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Comment by jonplackett | Hacker News Reader

So basically, recycling is a lie. Most stuff can’t really be recycled except at great cost. Who perpetuated this lie to begin with I wonder, was it just to get us to keep buying stuff?

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Yes, other than aluminum, it has been debunked for some time:

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6klo0p

It’s so religious that most people won’t even consider a debate about it. Anyone speaking out against it is a heretic.

Some of us do it out of principle. I have no disillusions about its impact. For all the plastic I recycle, I know there’s an invisible supply chain of waste that makes my actions almost meaningless. Yet, I do it anyway, because it’s a good reminder of the values that I don’t want to forget.

What principle?

Try buying biodegradable products rather than wasting your time with recycling

The key point from the article was to try buying less, not buying different. It's also the only thing that makes from a "climate change" point of view.

Speaking out against what, specifically? You can complain about the problems with the current system without anyone looking at you weirdly. Only if you conclude "therefore we should stop trying to recycle these things" will anyone complain. The system could be fixed, if we put effort into it.

I would argue that recycling itself is not a lie, it just so happen that at some point people discovered it was cheaper to ship their problem to someone else.

I would argue that the 'recycling' teachings serves as a way to teach kids & parents to care about their environment. Composting is also a type of 'recycling' that allows you to make better use of a portion of the garbage you make.

The article itself pointed out that 1) it didn't used to be a lie and 2) it's only a lie because we throw so much trash into the recycling stream.

So if anything is a lie, it's single stream recycling.

People who saw a way to skim off the top by setting up recycling companies.

It was inncidents like the 1987 Mobro 4000 trash barge that created the headline that we were running out of landfill space and everyone needed to start recycling https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobro_4000

There was even a simpsons episode where homer manages the local dump that becomes filled to capacity

I would like to know if there is any progress to be made in just "stabilizing" plastics in large quantities.

Is it a worthwhile research goal to find a cheap method of transforming post-consumer plastics into an inert, large-scale form (the size of a tractor trailer) that is long-term stable and doesn't offgas?

Is reusability really necessary?

It’s probably better to figure out how to convert it to concrete stabilization materials.

interesting. e.g. a replacement for iron rebar?

Probably more like aggregate, not rebar. I believe fiberglass is already added when the situation calls for it. Plastic strands could act in a similar fashion and would be practically free.

I wonder about this too. It would be a form of carbon capture, even though it is probably a tiny percentage.

Not exactly what you're asking for, but similar goals: https://preciousplastic.com/

really interesting. i had no idea such a movement existed. they make it look simple and easy.

this guy is already producing a 9KG "upcycled plastic brick" which apparently can be used in construction

https://bazar.preciousplastic.com/en/listings/687199-upcycle...

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