# The vast majority of plastic that people put into recycling bins is headed to landfills **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 25, 2022, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-vast-majority-of-plastic-that-people-put-into-recycling-bins-is-headed-to-landfills/973728 "2022-10-25T01:24:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-vast-majority-of-plastic-that-people-put-into-recycling-bins-is-headed-to-landfills/973728/161 "2022-10-28T21:21:51Z")
> [@Tride](#): > > So you’re driving miles to avoid plastic packaging? No. I meant I would sometimes have to drive miles if I were going to do so, which is why I occasionally buy the stuff in the damn bubble, if it’s something I actually need. And I solve the coke bottle problem by mostly drinking tap water; though I understand why not everybody wants to use that solution. I like my tap water much better than I like anything I’ve ever tasted bottled; and I don’t much like sodas, or any of the other drinks that come in bottles. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-vast-majority-of-plastic-that-people-put-into-recycling-bins-is-headed-to-landfills/973728/162 "2022-10-28T21:27:14Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > And I solve the coke bottle problem by mostly drinking tap water I solve it by drinking from aluminum cans. I used to recycle them myself, but now a girl scout troop comes by once a month or so and picks them up. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-vast-majority-of-plastic-that-people-put-into-recycling-bins-is-headed-to-landfills/973728/163 "2022-10-28T21:51:48Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > They’re all over the place. And some of these things have arrived via online sales. The manufacturers probably aren’t doing two sets of packaging (or lack thereof). I think that type of packaging is referred to as “blister packs”, unless you’re talking about something different. I agree, it is often wasteful and annoying. It’s not difficult to open if you have a good pair of scissors or a sharp knife, and don’t care about destroying the packaging. Ignoring the waste, that leaves a bunch of sharp plastic edges. I don’t think I’ve ever cut myself on the knife opening blister packs, but definitely on the sharp corners leftover. > [@eschereal](#): > > I suspect that a lot of people just toss them [alkaline batteries] into the waste stream because either they are not aware of the issues or that there are recycling programs The [EPA says](https://www.epa.gov/recycle/used-household-batteries) “In most communities, alkaline and zinc carbon batteries can be safely put in your household trash”. They also say it is better to recycle them, if you can. That is a bit dodgy though, as I just looked and my trash company says “There is no curbside collection for this household hazardous waste”. I guess I need to stop putting them in the trash. At home we have a box for lithium and rechargeable batteries that we’ll take to the hard to recycle place every year or so. Sometimes alkalines make it in there. I guess I need to make sure alkalines _always_ make it in there. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-vast-majority-of-plastic-that-people-put-into-recycling-bins-is-headed-to-landfills/973728/164 "2022-10-28T22:03:51Z")
My town dump has an area for batteries. I leave them collecting in the garage until i happen to notice w Then when I’m doing a dump run, and get rid of them then. I have no idea whether they are recycled or treated as hazardous waste. I leave that up to the professionals. I am happy that light bulbs can go in the trash again, though. (LED bulbs don’t have the mercury issue that compact fluorescents have.) ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-vast-majority-of-plastic-that-people-put-into-recycling-bins-is-headed-to-landfills/973728/165 "2022-10-28T22:46:50Z")
I stopped having regular garbage pickup around 5 years ago due to a screw up in a new person taking over. I noticed I could get by with a plastic grocery bag of garbage a week with the rest (probably 90+ percent) going to recycling. I’m saving $10/month so they can recycle it or haul it to the dump. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2022, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-vast-majority-of-plastic-that-people-put-into-recycling-bins-is-headed-to-landfills/973728/166 "2022-11-05T18:47:50Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I’m quite certain that my town dump does not accept pizza boxes for recycling. Nor does mine, yet I couldn’t tell you how many blue bins I’ve seen with an ajar lid propped open by a pizza box. It comes under the heading of _why we can’t have nice things._ The list of recyclables was long when the program started but was severely cut back after about three years of losses to pretty much beverage containers and corrugated cardboard – not even chip board. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-vast-majority-of-plastic-that-people-put-into-recycling-bins-is-headed-to-landfills/973728/167 "2022-11-06T23:59:05Z")
Stouffers’ (by Nestle) frozen spinach souffle just switched from black tubs to white tubs (with a #1 embossment). I’ll trash them, too, rather than waste water cleaning them after use. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2022, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-vast-majority-of-plastic-that-people-put-into-recycling-bins-is-headed-to-landfills/973728/168 "2022-11-07T02:04:44Z")
I noticed that change in other frozen meals, that the dish is now white (or translucent) plastic while previously it was black. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2022, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-vast-majority-of-plastic-that-people-put-into-recycling-bins-is-headed-to-landfills/973728/169 "2022-11-07T04:10:17Z")
I’ve noticed Trader Joe’s frozen mac and cheese used to come in a black plastic tray; now it comes in a paper tray. The coating surely makes it not recyclable (not to mention it ends up covered in melted cheese), but it’s not plastic. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2022, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-vast-majority-of-plastic-that-people-put-into-recycling-bins-is-headed-to-landfills/973728/170 "2022-11-07T21:11:35Z")
Sorry for the double post, but while brushing my teeth this morning I was reminded that Colgate is now putting a prominent green label on the tube claiming that it’s recyclable. Even if the plastic it’s made of theoretically could be recycled somewhere, somehow, I really doubt my local recycling program would do anything with it other than send it to the landfill. And for that matter, how the heck am I supposed to clean out the inside of a toothpaste tube for recycling? It seems like pure greenwashing. . ---
**Author:** ![LivingGhost371](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b9e5f3/32.png) [@LivingGhost371](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LivingGhost371)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-vast-majority-of-plastic-that-people-put-into-recycling-bins-is-headed-to-landfills/973728/171 "2022-11-08T00:30:54Z")
We live in a modern society now. Plastic is too convenient to go back to the bad old days of having to haul empty pop bottles back to the grocery store as opposed to just throwing in the recycle bin, or heavy ketchup bottles that you can’t squeeze and shatter if you drop them. It seems we have a lot of land to put landfills in, so it seems the problem is more plastic like shopping bags as litter blowing around everywhere as opposed to plastic being sequestered forever in landfills. Having said that, I typically buy pop in aluminum cans because they’re a more convenient serving size. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-vast-majority-of-plastic-that-people-put-into-recycling-bins-is-headed-to-landfills/973728/172 "2022-11-08T13:45:33Z")
Heck, the state of Massachusetts is greenwashing textiles > **[Textile Recovery](https://www.mass.gov/guides/textile-recovery)** > > Learn what Massachusetts is doing and what you can do to keep clothing, footwear, bedding, curtains and other textiles out of landfills and incinerators. Help put them into the hands of new owners or recycle their fibers into other products. I know there’s a small market for clean recycled fibers, but I’m dubious there’s a market for all the worn out clothing the state produces. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-vast-majority-of-plastic-that-people-put-into-recycling-bins-is-headed-to-landfills/973728/173 "2022-11-08T13:52:35Z")
Puzzlegal, I was just reading a Slashdot thread about this: > **[Fast Fashion Waste Is Choking Developing Countries With Mountains of Trash -...](https://news.slashdot.org/story/22/11/07/1728244/fast-fashion-waste-is-choking-developing-countries-with-mountains-of-trash)** > > Less than 1% of used clothing gets recycled into new garments, overwhelming countries like Ghana with discards. From a report: It's a disaster decades in the making, as clothing has become cheaper, plentiful and ever more disposable. Each year the... ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-vast-majority-of-plastic-that-people-put-into-recycling-bins-is-headed-to-landfills/973728/174 "2022-11-08T14:06:32Z")
I read an article shortly before the pandemic about how worn out clothing used to be made into low-quality blankets used by relief organizations, but new fleece blankets are now so cheap (and lighter, so cheaper to ship than the recycled ones) that the bottom fell out of the market for recycled fibers. There are lots of things that shouldn’t go into landfills. Valuable things like aluminum. Toxic things like mercury. But … landfills are a pretty environmentally benign way to dispose of most worn out clothing. Obviously, we have a “source” issue with clothing. We are creating too much disposable clothing. But i doubt that making people throw them away in a special place is going to do anything to address that. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-vast-majority-of-plastic-that-people-put-into-recycling-bins-is-headed-to-landfills/973728/175 "2022-11-08T15:40:16Z")
Hasn’t this been a known problem for a number of years? I recall critics of recycling programs making claims that a lot of the plastics, glass, and paper we think are being recycled aren’t because it’s too expensive to sort and clean them. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-vast-majority-of-plastic-that-people-put-into-recycling-bins-is-headed-to-landfills/973728/176 "2022-11-08T17:22:07Z")
39K tonnes of [discarded clothing end up in the Atacama desert](https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2021/11/8/chiles-desert-dumping-ground-for-fast-fashion-leftovers) in Chile each year. [![](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/000_9PK6MQ.jpg?resize=1170%2C780) ](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/000_9PK6MQ.jpg?resize=1170%2C780) ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2022, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-vast-majority-of-plastic-that-people-put-into-recycling-bins-is-headed-to-landfills/973728/177 "2022-11-12T02:42:41Z")
Do you not have a thrift store that would sell Mason jars? People who do home canning would be happy to have them. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2022, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-vast-majority-of-plastic-that-people-put-into-recycling-bins-is-headed-to-landfills/973728/178 "2022-11-12T16:07:08Z")
Although I think that it’s the lids that were actually in short supply, and those are not reusable. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2022, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-vast-majority-of-plastic-that-people-put-into-recycling-bins-is-headed-to-landfills/973728/179 "2022-11-12T16:48:40Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Do you not have a thrift store that would sell Mason jars? People who do home canning would be happy to have them I think @WildaBeast posted earlier that their current collection isn’t actually Mason jars (or, I presume, of other brands of jars designed for repeated canning) but just general jars designed for one-time use but taking the same lids. Some people do use those for canning, but the risk of breakage in the canner is higher, and most people won’t pay for them. I only use them for dry-goods storage, for which anything food-safe that will keep the mice out will do. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2022, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-vast-majority-of-plastic-that-people-put-into-recycling-bins-is-headed-to-landfills/973728/180 "2022-11-12T22:35:01Z")
The lids have been in short supply for a couple years now, and there are some reusable lids available nowadays. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-vast-majority-of-plastic-that-people-put-into-recycling-bins-is-headed-to-landfills/973728.md?page=8)