Just need to vent...

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by Mendel Leisk, Jul 6, 2022.

  1. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2005
    20,339
    8,429
    54
    Location:
    Montana & Nashville, TN
    Vehicle:
    2018 Chevy Volt
    Model:
    Premium
    Think that's bad? Most recycling crap ends up in the landfill anyway.
    Why aren’t we recycling more plastic? by United Nations Development Programme - United Nations Development Programme | UNDP - Exposure.
    Many tons of it we offshore and guess what those countries do .... yep same thing
    .
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  2. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Witness Leader

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    57,247
    39,510
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Yeah I think the answer is to just curtail this stuff, as much as possible, on many levels (personal, corporate, government).

    from your link:

    “Plastic waste is often contaminated with labels”

    I remember decades back, we were getting bread in a 5-pack, each loaf in a plastic bag. The plastic was label-free, then they started applying a nutritional label, to each loaf bag. I emailed, asking if that was hampering recycling, got the brush off I think: they said it didn’t matter.

    now we make our own bread. :)
     
  3. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 12, 2018
    7,562
    7,017
    1
    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    I bought a set of rechargeable ones last year... hoping they last as long as we bother doing seasonal decorations and beyond.
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  4. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

    Joined:
    Feb 7, 2006
    22,602
    11,871
    0
    Location:
    eastern Pennsylvania
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Many of those labels are simply impossible to remove. Soaking for hours might get them off, only to leave plenty of glue residue. Noticed the European jams and sodas I sometimes get have labels easier to remove.
     

    Attached Files:

  5. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Witness Leader

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    57,247
    39,510
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    I'll try pealing labels, and if it's not happening, just snip out that zone. Appreciate that's time consuming to the point of being nuts.
     
  6. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2010
    7,903
    6,703
    0
    Location:
    Redneck Riviera (Gulf South)
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    I keep a green recycling bin where I work to recycle non-plastics at the nearest military base when I pass through there.
    If I tried to recycle plastics then I'd need a larger vehicle.

    It's left over from when our county used to do recycle plastics.
    I would not mind a government programme to restart plastics recycling here in the US, accepting the inefficiency, but I'm a little suspicious of programmes that involve paying OUTCONUS companies to ship the stuff overseas.
     
  7. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Witness Leader

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    57,247
    39,510
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    MARA (Making America Responsible Again) :)
     
  8. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

    Joined:
    Feb 7, 2006
    22,602
    11,871
    0
    Location:
    eastern Pennsylvania
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Guess I'll start that. Won't work with glass though.
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  9. jdenenberg

    jdenenberg EE Professor

    Joined:
    Nov 21, 2005
    3,889
    1,889
    1
    Location:
    Trumbull, CT
    Vehicle:
    2020 Prius
    Model:
    LE AWD-e
    The glue softens by applying heat (a hot air gun).

    JeffD
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  10. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    25,173
    16,421
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    And here's a tip I stumbled on last night about breaking glue by freezing it.

    Never tried that myself though.
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  11. BiomedO1

    BiomedO1 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2021
    2,123
    1,082
    0
    Location:
    SacTown, Ca
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    LE
    Yep; and the flat lander tailgaters are the worst - They always end up sliding into you........ I'm always flashing my tail lights at them to back-off... I love the ones that goes around me, I usually see them again a few miles down in a snow drift. I just wave at them.:p:D:LOL::ROFLMAO::whistle: as I'm driving by. If it isn't a well traveled road, I'll stop or call road service for them. You don't want to break traction, unless you absolutely have to.
     
  12. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    25,173
    16,421
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    I was that guy once, back in my "won't happen to me!" days. It was my second-ever experience of pilot-involved oscillation on land.

    At least I didn't end up stuck in the snow drift. Managed to get a 180 to happen and slide into the drift backward with the right quarter panel. Pulled forward and turned around again and finished my trip—more carefully. Didn't even scratch the paint.
     
    BiomedO1 likes this.
  13. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

    Joined:
    Feb 7, 2006
    22,602
    11,871
    0
    Location:
    eastern Pennsylvania
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    The vent though is about adding more effort to a process we want easy so more people comply. There are glues and labels that can meet that requirement.
     
  14. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 10, 2004
    9,253
    3,601
    0
    Location:
    Kunming Yunnan China
    Vehicle:
    2001 Prius
    "It's left over from when our county used to do recycle plastics."

    At Least 85 Percent of U.S. Plastic Waste Went to Landfills in 2021 | Smithsonian.
    "At its peak in 2014, plastic recycling rates only reached 9.5 percent"
    "U.S. plastic waste exports, which are included in recycling rates, decreased from 1.84 million tons in 2017 to 0.61 million tons in 2021 as countries such as China began ceasing to accept America’s waste, per the report."
    "The paltry 5-6 percent U.S. plastic recycling rate in 2021"

    So, plastics recycling was not big and became small in US, it was never big. Where is it larger?

    What Country Recycles The Most Plastic | Plastic Expert
    Plastic recycling rates are increasing, but slowly, in many regions - Our World in Data

    Separating types, and from debris are essential to success. Some can be recast if separated. In future, many can be microbially reformed but only if separated. Lots of critters have effective enzymes and those are getting modified to perform better.

    Plastics are not 'forever' that is a vent without basis in truth. But as a mixed stream mixed with other debris, recycling can't get a start. Then on to landfills where microbes lack oxygen in addition to the mixture problem.

    One can make plastics pseudo-forever by mixing with whatever and burying them. But it requires that effort.
     
  15. BiomedO1

    BiomedO1 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2021
    2,123
    1,082
    0
    Location:
    SacTown, Ca
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    LE
    Did that too, when I was young and dumb..... You've got a bit more control in a FWD vs a RWD, unless you weigh down the rear end a bit.
     
  16. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

    Joined:
    Feb 7, 2006
    22,602
    11,871
    0
    Location:
    eastern Pennsylvania
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    There are some repurposing that doesn't require seperating. Can also use heat and pressure in various ways to reduce them down to basic hydrocarbon components.