AirTags key to discovery of Houston's plastic recycling deception
Brandy Deason used AirTags to expose Houston's recycling program, revealing plastic waste sent to an unauthorized facility. The city stockpiled 250 tons of plastic, raising concerns about recycling effectiveness and scrutiny from authorities.
Read original article
A Houston resident, Brandy Deason, used AirTags to investigate the city's plastic recycling program, which claimed to accept all types of plastic. Doubting the program's efficacy, she placed AirTags in bags of her plastic waste to track their destination. The tracking revealed that nearly all the bags ended up at Wright Waste Management, a facility that is not authorized to store plastic waste and has failed multiple fire inspections. Deason's findings prompted her to contact Houston's Director of Solid Waste Management, Mark Wilfalk, who acknowledged the facility's poor conditions and confirmed that the city had stockpiled around 250 tons of plastic since late 2022 without recycling any of it. Wilfalk stated that the city is awaiting the opening of a sorting facility, Cyclix, which claims to convert plastic waste into recyclable pellets. However, most of these pellets are expected to be melted down for fuel rather than reused, raising concerns about the effectiveness of the recycling program. The situation has drawn scrutiny, with California's Attorney General investigating Cyclix's claims about plastic recycling.
- A Houston resident used AirTags to uncover recycling fraud in the city's program.
- The investigation revealed that plastic waste was sent to an unauthorized facility.
- The city has stockpiled 250 tons of plastic waste without recycling it.
- A sorting facility is expected to open, but most plastic may be turned into fuel instead of being recycled.
- The situation has attracted attention from state authorities regarding the legitimacy of recycling claims.
Related
The Delusion of Advanced Plastic Recycling
The plastics industry promotes pyrolysis as a solution for plastic recycling, but investigations reveal drawbacks. Pyrolysis yields little reusable plastic, relies on fossil fuels, and uses deceptive marketing practices.
Curb 'stupid plastics' and stop industry BS: urgent actions to prevent a crisis
Plastic pollution threatens human health with microplastics detected in tissues. Costs exceed $675 billion in the US. Urgent global actions like capping production, regulating chemicals, and promoting reuse are crucial.
Evaluating strategies to increase PET bottle recycling in the United States
MIT researchers report U.S. PET bottle recycling rates at 24% and propose a nationwide deposit program to increase it to 82%. They emphasize demand creation and holistic recycling policies for success.
Most 'compostable' bioplastics are anything but, says new report
A report from Beyond Plastics reveals that most bioplastics labeled as compostable cannot decompose in home systems, raising concerns about toxic residues and the need for clearer standards and consumer education.
Estuaries and coastlines capture most plastic before it gets out to sea
Estuaries capture 60% to 90% of plastic waste, suggesting local clean-up can reduce marine pollution. An international treaty to cut plastic emissions is expected by late 2024, requiring ongoing cleanup efforts.
- Many commenters express skepticism about the effectiveness of plastic recycling, viewing it as a flawed system.
- There are concerns about the environmental impact of plastic waste and the logistics of recycling processes.
- Some users share similar instances of recycling failures in other regions, indicating a broader issue.
- Discussion includes the potential for future solutions and the need for reduced plastic consumption.
- Several comments highlight the political and social dimensions of recycling, questioning its role in consumer behavior.
17 commentsOkay
Recycling plastic more than once is basically impossible. It's also not a free process, as grinding up plastic creates micro particles that pollute our air and rivers.
The question is whether there's any material that's cheap, malleable and mass produced enough to replace plastic.
Since most of the trash is burned in Switzerland to produce electricity and municipal heat it doesn't make sense to recycle other plastics.
IMO a bigger focus should be on the additives in plastics and types of plastic that don't burn clean or can't be captured easily instead of banning straws etc.
Other issues such a one time use vapes which end up in the trash containing non removable batteries should be banned before laws like requiring plastic bottle caps being permanently attached.
Houston is in Harris county…
More effective solutions are focussed on avoiding plastics as much as we can. One of the biggest areas to win is looking at the packaging of products.
What's wrong with plastic recycling: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HNWn885qWtU&pp=ygUgcGxhc3RpYyB...
The plastic recycling numbers in the EU: https://circulareconomy.europa.eu/platform/sites/default/fil...
There was an article similar here on HN where plastics meant to be recycled end up in very odd places. It’s basically sold for pennies and transported to different places where it’s finally just stockpiled as garbage. Strange business of how it changes hands.
Plastic bags vs reusable bags. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/grocery-bag-environmental...
"Most will be melted and turned into fuel that is burned, adding to carbon emissions."
That should say "reducing carbon emissions", not adding. Burning plastic for energy is a net reduction in CO2 emission.
Yes, all this "plastics bad chemicals bad" eco-virtue-signaling is stupid. This idiotic paranoia is more destructive to society than anything else. Keeping the masses scared is how they will continue to maintain control.
Related
The Delusion of Advanced Plastic Recycling
The plastics industry promotes pyrolysis as a solution for plastic recycling, but investigations reveal drawbacks. Pyrolysis yields little reusable plastic, relies on fossil fuels, and uses deceptive marketing practices.
Curb 'stupid plastics' and stop industry BS: urgent actions to prevent a crisis
Plastic pollution threatens human health with microplastics detected in tissues. Costs exceed $675 billion in the US. Urgent global actions like capping production, regulating chemicals, and promoting reuse are crucial.
Evaluating strategies to increase PET bottle recycling in the United States
MIT researchers report U.S. PET bottle recycling rates at 24% and propose a nationwide deposit program to increase it to 82%. They emphasize demand creation and holistic recycling policies for success.
Most 'compostable' bioplastics are anything but, says new report
A report from Beyond Plastics reveals that most bioplastics labeled as compostable cannot decompose in home systems, raising concerns about toxic residues and the need for clearer standards and consumer education.
Estuaries and coastlines capture most plastic before it gets out to sea
Estuaries capture 60% to 90% of plastic waste, suggesting local clean-up can reduce marine pollution. An international treaty to cut plastic emissions is expected by late 2024, requiring ongoing cleanup efforts.