Does recycling work anymore?

[@ozzyg82]

We need more reusable, refillable, package-less initiatives.

[@gboyspeed]

Yes circular economy is future

[@_graiderz2462]

But how though.. When i buy a drink, im using a 1 time use plastic right? Cause after i finish it, i wont want to walk around with it.

[@Nicholas-f5]

@@_graiderz2462 Soda is linked to cancer.

[@JeroenJA]

i only known for a year or so that 'recycling' in USA is having just one bin 'reclycables' next to your trash bin.. so if i understand correctly, you put paper, plastics, metals , all in the same bin? metals is pretty easy , big magnet at facility to sort them out, but for the rest of them.. sorting afterward when all mixed up , is so much more labor intensive and since it's being done by someone elso also more expensive then just taking a few seconds to sepperate between paper, plastics&metals, and other rarer recycables

[@furrtakuXD]

@@_graiderz2462: maybe a reusable container with a wide mouth lid for non carbonated drinks. use it at home to store food or give out leftovers from whatever im pretty sure 3L soda bottles would make for awesome containers

[@famousamos]

When I lived in Korea, we had to sort our trash by material type so that the city could recycle more efficiently. I.e. only rubber materials in a certain bin, metal materials in a certain bin, etc.

[@jordanoneill7052]

This is great, but westerners are far too lazy and unconsiderate of the rest of society to ever bother with this on a large scale.

[@appleslover]

@@jordanoneill7052 don't generalise, we do that in Sweden and Germany too

[@jordanoneill7052]

@@appleslover Okay I should be more clear, Anglos (brits and americans) are too lazy and inconsiderate.

[@saltedpopcorn2424]

We have this in Finland too.

[@arthurpietrogarcia1057]

here on brazil is the same thing

[@emperorshievpalpatine]

In Germany in some regions everybody actually separates their recyclable trash into different categories such as plastic, paper, glass, metal, aluminum. It has to be brought to a recycling facility which has different containers for each material. This pre-selection already makes recycling much easier. That being said, the recycling quota could still be much better as there is not enough demand for recycled plastics and it is therefore often burned in power plants for electricity generation.

[@derdummeasi]

Is it not everywhere?

[@emperorshievpalpatine]

Suzumebachi Not necessarily. In some German cities and regions there is a yellow trash can or garbage bag where plastics, aluminum, milk containers and other cans are collected together for collection by garbage trucks.

[@e.v.8949]

I've taken German for years and that's one of my favorite things about the culture. My Prof unfortunately said that a lot of millennial Germans (he's in the age bracket) don't sort as seriously as their previous generations have so in some areas have to hire people to sort the trash for them.

[@derdummeasi]

@@e.v.8949 nobody hires ppl to do the trash for them ^^ except if you have a housemaid ofc.

[@e.v.8949]

@@derdummeasi I'm going off what my professor said and what the foreign exchange students told me. I was told the hiring was done at trash/recycling facilities for once everything had been collected. If you disagree, by all means do so. But I'm going to trust my sources and that's a decision left up to me. Thank you, have a wonderful day. ☺️

[@alexandercolefield9523]

something you didn't mention is that glass and metal are much more energy efficient to recycle and have a lot more re-usability potential, if I am buying a bottle of something, I go out of my way to get the glass version of the product

[@nicolai2415]

i just binged 2 years of your content in about a week's time after finding your channel. the most underrated channel ive found, youre doin godly work here dude.

[@shashankrwt26]

The best channel I found this year, hands down!

[@andrewkilman3271]

this channel is the best man!

[@finn9000]

Definitely agree

[@thinkabout288]

me 2

[@azurepeace]

I can happily agree with you! He is amazing in so many ways, speech, sound, graphics, narration, but more importantly delivery of important information in a beautiful packaged video. I am doing something similar on my channel, documenting in an aesthetic way the Climate Justice movement. Check it out :D

[@gerardfrancispalma5925]

Same

[@OurChangingClimate]

What do you think about recycling? Is it doing any good or is it just a temporary solution for a larger problem with consumption? Correction: When I say Waste Management is a "private" company, I mean to say it's not run by the government. It's a publicly traded company.

[@ajoyforever210]

Nitrogen has been a major threat to the world... The report, released by the United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA) in Nairobi on March 4, 2019, highlights that “growing demand on the livestock, agriculture, transport, industry and energy sector has led to a sharp growth of the levels of reactive nitrogen - ammonia, nitrate, nitric oxide (NO), nitrous oxide (N2O) - in our ecosystems.”

[@ajoyforever210]

Nitrogen became so bad as Carbon...

[@fei414fei]

Thank you for the video. Why plastic only can recycle 7/8 times? Can we use it to build something? Like big art piece in the city that can reminds people about plastic waste, or mix recycle plastic in other materials (or compress) to build thing like box, shelf, decoration, table & chair, play structure, house or bridge....

[@cellaford9963]

Fei Huang Hi Fei, some materials like plastic and paper lose their quality each time they are reprocessed. That’s because the structure of these materials are like fibres and shorten each time they are reprocessed. At some point, the quality of the material is not at a standard that can hold the integrity of the product it is meant for. This is not the same for all materials, for example steel and aluminium. They never lose quality, however they recovery rate may not be 100%. So many problems.

[@weetcka]

AFAIK Europe, Americas, and Australia do very little plastic pollution. I mean, in terms of plastic harming environment. IMO the biggest environmental threat from plastic is ocean pollution. According to Kurzgesagt (kzbin.info/www/bejne/iISaeq2LZ7t9f7M) about 90% of ocean plastic originates from 10 rivers in Asia and Africa. So it seems to me that: 1. We should find a way to mitigate dumping plastic in the rivers in those regions and 2. Keep making landfills better elsewhere. Landfills are a very good solution as if built properly they are safe, take very little space. Often they are a better solution than recycling because recycling requires a lot of energy (therefore contributes to global warming through carbon footprint) and uses poisonous chemicals or emits harmful fumes. Having said that, it may be inevitable that we can't stop those 10 rivers from plastic by bans. Producing less plastic can be necessary. But plastic is so good that it's hard to replace it. I mean that alternatives will probably be more expensive and will have more carbon footprint.

[@pchenester]

i love this video. as a person who works in waste, it is frustrating to engage people in regards to this recycling process. Thank you for representing us and showing those who watch this the valuable knowledge of waste and recycling!

[@pseudonymousbeing987]

It seems defeatist and pessimistic to think that reducing the creation of plastics is not answer to the problem. Of course it's hard to get slow ineffective governments and massive companies to do anything, but it's the only answer that actually solves anything on a real, important scale.

[@karigrandii]

Pseudonymous Being WHY dont everyone just have a recycle bin for EVERYTHING. Paper, cardboard, glass, metal, plastic, food etc etc ? Its not that difficult, everything that CANT be recycled is then thrown as trash and only that.

[@limitlesslenn7612]

@@karigrandii because people would not recycle, some people literally throw their trash out of their car, (e.g. takeout trash, cigarette buds/packets)

[@movement2contact]

@@karigrandii yeah, but have you asked some "normal" people if they recycle or even give a fuck? ignorance and selfishness have always been the biggest issues...

[@_graiderz2462]

@@movement2contact I know a person who says that they dont bother to recycle or sort them out since they not getting any rewards from it

[@movement2contact]

@@_graiderz2462 i know some too, they are selfish and ignorant af for sure...

[@theproblemmustbeinyourpant5910]

Remember guys, this might not be the same for your country. Some places actually have proper recycling systems established.

[@laneykaneski1667]

I’m so glad that you’re looking into this and making HQ videos on it! kudos to you man

[@danielensor943]

Love this channel, I feel like I learn so much. I did wanna say there is a typo at 0:44 if you wanna take it down and fix it while it’s new.

[@xswtmiseryx07]

You can't take down youtube videos without deleting it. Vimeo lets you do it, but not youtube. You lose all your views.

[@4ndrewW]

and 3:52

[@polly4531]

5:11 as well instead of "systematic" he wrote "systemic"

[@polly4531]

@@jonasfan4life161921 yeah, just searched it. It seems like regardless of their totally different meanings, in this case, we can use both.

[@bbygrlpt2]

Didnt even notice so who cares! Ppl can still understand the word🤷🏻‍♀️

[@jenniferray8569]

In sweden we have something called "panta" its bascially recycling soda bottles and get money for it. They're pretty much in most food stores and you can get a decent amount of move for it, it also help so people dont throw bottles away as much.

[@importedriceco]

When I was little my school taught me people in the West take recycling more seriously, so when I grow up I'm very disillusioned to know eventually what they did is exporting those waste to China. The West rely on China to manufacturer goods then also throw their waste back to China, so they can stay entitled and blame China for pollution. Even with all these exported pollution, the US still has a higher carbon emission per capita than China. Now that I'm in the US, I see people here live in a very wasteful lifestyle unconsciously.

[@cpufreak101]

Can agree for excessive and wasteful, one example I like to bring up is my car. A sister model of it sells in Europe with a small 1.4L engine, while here stateside the base engine is a 2.2 (meaning thirstier and more emissions, with the extra power really going to waste if you're just doing 55mph all day). And for wasteful, I can definitely say I'm guilty of that, they recently rolled out a recycling program in our area, but we don't really use it, all our plastic goes in the trash without a second thought.

[@tomkelly8827]

Where there is a will there is a way. Obviously the will power in China is much stronger then it is in USA. Necessity is the mother of all inventions. There is more need in China. As a Canadian I can say I am eternally grateful to the hard work that Chinese people do in the world to make it a better place. My solar panels are made in China and I am very very grateful for Chinese leadership in the renewable energy field.

[@amysofia5783]

Not only that, after being in a climate negotiation stalement with the US for so long, China finally gave up and decided to take the lead in eco development. China is putting a ton of money into environmental technologies like fields of solar panels and carbon taxes. Meanwhile the US is to stupid to care about anyone but themselves, even so we're literally drowning in our own arrogance (look up rising sea levels on the east coast which is slowly growing out of control).

[@cpufreak101]

@@amysofia5783 there's even some islands off the coast of Virginia that are flooding during high tide, yet we have a government with a stance of "climate change is fake news." Just hope something will change soon

[@Starfloofle]

the frightening thing is that China, with its rather terrifying stances on life and government, is possibly the most probable nation to realistically survive an apocalypse mostly intact, due to being so self-sufficient and shut off from the rest of the world societally I don't like the idea of that sort of regime heading future humanity...

[@KaylaPhaneuf]

My city just changed all our recycling guidelines and it sounds more complicated of a system than it is simple, basically turning many residents off from recycling because there's so many stipulations now. Great video!

[@rachaelhart1670]

Love this channel SO MUCH. Australia is also going through a bit of a recycling crisis since China has refused our recycling waste, and many councils in my state have had to send pretty much all their recyclables to the landfill. When I walk around my local creeks in the inner city, I often see scary amounts of waste. It's frightening. I really hope your channel grows and helps to move us towards a more sustainable future. Much love

[@lucyhtml]

Really interesting stuff, I can tell this channel is gonna be big soon!

[@carmenchiferiuc1177]

I am from Romania and recently I have volunteered to a project that spreads awareness regarding recycling and how to recycle correctly,because it is so sad that most people don t know ANYTHING about this topic.

[@Dionyzos]

As an environmental engineer I'm really interested in what your profession is. This kind of content is exactly what I learned at university here in Germany.

[@neildegrassetyson2615]

Hey, i have a suggestion, i get that you are american so i get that you focus on the US but with vids like this i always wonder if this is the same for me (the netherlands aka europe) and i think people from other parts of the world wonder the same. I really would love to know how the recyclingprocess differs around the world.

[@CaptainProjects]

Nederlanders verenigt u!

[@whut9245]

I'd say most recycling isn't single stream except in some select parts of america, pretty much all of great Britain and some European countries. The recycling going to landfill rates remain about the same but more products are generally recyclable in Europe due to stricter laws (like every electronic and pretty much most hard plastics that to into boxes, toys and furniture.

[@leilanidru7506]

Neil deGrasse Tyson almost the entirety of Europe is an environmentalist heaven

[@gosiahasal182]

I was thinking the exact same! I'm from Poland and I feel like we just recently started meeting the EU norms on recycling.

[@spoonikle]

Single stream or not - there is an EXTREMELY LIMITED market for these materials. Many countries around the world have warehouses full of recyclable materials waiting to be sold on the market - and when the storage is full... it goes to landfill. Better separation techniques increase the usability and make it easier to sell to buyers, but it only mitigates the issue.

[@Catherine_Yong]

I started thinking about sustainable living two months ago, when I moved to a new house with a curbside recycling system (my old house did not do recycling). I first tried Hello Fresh deliveries to reduce food waste, but I was left with lots of plastic packaging without the recycling labels on them. Then I was introduced to Terracycle and Grove Collaborative, obsessively spent weeks researching the best plans I could make for my family that would substitute virgin plastics for recycled plastic, produce bags for mesh bags, plastic-filled grocery stores for bulk stores. I had my limits though - because I was unemployed, it was hard having to substitute all of my household plastics into reusable containers, or rather containers that my family members would think twice before throwing in the curbside bin, and not having to spend too much money. I was spending about $80 per month on Grove Collaborative supplies, reusable stuff from Amazon, etc. And I couldn't opt for Terracycle boxes because they costed too much for my budget. Furthermore, I was struggling trying to convince my father and mother to think consciously about how we "trash," "recycle," "compost," and "reuse and reduce." The alternatives I bought for them - mesh produce bags, cotton bags, insulated bags, reusable sandwich bags, glass soap dispensers, compostable sandwich bags - they were meant as a message, "it's easy to switch to less plastic... I'll make that transition easy for you." But the fact is, "trashing" things becomes both a habit and a comfort - my parents found it pleasing to throw things away to get them out of sight. My dad refused the reusable sandwich bags and glass water bottle I bought for him - he didn't want to "bring things back and forth from work." He wanted to throw things away. My mom would tell me that we have a curbside recycling program, so just "throw the recyclables in the bin." I would dig out the dirty plastics, aluminum, glass, cardboard, paper, etc from the garbage cans (yes it was nasty), I'd wash them with soap and water, let them dry, and set time aside on the weekends to sort all the recyclables and send them to places that actually accepted them, usually multiple locations (one place took #1, #2, and #5 plastics, aluminum, and glass, but not plastic bags of any grade, Subaru accepted my snack bags and wrappers because they're in partnership with Terracycle, my local post office accepted the styrofoam and other #6's, Whole Foods accepted my frozen compost, none of my #3's can be recycled, and I'm struggling to find a place to recycle my milk & juice cartons). The real struggle is taking responsibility of the recyclables we buy, and that really means committing to reducing plastic packaging or reducing the amount of recyclables that go to landfill, reusing materials that can be reused, especially for shopping, and sending recyclables to their proper places, and understanding that living plastic-free means that certain things you enjoy right now (like buying pastries from the bakery wrapped in plastic) have to be substituted for something else, or that by learning how to be self-sufficient (gardening and growing produce that you'd normally find in plastic packaging), you would be saving yourself the hassle of more plastic. Each week my family collects 4-5 bags of recyclables and 2 bags of compost, and it's a responsibility.

[@jackjackson3349]

My city is run by the green party and I was utterly shocked to hear how BAD their recycling systems were for such a massive city. Great video as always man. P.s. you spelt recycling as recylcing twice in the video. Keep up the good work

[@KatjaTheDumbHorse80]

We here in Germany have multiple recycling bins. They're ordered this way: The blue bin is for paper and cardboard, the yellow one is for plastics and the black one is for everything else. Also most of our bottles here have a thing called Pfand so you just have to give them away to these machines in stores and you get some money back from it (this is why you have to pay 25 cents extra if you buy a drink which has Pfand).

[@kungpowchou]

New to this channel and love the content you're putting out! I think everybody needs to remember that the mantra includes Reduce, Reuse, and THEN Recycle. To most effectively mitigate our environmental impact, we need to be cognizant of all three of these actions.

[@GarzaB]

Your videos should be a "must watch" in schools all over the world! Keep up with the great work.

[@adamdacroissant9479]

Here in Czech we put plastic in the plastic bin, paper in the paper bin, and glass in the glass bin (some places there are additional bins such as metal bins)

[@rileys.4169]

hey just wanted to say, I’ve watched a few of your videos and man. they’re so clean looking. The way you talk about your topics, it’s all so clean. Tidy. You do this really, really well. I can’t believe you don’t get, like, millions of views.

[@diogogoncalves200]

Can you make a video comparing the recycling procedure used in Europe, i think (and also hope) that here it works a little bit differently.

[@KarolaTea]

Afaik it's similar. Maybe things get seperated at people's homes a bit more (depending on the region), but from then on the process will be pretty much the same.

[@sarahloomis2034]

Tips - Limit your recycling to bottles, cans, plastics, and clean paper or cardboard. The rest of it has no chance and might contaminate the good. - Compost - Set aside materials that would be good for crafts (especially if you have kids or anybody crafty in the house) - Anyone else have any?

[@KASA852]

5:03 I'm from Hong Kong And appreciate that you included that in your insightful and well-explained video.

[@edd9581]

Zero waste is the way to go 🤔

[@vladimiripod]

yes, please. go zero waste, so i could go in "x2 waste and consumption" mode. pls pls pls!

[@Liuhuayue]

Next to impossible for most people.

[@V45194]

Zero waste is a great personal philosophy and a commendable goal. However, it requires significant commitment of time and resources that many people simply cannot make - or will not voluntarily make. That's why we need concerted government efforts at all levels - from the local to the international - to address the root problems with regulation, investment, education and incentives.

[@amysofia5783]

I think zero waste is less of a cold Turkey change your entire life in one go thing than a movement towards having no environmental impact- which is something we should all strive for. I consider myself zero waste even though I still buy package foods, have trash, and recycle, because every chance I get to adopt a new habit that allows me to be better towards the environment with just a small change in action is a step towards being ultimately zero waste, if I ever get there. Like my boyfriend and I only recently got a compost bin and slowly we are figuring out how to make easier products from home instead of buying them at the store, like tortillas and pasta (which are a lot easier than you think).

[@amysofia5783]

Also, a lot of people who claim to be "zero waste" often dont consider their recycling as waste, just what goes into the trash bin.

[@CopperPudding]

Do listen to 99% Invisible's podcast titled "National Sword". It's an update on the recycling situation in the USA and why China stopped buying its recyclables.

[@meridiansplendour]

The recycling in Slovenia is probably one of the best out there and the whole country is amazingly clean. They sort waste so thoroughly that they can even spot an odd piece of paper in a bag full of plastic and each home has a card that opens the bins so if you make a mistake and don't sort your trash right, you get a very high penalty. Also the way they educated the public about it was very well thought through. When they initiated this system about 10 years ago, they sent a very detailed brochure to every home and they even have a number you can call if you're not sure where to put a specific kind of waste.

[@ecerso]

I love the content you're creating but also you present them in such a good way! eventhough your videos are full of new info, I never evet get bored or overwhelmed while watching (that's super rare for me!)

[@KewlStoryBroski]

As a chicagoland native, it feels amazing to know there's likeminded people from home!!!! Your content is phenomenal

[@JoshRafG]

KZbin: Putting trash to recycling bin doesn't mean it gets recycled Me in Indonesia: You guys have recycling bin?! I have to go to a recycling factory to recycle my trash. Zero waste guy here

[@Starfloofle]

frankly you probably get better results that way if only because it means the trashmen can't decide to ignore what goes where on the journey there, since that's your job

[@JoshRafG]

@@Starfloofle The majority in Indonesia don't recycle their waste. Even if there are recycling bin, I am sure the trash inside will go to the landfill since people just don't care what they are throwing in there (everything is contaminated). I am happen to be the minority and go to the recycling factory instead of throwing my sorted trash to the recycling bin

[@Starfloofle]

@@JoshRafG ...yeah, unsurprising. Good on you though.

[@aLena14x]

I commend this channel for everything you're doing. You've quickly become my favourite informative channel. All the very best to you, man!

[@littlest-kim]

i'm from chicago too & this video is so eye-opening. we've been told to recycle for majority of the 2000s & with little to know knowledge of the recycling process. we've been patting ourselves on the back for tossing our recyclable plastics into the blue bin, meanwhile that same bottle is being thrown into the landfill! while i do see the convenience & usefulness of plastic bottles (especially when situations like flint are going on), it has gotten totally out of control & is one of the most glaring examples of the environmental crisis we're experiencing.

[@Troph2]

I have worked in the recycling industry for almost 10 years and this is what I will tell you. Recycling is not a charity recycling is a business, maybe one-day UNICEF will get into recycling but until then this is how it works.

[@AetherDreamSeeker]

I love my reusable and refillable products and have found that they actually improve my quality of life. We need more places that support bulk shopping and educate on the matter.

[@amysofia5783]

Not to mention, a lot of those bidders, who buy recycling, end up shopping it off and dumping it as waste in underdeveloped countries who can't fight back. A compost bin is a step in the right direction. My boyfriend and I have also taken steps to purchase items to replace single use products in order to reduce our waste, like using cloth towels instead of paper, using wax wraps instead of ceran wrap, and washing and reusing plastic to go containers and food jars. Spaghetti jars are especially awesome keepsakes that you can use for storing soup, lemonade, and ice coffee, to name a few. At aldi they even have measurements on the side so you could use them in cooking or as those dry recipe gift jars for cookies and hot chocolate.

[@tomkelly8827]

Landfills represent a lack of ingenuity. Recycling is great, reducing is better. Incineration is a really really good option. Much more practical then making landfills and burning coal. Just burn the waste and recycle the metals in the ash piles. Make good use of the heat to heat your city with underground pipes. Sell electricity during peak demand times. Recycling is preferable to incineration for sure but incineration is far better then landfilling.

[@Starfloofle]

until the released emissions from burning dubious things that weren't really meant to be burned fill the air with terrible chemicals that are even harder to contain than solids, anyway...

[@maxval54]

The visuals in these videos are great, but also the message. Very important stuff.

[@mudra5923]

Thank you so much for your videos and creating this channel! Your videos have opened my eyes to so many issues that I didn’t even know existed and are making me more conscious of what I buy to move away from the consumer mindset that’s naturally built into most of us! It’s evident that you put a lot of work into making the great quality videos that you do so I’d like to sincerely thank you!😊🙌🏼

[@comrade7921]

Been watching some of your videos since your Ecosia video popped in my feed and I have to say, your channel is perfect in what it does. You've won a well earned subscriber

[@calihiker7980]

I honestly prefer how they do it in the TN where my family lives. The town doesn’t pick up for recycling, although they do have recycling stations located around the county. So basically once every 2 weeks or so you take your recyclables there and sort them into the correct dumpsters. Keeps contamination very low being that each dumpster is marked and everyone who uses them seems to know what to do.

[@lycapaner7740]

Much love to this channel. Thanks for the knowledgeable videos. 💕

[@princessconsuelabananahamm8689]

A little suggestion for you, you could add English subtitles for your foreign followers like me :) love your work!

[@DeepSeaLugia]

Or to allow community contributions for subs people like me will do it lol

[@icommentshit7486]

There is

[@neutronstar6739]

Those auto English subtitles are accurate enough for his type of accent.

[@amarelopiscante]

I love the desing of your videos

[@KarolaTea]

Here in Germany people are supposed to seperate at home (general trash, packaging (plastics & tin cans), paper, glass (by colour), plastic bottles & drink cans), but if I look into our bins... it's a mess. And even if people did sort things properly, the 'packaging' contains pretty much all packaging there is. That includes drink boxes (cardboard fused with plastic & tin foil) and any kind of plastic, sometimes fused together. Afaik recycling plants mainly struggle with the fused together stuff. The bottles & drink cans probably work the best, cause people get a deposit back if they bring it back to the shop, all the bottles are PET, and since money is involved the staff/machine checks it's actually just empty bottles. (Still a shame, we used to have wayyyy more bottes that get reused up to 50 times I think)

[@kazimir8086]

Stopped using plastic bags ...realized everything I buy is packed in plastic

[@Volksgeist]

Great video!

[@SunflowerSpotlight]

We don’t even have recycling set up in my area. I try to reuse plastic bottles a few times, take paper wrappers off, leave lids off (less chance of molding) and I even take bundles to the place in my old hometown when I go, but my new city just doesn’t... think it’s worth the various resources. It’s something I was shocked to find out; I’m from a backwater, and to realize a bigger city had NOTHING was a big surprise to me.

[@romugaboo]

I live in Rio, Brazil. Not even regular trash is collected properly, these recycling processes will take a while to get here. Becoming zero waste is really difficult in developing countries, at least you have an accessible recycling center.

[@trevorandersonelwin]

I am so glad I found your channel, your takes are so refreshing.

[@jordangurney3448]

I work in a recycling centre in Canada and plastic bags is the number one thing that can't go in the curbside bins along with glass they have to go separately...but people never learn and do it anyways

[@spaghetz]

Your videos are really great! Great content and aesthetics, presentation of ideas get through without overflooding information! Hands down really great channel

[@petsagoof]

I love the fact that in 1:53 he is talking about Chicago but the truck says "Φροντίζουμε για μια Αθήνα καθαρή'' (Athens GR.)

[@bbygrlpt2]

I live in NYC and everytime I recycle deep down I know its not makin a difference. My building’s management dont care about it and they probably lying to us. I opted to take matters into my own hands and try as much as I can to be conscious with what I buy.

[@irisxxxxxx]

A lot of the recycling is also just fake. I am from Belgium, and in the train-stations here they have 4 different recycling bins. Really beautiful, everyone uses them correctly. But then when they get emptied by the workers that are responsible for it, they just throw all of it in the same bag 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️. It's so depressing to see, people really thinking they do good by recycling but it's just a big joke. A teacher of mine used to work for the harbour of Antwerp (one of the biggest in Europe) and they also 'recycle' they have about 30 different bags for recycling. She was responsible for measuring all the waste in each category and write it down, so that if the recycling-inspection came, they score really good. But the contents of those 30 different recycling containers all go in the same truck every Tuesday when the trash gets picked up. She said that after 10 years of working there she had at least convinced them to really let a separated garbage truck come for paper and cardboard. Recycling doesn't work nearly enough, most of it is just a very sad joke.

[@Starfloofle]

how wretched, what a waste of everyone's hard work and effort no wonder people are hard to win over on the idea

[@irisxxxxxx]

@@Starfloofle Yeah I know, it's really heartbreaking 😢

[@sihyuanwu5492]

In Taiwan, each citizen is expected to sort out their own recyclables meticulously and then put it in the respective bin, meaning that instead of just one recycling bin, they have about 10 different recycling bins, each for their specific type of material waste.The amazing thing is, most of the taiwanese people I've met actually follow this system habitually. I'm American, so when I first went back to Taiwan to visit family, I was completely astounded by this. Being the lazy American I am, I initially thought it was way too troublesome and tried to just throw everything in the trash, only to be ferociously scolded by my grandma. Norway has similar systems as well that rely on the conscience and selflessness of the people in order to work, I believe we Americans have a lot to learn from other countries.

[@maristar852]

We're currently waiting on a new trash can for metal and glass. That will be our 5 bin* that each household here in my region will have. We currently have 1 bin for paper, 1 bin for bio/food waste/plants, 1 bin for "rest søppel" just trash bin, 1 bag* for plastic waste (that we'll hang onto the rest søppel bin). And now the glass and metal. And one of the big recycling stations near me have to relocate since they are too small, becouse there's so many people coming to them to recycle, and it's not long ago we just did that with another closer recycling station. So at least here in norway I feel we do a little good with recycling

[@scubadiva666]

Here in NYC, most people don't know how to recycle anyway, and as many people below say, just dump their recycling in the bin with a bag. I give up.

[@vegardbrekke2240]

Check out Norway and Sweden's recycling.

[@BugVall]

i think here in Norway the recycling system is pretty good(havent done research). But we get encouraged by the goverment to sort waste.

[@erlendstaavi1151]

Our waste management is goverment run, and dont expect to make a profit, only manage the waste in the best possible way

[@ViniciusFornieles]

Congratulations mate! So many great videos, keep on the good work and cheers from Brazil!!

[@youraveragerat1280]

The system he is talking about in the beginning is a Mixed-Waste system where all the material gets sorted at a Dirty MRF where trash is separated from recyclables. It's not the best but it works so your landlord and waste company are not lying.

[@wonderwoman1199]

I had the same question. Thanks for clarifying.

[@julezduvall5855]

Wow I love this and I also live in Chicago and had no idea that’s how our recycling system worked! Thank you for putting this information out there!!

[@thepeopleplaceandnaturepod8344]

It's inspiring to see people like you using their platform to raise awareness and encourage positive change. 🍀

[@gerlirukis1585]

But for example, where I live (Estonia), we have bottle deposit system, don't you have that (or smth similar)in America? When you buy one, you will pay some extra money which you'll get back after you return the bottle. All bottles are returned, sorted and recycled. Plastic is turned into granules which can be reused (in our own country), Glass is also sorted, melted and reused (also in our country) and aluminium cans are processed and reused(in another country).

[@cpufreak101]

For bottle deposit, there's a handful of states with it, but it's not the majority.

[@iramm]

In Finland every apartment complex does at least some sort of recycling. In my building we sort paper, cardboard, glass, metal, plastic, bio waste, batteries and burnable waste. All our glass bottles and aluminium drink cans can be returned to the stores and they give you money for them so nobody throws those away. Independent households usually have only one trash can for all waste but still bring paper waste to a community trash collection bin. Even though recycling plastic is sort of a new thing for civilians in finland, big companies have done it for a while and most of our plastic waste gets processed in finland or in our neighbouring countries in the baltic or sweden. Statistically only 26% of of our plastic gets recycled and the rest is burned for energy but we are looking to make the recycled percentage bigger. At least it doesn't end up in the landfills.

[@tomast1323]

Waste management is also a public company.

[@OurChangingClimate]

My bad, I meant "private" as in not run by the government. Thanks for pointing that out! I'll throw a correction in my pinned comment.

[@tomast1323]

Our Changing Climate No worries, I get it, different definitions in different contexts, very common problem. Since I have you here, let me say given the intellectual and visual quality of you channel it should be only a matter of time and the subs should go through the roof.. Good job!

[@davidperry4013]

I drink tap water. It would be nice if we have more grocery stores that are BYOP or bring your own packaging such as bringing a burlap sack for honey crisp apples for example.

[@kenlee1416]

Excellent advice at the end!!

[@alessiocabras3941]

Thank you. I love this channel, your videos are so gooood! Big support from Italy!

[@azurepeace]

I can happily agree with you! He is amazing in so many ways, speech, sound, graphics, narration, but more importantly delivery of important information in a beautiful packaged video. I am doing something similar on my channel, documenting in an aesthetic way the Climate Justice movement. Check it out :D

[@susan7948]

In my country( Denmark ) all big supermarket chains have a (roughly translated) ''reverse vending machine'' basically you put all of you plastic bottles and metal cans into the thing, and you get money back. They of course sort it all and send it to the Netherlands where it gets recycled. I get about 60kr(9 USD) whenever i use it

[@cpufreak101]

Here where I live (New York) we have something similar. A lot of grocery stores have them, and there's even some places that just do bottle returns, and it's always 5 cents a bottle. Do note though it's not in every state though, states with it are a minority.

[@jizelles654]

I’m grateful i found this channel man. Thanks for the content 🍀

[@kenhunt5153]

As of 2020 WM does not ship single stream plastic overseas. They only source domestic users for the plastic. With robotics and scanners newer MRFs can get the residual waste down into the single digits. Ultimately, buying less single use plastic is the goal. Current prices for OCC, natural HDPE and metals can move. Mixed paper that is now getting some return can be pulped here and sent to China avoiding the National Sword restrictions. Follow your recycling rules and advocate for 2x yearly bin inspections to make sure your community is recycling correctly.

[@Domozauras]

IM IN LOVE WITH THIS CHANNEL OMG

[@erikblue7842]

In Denmark it's way different. We sort at home. We got Glass, Plastic, Metal, paper and then mixed.

[@nextgen5113]

Dude you're so awesome, this is one of the best channel. I and my team are going to start a org to try solve waste problem in our country. You're doing a good job with your channel, carry on.👍☺️

[@azurepeace]

I can happily agree with you! He is amazing in so many ways, speech, sound, graphics, narration, but more importantly delivery of important information in a beautiful packaged video. I am doing something similar on my channel, documenting in an aesthetic way the Climate Justice movement. Check it out :D

[@LilTiggsz]

in Canada, Ontario it’s large corporations that are the biggest offenders. For example: the amount of nightclubs that are using plastic cups instead of glass is ridiculous. Packaging vegetables and fruits in plastic containers is nonsense; and don’t even get me started on the waste that comes with online shopping. Recycling used to be a lot more complex but in turn was a lot more effective. Every plastic product was labeled with a number, our only job would be to group those numbers together and recycle them accordingly. The Ontario government was the one who pushed for a “less confusing system” leaving us with this unsustainable single-stream recycling program. Moving to this system probably saved a couple bucks in the moment but is clearly costing us in the long run. However a bill has been proposed to ban one time use plastics in Ontario; forcing companies to utilize alternative materials for things like utensils and packaging. This my help if Ontario actually enforces these new by-laws with hefty fines and more intrusive measures. For example Giving the health and safety inspectors the authority to hand out fines. If it continues, out the company so we can boycott them. There’s way too much leniency when it comes to recycling in Canada; especially now that everything including our garbage trucks are privatized.

[@maholtv2136]

Thanks for this incredible work and very important knowledge . you are doing very good work .

[@peterstrouhal6241]

Calgary in Canada is not considered to be an environmentally friendly place, yet we have a seperate bin for garbage, recycling and compost. And they so check recycling and compost. But I agree, there is more to be done here and improve apon.

[@lil_weasel219]

in my country plastic bottles get returned to the shop you bought them from, you get money for it, abd the bottles get recycled. They dont go in with other kinds of plastic that is in the trash bin

[@clairdecat7630]

Wow! This is an amazing video. I look forward to seeing more!

[@Leftistattheparty]

Can you make a video on landfills and burning trash? Which one is worse? How long do certain bits of trash take to biodegrade in a landfill?

[@soulassassin0g]

I noticed that my neighbors trash bins are always full but their blue bin, which is for recycables, is almost always nearly empty, sometimes they don't even put it out which means that it's completely empty. Meanwhile my trash bin is almost always nearly empty but my blue bin is always full, and I only put things in there that can't bring me profit such as paper and cardboard. For aluminum cans and plastic bottles, I keep in separate bin so that I can sell them later at the recycling plant for some money.

[@rigolux1847]

Possible solution:not using plastic bottles or bags, instead using refillable bottles(I suggest stainless steel or glass ones), and using reusable bags

[@GustavoGarcia-in4fi]

Thank you for making this video. You are the world great help.

[@AlfJrgenDovland]

Love your videos. This is what makes sense to spend my life to rethink to make a better world.

[@nabu4679]

This needs to get viral🔥

[@somethingnothing4430]

From what I've heard (and seen) there is a company called Terracycle. They say that they are capable of recycling everything (if not a lot of things, I don't remember anymore). It might be interesting to look them up. But in the end creating less waste is always more effective.

[@tooterooterville]

I've always been skeptical of recycling because of the physics of the process. You have to take some type of finished product and then convert it back to its basic building blocks and that's the starting point then to manufacture it into a finished product again. Something like the reason we don't convert raw sewage into our drinking water even though we could technically do so. Also, land fill technology tells us that plastic, glass and metal aren't the most problematic - it's paper. Therefore, let's tackle the issue incrementally. Start with paper to get the general public in the habit of recycling where it's most effective without taking on the whole process at once.

[@PracticalBibleStudies]

1. Reduce 2. Reuse 3. Recycle

[@2ba712]

I feel like so many problems - so many problems - are addressed if we are more conscious and intentional about our consumption. Small steps people, small steps, but you can cut down your footprint to a fraction of what it is now by making little changes in your life, and then being a happy example to those around you.

[@curatedconnection6334]

Meanwhile, here in PH, container vans of hazardous wastes from Canada and South Korea arrived in our ports the past years. We already have a huge waste problem and developed countries thought we could be their trash bins.

[@eurithmicsrocks]

i love these videos simply for the AE work its amazing

[@dariusdareme]

Really well produced video.