If recycling uses up loads of energy and is counterproductive, why don't the big shops reuse the containers?

Question

They could, for example, sterilise plastic bottles (e.g. milk containers) and reuse them. Why doesn't the Govt. insist on this? When I was growing up we used to hand our fizzy drinks bottles back to the shop (and get a small refund) and the bottles were reused. I don't understand why this isn't happening?

Answer 1

Just like the public demands recycling "to help the enviroment and minimize waste:, the same public doesn't want to drink out of used plastic bottles. We used to have recycle glass bottles ("Mom, always buy milk in glass bottles!"), but diaries that had done that lost out to competition that sell the in cartons or plastic bottles. There is no question that recycling bottles cost more money, otherwise manufacturers would still be recycling them, like they used to. Plastics have economically pushed this route out. We can either have the government step in and require recycling bottles, or we can find better ways of re-utilizing the waste stream. I vote for the latter. It is not true that recycling bottles will result in substantial energy or material savings, as it does cost money to collect and sterilize bottles, which is why manufacturers went to paper and plastic.

How about if we had something like the internet, but a fluidic version of it, so that you can order up your drinks, like milk or orange juice or coffee, and it'll just flash to your kitchen by some kind of a tiny tube attached to your place? Hey?

Answer 2

i think the whole concept is mad. people want so much packaging on their food or need it to prevent health and safety problems. People want fruit and veg wrapped up a million times so it doesnt get a bruise or a bug sit on it...or!!!! it might touch another bit of food.

We need to reduce packaging that goes on it in the first place and then the recyclign will be more worthwhile!!!

Answer 3

recycling by goverments is like a big scrap yared,the difference is they dont pay the people to bring scrap bottles,plastic,metal drink cans,alluminium drink cans and every thing else,they recycle coloured glass as you have to put them in the appropiate bins,more money is made on the raw materials,

Answer 4

theres a big problem with poisining with that but yes in the long run recycling cost more then just making a new product since there are many more steps involved

Answer 5

I don't understand it either and why do we have to have so much packaging in the first place...