: if I see paper in the trash, I reach and put it in the recycling).
I wish the homeless in new york would get paid to sort it out, or just people were just bored and would do it lol.
Same. My class doesn't recycle so I have to reach in and put the paper in the recycling bin
props to you guys for that
SAME BRO I DO THE EXACT SAME THING AT SCHOOL
That's not safe something sharp or contained could be in that trash you put your hands in, for example a needle could be in the trash can one piece of paper is not worth potential injury
Repurposing items help cut down on trash and recycling. Shred newspapers for mixing in with the garden (if you actually garden), use grocery bags for lining your small trash cans around the house or cleaning out the kitty litter box etc etc etc
The world really needs more Eco Heroes 🌍❤️
The world just needs to be ruled by common sense; everything else will fall in place.EcoWarriors are yesterdays buffoons.
We got plenty of Eco-Heros/Warriors what we lack is Eco-Incentives.
wow. don't advertise your channel. off
The Eco Heroes yeah in china
This is great. Now where exactly does the sorted plastic go? What percentage actually gets recycled and how much gets buried or burned?
sorted plastic gets sold to companies to be cleaned then used
"it's important to note that every city is different" Well there's a glaring problem, streamlining the recycling process for an entire country is REALLY important.
Awesome video. My mother raised me to recycle at a very young age. Now I love sorting it all out at the recycling facility when I drop it off lol
You have a great mom!
Indian government should learn from this
I work at recycling its surprising how much money I find sometimes while I'm picking its a bit unusual I wonder how that's happens
I should be working at a recycling center if the employees are finding free money 💸 I'm careful not to throw any money away or recycle it, so I don't know how that happens
At recycling what? U mean recycling centre? A recycling point? A recycling collector?
Also guys, if people want to help the environement, buy containers 100 percent recyclable ,glass instead of plastic bottles, paper wrap instead of plastic, bring your own clay material cup to work and ban vending machines and if you have no choice but to buy the plastic containers, reuse them yourself as many times as you can before discarding them. it also helps if you check the recycling information on the product before you purchase it. And oh God does 100% coton not feel a lot better to wear on a hot summer day?
Robin Belley I wish we would start manufacturing/ switch to glass bottles etc instead of plastic. I mean is it more expensive? I don't know. /:
AuroraHD glass is too heavy if made durable enough to not shatter if looked at cross eyed.
Cute theory but be careful what you wish for.... glass is extremely heavy and has to be keep absolutely pure for recycling. Paper stuff that replaces plastic is often plastic laminated or wax coated both are non recyclable and by semantics only degradable.
Glass is being dumped into landfill at alarming rates.
@@fbboringstuff - Actually studies show that glass is more sustainable since it can be reused. It's less profitable for corporations who convince use it's for our convenience. Also there is no need for the variety we have, that's all selfish on our part. Not caring about 100 years from now.
I'm old enough to remember, in hindsight, that in Soviet Union did exist cool things that now seem unthinkable of. I'm talking about glass bottles return points. They were in each ang every neighborhood, even in the countryside. For example, you bought lemonade, beer, milk, kefir, baby food in glass, then you took it to the Point and got some kopeks for that. Ideal. There were the rumors even about such people who scrounge around for empty bottles, took them to the points, and over the few years were able to collect enough money for a new car.
However, it was not possible to buy a new car in the SU, haha
I'm interested to see what has happened to this plant after the recent announcement from China in January...
We still recycle the same. China just stood up to our dumping them.
Love this video thank you. This needs to be taught everywhere and taken very seriously. We only get 1 planet
This is extremely interesting. You encouraged me to find a recycling plant in Louisiana. Thank you!
We need to keep educating and updating each year. In my residential area, we’ve been asked to wash our plastics before sorting them into our recycle bins. If we don’t clean them out, they go straight to landfill. We need better education/information. Especially for our house hold waste.
The take away is: Take plastic bags back to Kroger, etc.
If it's hard plastic recycle it.
What about looking for that symbol on the actual packaging
most plastic bags have the symbol, yet cant be recycled in the bins, like the video mentioned, you need to take it to a special location (i take it to my local supermarket). Just because it has a recycling triangle doesnt mean it is, infact each number means something different
the numbers are different. it is quicker to have a simple to follow rule for a lot of people, especially those who are lazy or don't have much time to check.
Everyone should see this video!
I never realized half the stuff that happens or saves during recycling.
a well made video. It highlights the benefits of recycling materials and helps the awareness for people to be responsible for proper trash sorting. Thank you NOW THIS.
not just that it needs to be clean, now i clean my plastic but if others don't clean and then mix clean with dirty.. nothings gets recycled
Great message....but I fear the people coming to watch these kinds of videos already care about the environment and already recycle. The trick is to get the message to those apathetic, lazy or uninformed citizens. Not knowing that recycling is important is like a smoker saying they didn't know cigarettes were bad for you. It's 2019 and everybody should know: don't smoke and recycle responsibly.
Plastic bags could be recycled but everything is money driven. The more valuable the waste the more of it will try to get reclaimed. Outside of the money part there is little motivation to actually help the planet.
I 100% agree. companies only care about the money. usually the 'nice things' they do are due to them not wanting anyone to hate them and stop buying their stuff
They COULD be recycled, but recycling them would actually create more pollution, waste more energy, and contaminate and waste water. It's pretty hopeless if you read more.
@@butchasmr So what would you propose they do with trillions of plastic bags? Go the lazy and thoughtless route and landfill them?
They will never go away unless recycled.
@@mysterybuyer3738 ban plastic bags
@@butchasmr Ummmm no because I like plastic bags. lol.
I feel like I'm the only person in my country, state, county, city that cares to be more aware of recycling and it takes a toll on my mental health
this is so frustrating to watch.. i worked in london for 3 months and i saw the same thing happening ! people don't throw away correctly! also, i thought branded restaurants like Wasabi could provide their own recycling bin ?! i felt so hopeless. what can we do to improve?
This is great & definitely worth doing...however, most people are unaware that plastic can only be recycled 2-3 times before it degrades on a molecular level, thus becoming useless. Still, please recycle anything & everything you're able to.
You are right about the 2 or 3 times for certain specific usages, however the recycling can be endless when put to the right use example: paving, construction materiel like composites such as isolation coumpounds or even landscaping décorations
Which means it’s “downcycling”
The 3rd parties dump the recycling on the ocean
You could burn it for power and get rid of it after you recycle it too many times
We live in N. Texas where our city also has a similar advanced sorting facility (don't call them recycling, they only sort), and I exchanged a few emails with the person at waste mgt for the city, and told me similar things. Issues with people 'wish-cycling' I think she also called "aspirational recycling" where people put non-recyclable items into the recycle bin. Another big problem is dirty recyclables placed in the bin - they need to be clean to be recycled. She also mentioned that middle states tend to use domestic recyclers, but coastal states would export, but we of course know that China and other SE Asian countries are now refusing to accept our exported recyclables because they are overcapacity, and they are often low quality or dirty thus harder to recycle.
Our family focuses on the refuse side of the cycle, so yeah we could all just be great at sorting our recyclables, but it's more effective to just not buy them in the first place. In addition to using reusable shopping bags (even using reusable produce bags), containers for bulk foods, and foods that come in either cardboard or glass, or meats/fish from the butcher section wrapped in paper instead of plastics, refusing straws (as in the video, they don't get recycled) and plastic ware (we carry our own stainless steel large boba size straws, and utensil sets and stainless water bottles when we go out). It's amazing how little real trash we accumulate for our family of three plus an elderly parent in our household. It's all packaging, so when you can avoid it, it drastically reduces the total amount of rubbish. Food scraps are composted in our back yard.
Anyhow, we don't care if haters use the argument that it doesn't make a difference b/c it's on a small scale - who cares? We know we're doing the right thing, and not waiting for governments to get their act together to do then do the right thing, which seems to be the contrarian argument.
this isn't a recycling plant, this is a sorting plant. I thought we were actually recycling, not sorting it, smashing it and packing it to sell to "3rd parties." What are these 3rd parties doing with it?
Ah right, of course. So NPR says China used to buy most of it, but they don't want it anymore and so rumor has it the sorted material as shown in this video is all pilling up in warehouses all over the country with no buyers. www.npr.org/2017/12/09/568797388/recycling-chaos-in-u-s-as-china-bans-foreign-waste
I hear it gets shipped to China.
We should all stop buying water bottles it’s pure laziness and it very wasteful
NOPE. Now that China stopped being the world's trashbin, first world countries are sending their crap to landfills. Google "Plastic ban in china" Or search in youtube. Or watch the documentary "Plastic China"
@@RussellCambell China reduced the amount of recyclable material they are accepting from the United States because the contamination rate is too high.
Its actually kind of hard to recycle where I live. My city got rid of the public recycling bins cause so many people were using it as regular trash apparently.
Recycling things like paper, plastic, and metal helps the earth by cutting down on trash. Yet many people throw away their newspapers, bottles, and cans instead of recycling them. The question, then, is how to encourage more people to recycle. One way that works is to put recycling containers in more places. Seeing more recycling bins helps people remember to use them. Another way is to teach people why recycling is important. If we make recycling easier and teach people why it matters, more people will join in.
I'm putting more into my recycle bin than I was a few months ago. It used to be there was a rule here that the only plastic that was recyclable was #1 and #2, and only if they were bottles with necks. Also, the collection company rejected the boxes frozen food came in.
But, I recently checked with the collection company, and discovered things have changed. They now accept the frozen food cartons and plastic food containers #1 through #7. Of course, they don't want contaminated material, so I rinse and possibly wipe the food plastic.
Notice I wrote "plastic food containers"? The collection company doesn't want bottles that contained motor oil or other petroleum products. Residue of these chemicals can contaminate the recycling process, potentially turning a partially processed batch into waste. The bottles might be acceptable if I cleansed them with detergent. But, that could mean introducing the chemical into the sewer, which is unacceptable.
Smart and cool people care.
0:07 Seriously couldn't dump out that cup before putting it in the recycling?
What's the difference? It would be poured out either way.
@@dudetocartman probably because it's so contaminated
Do you have a citations document?
I'm changing my life to become zero waste or close to it... But you know what, I feel like it would make more sense if the responsibility was NOT put on the consumer. The governments should ban plastic all together, and they should provide ways for us to produce less trash.
I think we should always recycle to help our world
There needs to be laws on RECYCLING!!!! WHY DOESN'T EVERYONE JUST RECYCLE!!!!
Laws? What a stupid idea.
Plastic bags can be melted and reshaped into bricks for building buildings.
Just saw this video today and have to say that we really have a lack of education about this topic. Tks for the video!
Cincinnati has a recycle reuse hub and I can recycle almost anything that Rumpke recycling won't take, products that say you can't recycle actually actually can be recycled there which I can't understand why it's not being done. Thanks Cathy
I've been recycling since 1995,and composting biodegradable stuff where possible for at least as long,and I send so little to the conventional rubbish destined to landfill that I'm still very slowly using up rolls of plastic sacks given to every household in our neighbourhood by the local council during the noughties. But even with the numbered kitemarks for different types information on recycling of plastics is refrequently conflicting as to what actually will and will not be accepted apart from platic wrap/polythene and materials like polystyrene,styrofoam,etc. not. Fortunately our local supermarket has a plastic bag recycling drop-off thingy and the recycling scheme is a user friendly one where the recycling plant not the public does most of the sorting,so aside from people who need help with age and mobility type issues it must just be laziness and thoughtlessness that is behind some people not doing it when they could with little effort.
The recycle bins were right there next to the trash! I can see if you have a bottle or plastic cup and there is only one trash bin and nowhere to recycle - I mean I have been lazy and done this too. But the bins were right there.
decided to learn something during quarantine and did not regret xP
"After the bales (of recyclables) are sorted, they are sold to 3rd party companies"
Then what happens next?
This video stops at this feel-good step. In reality, many of those "3rd party companies" are in developing countries, where poor people continue the processing under horrendous conditions.
But the poor people depend on this kind of work for their livelihood.
Are you living in bubble??? Scores of containers of "recycled"plastic have just landed back in Canada because no one is buying and the recipients threatened legal action.Recycling-at least for the time- is dead. World economy is too protectionist .
@@nbdental so we shouldn't recycle?
@@tonyh7994 Because of eco-politics and the pandemic, recycling is mostly a waste of time and energy.All that really changes for many "recyclables" is that the go in a different trash pile-hidden from prying eyes.
@@nbdental still a decent percentage does get recycled. Disappointing its not 100% but its still better than going to landfill.
Very informative. We've been recycling for yrs but I'll be more conscious when recycling going fwd.
Working in corrections we are not offered recycling bins. It’s always just trash bins. We work a lot and long hours and a good percentage of us drink monsters or Red Bull’s to help get thru the day. I can’t imagine all those cans that could be recycled yearly
I took a trip there myself & the place is awesome so this where my recyclables go from where I live in Queens I recommend coming here the separations are really cool here
I've seen it all...
most people ignore me
I'm having a hard time even getting my own family and friends to recycle. For the whole nation or even the world to abide by our reduce, reuse, recycle program seems like a pipe dream. I really wish the world would change, but I honestly think we have to ride out this mess we made until we become extinct. Until then, I'll keep trying my best to protect this world.
Reduce and reuse are good, recycling is bad, at least recycling plastic is bad. Most plastic can’t be recycled and ends up at a landfill or burned
Lack of recycling is largely due to a lack of incentive followed by lack of knowledge, convenience and community involvement.
Great information! I will be showing my kids. Thanks!
My ability to recycle and the reactions of others depended on where I was and who I was around; when I'm usually around men (various ages over 25, usually blue collar like me) they scoff or laugh at my attempt to do so, which is discouraging. More white collar individuals and women across the board are usually more supportive. I live and was born in CT, but lived in the deep South for awhile, and unless you take beer cans to a junkyard to sell for money, talking about the environment or recycling in any way for the benefit of the community usually gets you ridiculed and laughed out of the room. In general, less educated people seem to be dismissive of it.
For example, our company wastes a lot of paper printing work orders for our plant and i save the sheets to use as scrap papers for us to take notes on as we carry out repairs and such. So far, despite people somewhat agreeing with what I do as being useful, nobody has done it. We can do so much better!
People all around including my family scoff and look down on me for it
4:20 in Slovakia, plastic foils and bags are recycled and collected in a bag with other plastic for recycling, they are even processed in Slovakia. :):):):)
Great Insights for people to see inside a Material Recovery Facility and what happens ✅
Ok, I watched this because I was told that if you're plastic still has food on it, that it will just be sorted back into the dump so I try really hard to make sure my plastic and whatever else is clean before I recycle it. Also, I know Kroger takes plastic bags and I think Walmart does too.
Here in Ohio I have been recycling cans since 2004, it's not hard to get a lot because I never see anyone else picking them up or pulling them out of trash cans, part of that is because they only pay roughly 40-50 cents per pound. In New York or Michigan you see lots of people collecting cans because they pay 5 cents a can or bottle, anyways I get pretty much every can on the side of the road or in parks in a three city radius so I get to 500 lbs pretty quickly then turn them in. But anyways I encourage everyone to recycle, every bit helps
My sister moved back out to Akron, Ohio to live with our Dad around same time, 2004. Coming from PNW we had been recycling for a while at that point and she was so shocked her school in Akron, it was I believe an all girls catholic school so not a public school, but they didn't even know what recycling meant...she started a whole thing teaching how to do it at her school and I truly think my sister was a huge influence in getting Ohio on board with recycling...just kind of cool and thought about that when I saw your comment.and here in Oregon they pay 10 cents a bottle...pretty awesome. Tho there is a deposit for those bottles when your buying at the store.
Excellent content. Why don’t we have more education for recycling. Public service announcements? Help us not waste resources!
I deposit them bottles and earn money while recycling. 😊
This ad was brought to you by your local friendly oil companies (the ones that perpetuate the myth that plastic is recyclable).
I've seen this for a while and still think flat Earth theory is a lot more convincing
More people need to Recycle !!!!!!
4:34 Plastic, especially plastic bags often end up in illegal, unregulated dump sites in Malaysia because of this. Companies will cut costs by sending plastic waste to Asia, which is dumped or burned near towns and lakes and makes more pollution. This is why I use cloth bags as much as possible.
That's right, I see to recall China refusing trash/recycling from the US some years ago. It doesn't seem that long ago, but it was probably over 5 yrs ago, maybe 10 yrs ago? I dunno. Some time after that, other nations started to also refuse to accept our trash/recycling. I reckon US didn't suddenly stop producing trash/recycling. Hmm...wonder where it goes now?
I don’t think the people in my neighborhood actually recycle.
Our green recycle bin is picked up every other week. And my family’s is full in about a week to a week and a half meanwhile my neighbors never fill theirs at all.
Not many in my neighborhood recycle either.
Recycling is not the answer. It's nice to reuse something, such as plastic, a few times. But it degrades in quality every time it's recycled and therefore ends up at a landfill or incinerator (or worse, the environment). We need to greatly reduce the amount of plastic we produce in the first place. Recycling is pushed strongly by plastics producers because it ensures that the public continues buying more plastic.
Don't mind me just recycling and wanted to see what happens
Saving energy means saving corporations money. Its not about the earth you sheep.
My local place which has a population of 50K+ serving is very picky...the types of plastic containers is very restrictive and they must be clean (we live in a desert so using water, ugh). Also, if 10% of the truck is not wanted, they throw the whole thing out. I'm sure we are rare in how well we take care, so I wonder if they even recycle at all. ESP anything that doesn't give them (much) money reselling it.
All that said, we are a family of 4 hungry ppl, who eat in, though we like our single serve/semi prepared, and we are able to only use 1 kitchen trash bag per day.bathroom trash etc takes longer..the trash truck could come once every 3 weeks with their big bins or two for the one time purchase we use from Lowe's.
We recycle a lot, and we use water from handwashing to clean or paper towel for Peanut Butter.
They also don't take cardboard/paper, so luckily we have a state worker who has that for office recycling.
The main thing, above all else, is REDUCE and then REUSE...all before RECYCLE
P.S. Do you think the restrictions/cleanliness (I'm not talking bites just the remnants) is right of them to ask of us? Do we really need to be so careful? Can we put in plastic regardless of number?
Throw all the plastic in. Doesn't have to be perfectly clean.
Would also be helpful if they used a standardized easily identifiable symbol on the containers to match up with the bins.
After you said “ Cartons “ I put my mini milk cartons in the blue bin everyday
Pretty much nothing get recycled if the package is dirty, is considered contaminated. The only way is to use existing bottles and refill shampoo, drinks, cleaning supplies etc.
well in my are alot of the paid trash services just take it to the dump vs recycling especially if its after 5pm and the recycle center is closed. A fact alot of customers dont know majority of the time its sent to the landfill if trucks are late. yet customers pay extra for recycling pickup if s county doesnt provide it free
Thank you for making it really easy and clear to understand.
And now four years later we find out none of it’s really been recycled
The problem is you need to force “trash” to be sorted into the recycling process, people definitely need to do better but they likely won’t. It has to be intercepted so it doesn’t go to a landfill. Also…..why not ship landfill items to various forms of recycling centers???? Like it’s gotta be dealt with some time
For the people that don't care, I think we need to design a smart trash can, a trash cab that sorts trash from recyclables with a separate bin, that way for people that don't care about recycling they will still be doing a good deed without even knowing it, problem is creating such a trash can especially on a global scale.
I grew up recycling so it kinda grinds me to see people throwing that stuff in the garbage. We recycle as much as we can, burn the paper products, and throw everything compostable in the trash. Each week in my family of 4 we only have one bag of trash because of this, while the neighbors might have 3 bags. Kinda sucks too because our town got rid of the recycling bins saying they couldn’t afford them
Burn paper products?
That is amazing. We all need to do a much better job recycling🙌
I always sort through the garbage out at home. My wife is a neurologist, but for some reason, she struggles with sorting this material 😂😂😂. However we’re doing our part for the world!
If recycling saves so much energy compared to processing raw material why are we shipping all these "recyclable" material to East Asia countries?
It's cheaper to dump your problems off to others when what they pay for it is less than it costs you to crush it....plus they dump on their land and not USAs. It's called kicking your can down the road (for someone else to deal with).
@@Anita-md9ze
But that is not what the video wants you to believe.
There is a company in Japan that recycle a huge amount of plastic and styrofoams 🦫
It turns them into incredibly clean pellets 🐞
Check out the 60 Minutes episode that aired this past Sunday on all the plastic "recycling" and where it goes.
That's actually crazy how theres a recycle bin literally right next to a trash can and people dont even use it. If its plastic or paper put it in a different bin if you can, truuuuly cannnot be that difficult
I still don’t know if i should put a plastic trash bag inside my recycle bin and dump them together or just bring bin and dump whatever inside it to the large dumpster.
An overlooked issue is lobbying from “Big Trash”. Most counties in the US provide recycling service but not trash. Big trash is lobbying counties to stop that to get more service for themselves. Keep an eye on your local districts and be aware of who’s in your politicians pockets.
i've wanted to know the answer to this for YEARS
wow i actually didnt know plastic was made from natural resources, i thought it was all synthetic in a lab
now i wanna know how plastic gets recycled
We gotta recycle more these days...things are getting really bad
Around here, Nothing. It goes into Recycling bin, goes into truck. then Truck goes to Landfill. Its actually Sad. I did a Ride along on a Recycling Truck. Even the Driver doesnt know why they have Recycling bins anymore if it goes right to landfill. He been driving since they Started to do the Recycling stuff. He told me, it all goes to the Landfill still. As long as they have Recycling bins and trucks to pick it up. doesnt matter where it goes. it only matters to the state that they have the bins and trucks and the Garbage company gets bit more Money and tax relief.
How much money does the municipality receive for our recyclables? How is the money allocated?
Tips for recycling your take-out/fast food trash - tear off the portions of your paper take-out bag or pizza box that has grease on it. Those portions with grease can't be recycled! Toss that part in the trash and put the rest of the materials in the recycling!
the problem with this is that they stack everything up.. so i waste time cleaning my plastic and in the end it get mixed with dirty plastic and nothing gets recycled???
Thanks so much for making this video!
Do the recyclables get cleaned at the recycling centers or something? They should. You never know where they been.
they mention in the video that the people who buy the recycled products are in charge of cleaning them before turning them into something new.
Its 2 am an I’m high watching this ♻️
You have to use your reuseable bag 200 times before it is a net benefit for one use of a plastic bag. Thats right, 200 plastic bags = 1 reusable bag, and I reuse my plastic bags multiple times, by folding them and storing them for easy reuse. People often forget that plastic is very energy and co2 effective compared to other means. It is not the plastic that is bad, but how we dispose of it. The plastic bag should go into the incinerator after it has been used multiple times.
There is so much more that could be done with plastic, it’s just a matter of someone deciding to do the right thing!
Also only 10% of plastics are recyclable. Type 1 and Type 2 plastics are the most recyclable while the rest are pretty hard to recycle
A huge issue is that hundreds of thousands of people accross the US don't have access to recycling. It depends on what state or area you live in. When I lived in Kentucky and a few other states, there were no recycling bins or recycling trucks. 0% is being recycled. Naturally, schools aren't teaching recycling anymore. It's not that people are at fault here. Its the government that needs to set it as a priority. There is no incentive nor education on it, and in the worst cases, no access. Ideally there should be a culture created of recycling, and South Korea and Japan are examples of this.
What happens to your recycling after it's collected? It gets sent to thrid world countries