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Originally Posted by Spuds
Recommend the second video in particular if anyone hasn't heard about how recycling used to "work" and how it doesn't now. ...
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Unless I missed it, neither of these videos place the "origin story" where it should be, on the manufacturers of the products, and their primary markets.
Take plastic grocery bags for example. No one "likes" them. Paper bags worked much better, and would actually let you put more than two things in a bag at the same time. There was an art to loading them. A grocery chain I worked for had a contest at their annual picnic where the winner was the person that packed the most items in two bags, and when the bags were cut away the items would stand on their on.
Plastic bottles are another thing that was originally for the convenience of the manufacturers. Glass bottles, which were washed and reused, then ultimately melted down to make new bottles, were great. The deposit required for them also benefited anyone that was willing to pick them up and return them. As a child I funded my sweet tooth and my BB ammo needs almost exclusively with bottle returns.
Plasma gasification of waste products shows a lot of promise, and may be soon used on the Gerald Ford class aircraft carriers.