1862
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] starman2112@sh.itjust.works 15 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Recycling (edit: besides metal) does literally nothing, like it's actually 0% helpful, as long as we're producing more plastic than ever before every single year. We're closing in on 500 million tonnes of plastic produced—not total, produced—annually. Every single person can put every single piece of plastic in the recycling bin, and we'll still have more plastic than existed 50 years ago. There are many things that individual action can accomplish, and this is not one of them. We need legislation for this.

[-] tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip 15 points 2 weeks ago

IIRC plastic recycling is basically bullshit (except maybe PET bottles?) but aluminum is actually effective. Makes you wonder why we don't use more aluminum packaging in general.

[-] starman2112@sh.itjust.works 9 points 2 weeks ago

Yeah, I'm going to update my comment. Metal recycling is genuinely good, and recycling makes an enormous impact on the production of new metal

[-] JcbAzPx@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago

Any recycling you can't get money back for is either a scam or just not being done. Most city recycling programs just ship the trash to some other country, for instance.

[-] BananaIsABerry@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 weeks ago

Even the aluminum containers are coated with plastic (soda cans, for example)

[-] unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 2 weeks ago

Plastic isnt the only material that you can recycle...

[-] starman2112@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 weeks ago

True, that honor belongs solely to metal. Glass is mostly recyclable, though most types of it that aren't bottles will just be thrown in the trash. Paper is in theory recyclable, but putting that in recycle bins is basically just as effective as putting plastic in. Neither of those actually helps as long as we're producing more and more paper and more and more glass every year. The only thing that helps is reducing production.

[-] Tlaloc_Temporal@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 weeks ago

Paper can be composted or burnt, and will decompose relatively quickly if dumped. I can't see any post-use situation where paper is anywhere nearly as bad as plastic.

[-] starman2112@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

What does that have to do with the production of new paper? Deforestation remains an ever increasing problem. It's not as bad as plastic, but recycling it is just as futile

[-] Tlaloc_Temporal@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 weeks ago

Recycling paper (or not recycling) is far better than plastic is every respect. It's not so much futility in this case so much as inefficiency.

Paper also is rarely, if ever, fully recycled, usually being downcycled into rougher and rougher materials like cardboard and egg cartons. No matter how well it gets recycled, it's not going to displace primary production.

If you want to talk about futility here, the problem is way bigger than recycling. It's consumerism, unrestrained capitalism, and ROI of power now vs power later. No amount of recycling of any quality will fix the world alonge but it is one step of many.

this post was submitted on 20 Jul 2025
1862 points (100.0% liked)

Lemmy Shitpost

33653 readers
3187 users here now

Welcome to Lemmy Shitpost. Here you can shitpost to your hearts content.

Anything and everything goes. Memes, Jokes, Vents and Banter. Though we still have to comply with lemmy.world instance rules. So behave!


Rules:

1. Be Respectful


Refrain from using harmful language pertaining to a protected characteristic: e.g. race, gender, sexuality, disability or religion.

Refrain from being argumentative when responding or commenting to posts/replies. Personal attacks are not welcome here.

...


2. No Illegal Content


Content that violates the law. Any post/comment found to be in breach of common law will be removed and given to the authorities if required.

That means:

-No promoting violence/threats against any individuals

-No CSA content or Revenge Porn

-No sharing private/personal information (Doxxing)

...


3. No Spam


Posting the same post, no matter the intent is against the rules.

-If you have posted content, please refrain from re-posting said content within this community.

-Do not spam posts with intent to harass, annoy, bully, advertise, scam or harm this community.

-No posting Scams/Advertisements/Phishing Links/IP Grabbers

-No Bots, Bots will be banned from the community.

...


4. No Porn/ExplicitContent


-Do not post explicit content. Lemmy.World is not the instance for NSFW content.

-Do not post Gore or Shock Content.

...


5. No Enciting Harassment,Brigading, Doxxing or Witch Hunts


-Do not Brigade other Communities

-No calls to action against other communities/users within Lemmy or outside of Lemmy.

-No Witch Hunts against users/communities.

-No content that harasses members within or outside of the community.

...


6. NSFW should be behind NSFW tags.


-Content that is NSFW should be behind NSFW tags.

-Content that might be distressing should be kept behind NSFW tags.

...

If you see content that is a breach of the rules, please flag and report the comment and a moderator will take action where they can.


Also check out:

Partnered Communities:

1.Memes

2.Lemmy Review

3.Mildly Infuriating

4.Lemmy Be Wholesome

5.No Stupid Questions

6.You Should Know

7.Comedy Heaven

8.Credible Defense

9.Ten Forward

10.LinuxMemes (Linux themed memes)


Reach out to

All communities included on the sidebar are to be made in compliance with the instance rules. Striker

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS