Comment on Corporations are saving the planet!
Jimmycakes@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I think the cap thing is more about littering because in those countries people litter only the cap for some reason?
Not sure if this applied universally, but I remember for years and years the common knowledge was that plastic caps are unrecyclable for some reason, and there used to be separate bins to toss them at recycling centers. That’s no longer the case, so keeping the cap connected to the bottle is one way to demonstrate that they should be recycled together.
(By “recycled” I mean most likely shipped to Southeast Asia to then most likely just find their way into the ocean)
I think the kind of plastic used in bottles is one of very few that actually are profitable to recycle. PET, I think. This is actually something recycling companies want. Most other plastic is just burned or shipped somewhere.
PET is so hilariously easy to recycle that you can literally just clean out bottles and put them in a little jig that cuts it into strips and feeds it into a 3d printer
IIRC the reason most caps used to be unrecyclable (many still are) is that they had a liner in them made of a different material. Because such caps were composite materials (using different types of plastic for the liner and the cap), they would make an impure product if recycled. The same problem applies if the cap and bottle are different types of plastic, which used to be more common.
(By “recycled” I mean most likely shipped to Southeast Asia to then most likely just find their way into the ocean)
You would be wrong; PET bottles are mostly actually recycled, because it recycles very well (also, why would places go to the effort of setting up a deposit/return scheme for something they aren’t actually recycling? Just throw it in the blue bag with all the other plastic that doesn’t actually get recycled)
This is why I stopped recycling and put everything in the trash.
For one I was so sad when I found out what a scam it is that such a small amount of stuff is actually recycled and especially plastic never was actually planned to be recycled.
Two, I’d rather most of the plastic end up in our own landfill than to be shipped overseas into someone else’s or just end up in the ocean. We deserve to poison our own land thanks to our politicians not holding corporations to account.
I remember they used to collect bottle caps to donate to charities that used it to make stuff for dogs and stuff
The bottle has a deposit on it, the cap doesn’t
Not true for most EU countries.
True for all Euro places that I have been to that had deposits
not Italy
Not in Belgium, they’ve been dragging their feet for years on this by now.
I’m not sure then. Maybe because people litter the cap right when they open it, but end up carrying the partially full drink with them?
true here in germany
Honytawk@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
When cleaning up beaches and the like, those caps are the litter they found the most.
People lost them or didn’t bother to pick them up because they are so small. Unlike with the bottles themselves.
Since they switched to the new caps, the amount of caps found has decreased significantly.
So yes, they work. It is all based on data.
kameecoding@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Ofc it is, but stupid fucks have to complain about mundane shit
LwL@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I’m only complaining about all the people that apparently regularly lost bottle caps. I don’t think that has happened to me ever… Not the end of the world and if it reduces litter I’ll deal with it but I curse these people every time one of the new caps is being annoying to screw back on.
arrow74@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
Minority opinion, but I like those style caps. I like that I dont have to hold the cap. It’s much easier on the go.
dutchkimble@lemy.lol 3 weeks ago
Or when it hits your nose.
socsa@piefed.social 3 weeks ago
OP is a 2 day old account. If you haven't figured it out yet, there is a massive anti-progress astroturfing campaign all over the Internet, and it's little shit like this which quietly switches people into cynical brain rot. Memes are bumper sticker politics, and you should always be skeptical of them when they are pushing any narrative.
philthi@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Also, the caps separated from the bottle fall through dinky cracks easier, like street drain covers) and get lost easier (or drop out of the bottom of the bin easier, etc.), being attached to the large bottle makes that more difficult to occur.