9 ms·

From what I understand, shipping containers are sent out from Asia stuffed with goods, but there isn't nearly as much going in the other direction. The containe

From what I understand, shipping containers are sent out from Asia stuffed with goods, but there isn't nearly as much going in the other direction. The containers need to go back whether they're full or not, which is why it ends up being so cheap to ship plastic. And the CO2 caused doesn't really change as a result. To the rest of your point though, I agree. My wife is a hardline recycler. I generally am too, but I have a hard time seeing the benefit in recycling soft plastics.

snthd 7y ago
Cargo ships are designed to float at a certain level in the water - if they're too empty they carry ballast instead. This causes it's own problems - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballast_water_discharge_and_the_environment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballast_water_discharge_and_th...
- basilgohar 7y ago
  Thank you for the included link. This is an aspect of international shipping about which I was wholly ignorant. The particular section mentioning the "international exchange" occurring in Singapore was particularly concerning because even species from areas not visited by the transiting vessels can "hitch a ride", so to speak.
chewz 7y ago
It is like ships carrying opium to China had to take Chinese porcelain as balast on the way back. https://southchinaenvir.com/opium-dreams-speedy-clipper-ships-and-chinese-porcelain-for-ballast/ https://southchinaenvir.com/opium-dreams-speedy-clipper-ship...
shados 7y ago
Is there really much of a point in recycling anything but reasonably clean paper/cardboard (I know stuff like greasy pizza boxes won't get recycled), and clean metals (like aluminum cans). Like, aside for those, will much realistically get recycled? Aside for the insane amount of amazon boxes I toss in recycling, so very little of my trash fits the bill of things that will reasonably get recycled...
- LeifCarrotson 7y ago
  Glass is another (the other?) material which is worthwhile to recycle. Like plastic, glass never decomposes. Unlike plastic and unlike paper/cardboard, it can be endlessly remelted and remade into new products without a loss in quality. It's a huge savings in material and energy cost to use recycled glass in the manufacture of new glass. If you have a recycling bin labeled "glass", absolutely do throw (place) glass bottles into it. It will almost certainly be valued and reused. If you have a single-stream recycling output - just one bin labeled "Recycling", there's less of a case...processing and separating is more expensive and less successful, and a small fraction will actually get recycled.
  - greensoup 7y ago
    That it can be recycled without "waste" doesnt mean its worthwhile. Making glass costs a large amount of energy. As far I know, when plastic is recycled, it is better for the environment than using glass.
    - dv_dt 7y ago
      We're so wasteful in the US. I'd guess that when glass is reused to the point of needing recycling it's a different balance - e.g. when beer bottles in areas of Europe are cleaned and refilled.
      - uxp100 7y ago
        That was the practice not so long ago in the US too. But it is complex. Reusables were thicker and heavier than modern bottles, not just the super light high life bottle, but almost every bottle, I believe, and cans are so light in comparison.
        dv_dt 7y ago
        It's true, but where/how it survived in Europe seems like it's a regionally or even city localized bottle re-use cycle which might shift the balance of costs and re-use.

snthd 7y ago

Cargo ships are designed to float at a certain level in the water - if they're too empty they carry ballast instead. This causes it's own problems - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballast_water_discharge_and_the_environment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballast_water_discharge_and_th...

basilgohar 7y ago
Thank you for the included link. This is an aspect of international shipping about which I was wholly ignorant. The particular section mentioning the "international exchange" occurring in Singapore was particularly concerning because even species from areas not visited by the transiting vessels can "hitch a ride", so to speak.

chewz 7y ago

It is like ships carrying opium to China had to take Chinese porcelain as balast on the way back. https://southchinaenvir.com/opium-dreams-speedy-clipper-ships-and-chinese-porcelain-for-ballast/ https://southchinaenvir.com/opium-dreams-speedy-clipper-ship...

shados 7y ago

Is there really much of a point in recycling anything but reasonably clean paper/cardboard (I know stuff like greasy pizza boxes won't get recycled), and clean metals (like aluminum cans). Like, aside for those, will much realistically get recycled? Aside for the insane amount of amazon boxes I toss in recycling, so very little of my trash fits the bill of things that will reasonably get recycled...

LeifCarrotson 7y ago
Glass is another (the other?) material which is worthwhile to recycle. Like plastic, glass never decomposes. Unlike plastic and unlike paper/cardboard, it can be endlessly remelted and remade into new products without a loss in quality. It's a huge savings in material and energy cost to use recycled glass in the manufacture of new glass. If you have a recycling bin labeled "glass", absolutely do throw (place) glass bottles into it. It will almost certainly be valued and reused. If you have a single-stream recycling output - just one bin labeled "Recycling", there's less of a case...processing and separating is more expensive and less successful, and a small fraction will actually get recycled.
- greensoup 7y ago
  That it can be recycled without "waste" doesnt mean its worthwhile. Making glass costs a large amount of energy. As far I know, when plastic is recycled, it is better for the environment than using glass.
  - dv_dt 7y ago
    We're so wasteful in the US. I'd guess that when glass is reused to the point of needing recycling it's a different balance - e.g. when beer bottles in areas of Europe are cleaned and refilled.
    - uxp100 7y ago
      That was the practice not so long ago in the US too. But it is complex. Reusables were thicker and heavier than modern bottles, not just the super light high life bottle, but almost every bottle, I believe, and cans are so light in comparison.
      - dv_dt 7y ago
        It's true, but where/how it survived in Europe seems like it's a regionally or even city localized bottle re-use cycle which might shift the balance of costs and re-use.