Interesting video looking at how plastics are recycled into clothing.
It … makes you realize that if we could do the impossible and get people to pre-separate their recycleables, we could probably save a lot of trouble down the line. For example, if all drinks bottles were separated from their caps, and further separated by color.
An Eye-Opening Look at How Plastic Bottles are Recycled Into Clothing - Core77
That’s a noble sentiment, but it’s asking too much of people. Every time I’ve visited the recycling center (less often now since our community has a curbside recycling program), I notice wrong or unrecyclable items in the bins and paper contaminated with food. Even at that, I think it’s better overall to encourage participation by making the process easier on the front end (that is, making it not much more difficult than simply throwing away trash) and then sorting out the collected items later. It should be easier to get people to remember the one message to not “recycle” contaminated paper than to teach them the complexities of sorting plastic. Plus, if each of us cleaned our plastic bottles at home, would it not waste more water and detergent than if it was done at a central facility?
