Soft plastic recycling

[MontyVeda]

That's my thoughts as well

i expect the money they get is an absolute pittance. I might be a big figure nationally but store by store it'll equate to just above zilch.

At the supermarket i work in we generate 1-2 bales* of compressed cardboard each day. If plastic wrap ends up in the cardboard bale, they don't get paid for that bale (apparently). But the bosses don't seem to bother enforcing a 'no plastic in the cardboard bale' policy... so the loss cannot be significant.

*5 foot x 4 foot x 3 foot approx. Guesstimated weight, at least half a ton.

 

[Mike_P]

I worked out that the plastic bags labelled as recycle in store were the same as those with a recycling 4 mark so usually have a largeish bag, currently one that had frozen chips in it, accumulating the others for then being disposed of in a store plastic bag bin. Rest goes in the household waste.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Without wishing to be rude I had hoped for something more substantive. This is just a super computer scraping information from the web. No examples, citation etc. I don't trust or believe any AI generated information.

My local council, made up of individuals I helped elect, some I know personally, state our local recycling rate is 47%. The BC website also details exactly where the waste goes. I feel the figures Chat GPT are providing are unrealistically low and misleading. It's artificial but is it intelligent? No.

No problem. I could've done better. I've been scouring my feeds for the 14% reference but can't find it now. Just for personal satisfaction I'll carry on looking. For now, on here, I'll let it rest.

OTOH, I'm interested in the 47% you quote. 47% of what?

Statistics without parameters are difficuilt. IIRC my 14% was the percentage of plastics consumed in the UK that's actually recycled. Again, even that stat didn't have the correct parameters and I can't tell you if it was by weight or other units.

Your trusted friend quotes 47%. Ask them 47% of what? IOt will be good to klnow just because it sounds so positive.

I'm pessimistic on recycling - outright. I feel that the pure economics of the activity is against us. If we can recycle half of what's pushed to us via the retail channel, that's an excellent figure. But I sincerely doubt that. If we are recyling half of what's put into the plastics recycling stream, that may sound good, but overlook the (made up gfot illustration figure) that 97% that's not entering the recycling stream.

On paper, we can reach 99% recycling. But, neither your nor I will stomach the cost. The cost could well be hidden in council tax but I'm confident that if the cost is experessed in percentage of product cost, most people would look for alternatives.

My council recently started to no longer separate brown, green and clear glass. When I asked, I was told that it now no longer goes to a melting station but goes to a crusher who puts it into landfill. I can see the economics behind that - it is cheaper to make virgin glass than to recycle.

I'll work on my 14% if you could provide clarity on your 47%.
In all sincerity and all that.

 

[presta]

It is free to take it to your local recycling centre.

Not for businesses it isn't.

 

[oxoman]

Does your company work with one or more type of soft plastics?

There's a couple of types but they get chucked together.

 

[classic33]

Without wishing to be rude I had hoped for something more substantive. This is just a super computer scraping information from the web. No examples, citation etc. I don't trust or believe any AI generated information.

My local council, made up of individuals I helped elect, some I know personally, state our local recycling rate is 47%. The BC website also details exactly where the waste goes. I feel the figures Chat GPT are providing are unrealistically low and misleading. It's artificial but is it intelligent? No.

Local council always replies in weight of materials taken to the transfer stations(New name for the tip). The company running the site have said less than 21% of what we send for recycling is actually recycled.

Sorting it out, multiple bins containers/bags on the pavements every week and less than 21% actually recycled.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

There's a couple of types but they get chucked together.

OK then. The way i understand it, there are two broad types of plastic. That which can be melted and re-moulded and that which has to be chemically cracked into base components. The former is for example HDPE used in milk bottles and the latter stuff like polyester, mylar ABS, polyurethane and the like.

Does your company do both processes? Chemical cracking and wash-and melt?

 

[oxoman]

Nope we end user only. As I quote a responsible company and to comply with various legislation were expected to recycle everything possible. Recent changes to legislation means even food waste from approx 40 workers has to be collected and saved separately, everything else is separated by its relevant waste stream. For example we have stainless steel then painted and non painted steel creating 3 different waste streams and different credits for each. Cardboard waste is a PIA and currently we get free issue skips with nil return. Pallets are another PIA and currently looking at a chipper. Alot of our customers insist on brand new ones, although some have transferred to plastic ones. General waste goes through sortation process at local waste transfer station. That just leaves specialist stuff like WEEE / paint and oil which can be quite costly. Upshot is that it costs most companies to recycle and government has basically made all companies do it properly. Sadly you get loads of flytips because of the cost. Recent development around the midlands was criminals filling old scrap lorry trailers and dumping them in laybys.

 

[MontyVeda]

...

Sorting it out, multiple bins containers/bags on the pavements every week and less than 21% actually recycled.

i reckon the mere 21% is due to the recycling not being clean.

According to a bloke on R4 god knows how long ago, the slightest trace of butter in a tub would put it into landfill instead of going to be recycled. Probably for economic purposes, they can't or won't do any cleaning of the recycling they collect.

I've known people who've worked on the bins and according them, very few of the tubs and tins are cleaned by the householder.

 

[classic33]

i reckon the mere 21% is due to the recycling not being clean.

According to a bloke on R4 god knows how long ago, the slightest trace of butter in a tub would put it into landfill instead of going to be recycled. Probably for economic purposes, they can't or won't do any cleaning of the recycling they collect.

I've known people who've worked on the bins and according them, very few of the tubs and tins are cleaned by the householder.

It's all split into separate containers/skips at the stations, should you take it to one yourself, and then all dumped in one big pile in the building. Metal and glass aside.

 

[Drago]

I've known people who've worked on the bins and according them, very few of the tubs and tins are cleaned by the householder.

It'd be interesting to know if the water and detergent required would outweigh any environmental benefit from recycling.

I'd read (a long time ago, so don't ask me where) that the sort of traces of product one would typically find in an expended butter or margarine tub are no problem due to the heating and chemical cleaning processes used during recycling. It's only great gobs of the stuff on a significant number of items in the same batch where it becomes an issue.

 

[MontyVeda]

... It's only great gobs of the stuff on a significant number of items in the same batch where it becomes an issue.

Personally i think they should employ a few people to clean the stuff up at their end. Not a nice job but decent pay could reflect that. If we took recycling as seriously as we should and really tried to repurpose every last scrap of waste, it could be a major employer.

I also think it needn't be profitable. Recycling should be heavily subsidised because we can't keep on burying or burning it.

 

[numbnuts]

In my area Test Valley and living in housing association, the latter will not build a place for wheelies bins, the council at one time stopped picking our rubbish until we had wheelie bins, but some how the housing association came to an argeement (maybe a brown enverlope).
So everything goes in a black plactic bag once a week, but I do recycle glass, but you have to walk 800 yards + to do that.
This year April we were to have a food bin............still waiting, found out later April 2026, I give up.