NZ the land of fake recycling?

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Bung

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#2138013 2-Dec-2018 08:44

AFAIK even if recycling does end up in the landfill it is collected so the potential quantity is known. What is needed are more local processors of the waste material. Whether the plastic fence post manufacturer will succeed long term will probably depend on price. The posts are due to go on sale early next year. In the absence of any price details the advantage seem to be longer life compared to timber (50yrs vs 30) but the farmers will vote with their wallets.

landcruiserguy

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#2140163 5-Dec-2018 21:28

We did recycle much but just sent it will to China. They decided to stop allowing the import of foreign garbage so now it goes nowhere. I think the easy to recycle materials like aluminium cans, cardboard and glass does get recycled in nz.

amiga500

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#2140290 6-Dec-2018 05:17

https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/109100190/kiwis-recycling-is-piling-up-in-malaysia-and-being-burnt-in-secret-environmentalists-say

A story on the Stuff website today...

Batman

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#2140382 6-Dec-2018 09:57

What about this

https://i.stuff.co.nz/environment/109100190/kiwis-recycling-is-piling-up-in-malaysia-and-being-burnt-in-secret-environmentalists-say

Bluntj

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#2140465 6-Dec-2018 11:52

It is my belief that we would in NZ be better off stopping recycling so everything goes to landfill and is buried correctly.

Sending our plastics etc offshore to be washed up in our oceans is seriously flawed.

I think I will be putting all my refuse into the landfill bin from now on.

Quite disgusting that Government isnt leading on this issue especially now we have Greens as part of the Government. Surely they detest what our recyclers are doing? Wouldnt it all be better covered in landfill until a solution can be found?

Batman

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#2140471 6-Dec-2018 11:57

Are we sending the plastics around the country and around the world using solar and pedal vehicles?

MadEngineer

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#2140516 6-Dec-2018 13:23

The comments in that article suggest those products are not from NZ after all. Never trust a stuff story, they never seem to provide the standard who/how/when/why/where that everyone is taught early in school, let alone do any proper fact checking.

You're not on Atlantis anymore, Duncan Idaho.

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irongarment

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#2140522 6-Dec-2018 13:34

I'm under no illusion that my stuff is recycled properly. I fully expect it to go straight to landfill, which is better than sending it to China or Malaysia because my plastic bags don't then get dumped into rivers and out into the sea.

New Zealand in its entirety has the population of a small city. If we all dropped dead tonight our effect on the world's pollution levels would be precisely zero.

Our plastic shopping bags and straws have no environmental impact as we collect it properly and store it. We do not (as a rule) toss our trash into streams because we have systems to handle trash that work. There are probably a handful of countries that don't have these systems and therefore dump trash everywhere (domestic, commercial and industrial). It's not entirely their fault. They are probably poor, and kept that way, but how can that be fixed?

Batman

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#2140525 6-Dec-2018 13:37

MadEngineer: The comments in that article suggest those products are not from NZ after all. Never trust a stuff story, they never seem to provide the standard who/how/when/why/where that everyone is taught early in school, let alone do any proper fact checking.

The (caption of) photo in the article however suggests the products were sold in NZ ... never trust the comments?

MadEngineer

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#2140531 6-Dec-2018 13:47

Batman:
MadEngineer: The comments in that article suggest those products are not from NZ after all. Never trust a stuff story, they never seem to provide the standard who/how/when/why/where that everyone is taught early in school, let alone do any proper fact checking.

The (caption of) photo in the article however suggests the products were sold in NZ ... never trust the comments?

have a look at the barcodes on your grocery items and you’ll notice a common theme. Then take another look at the article’s photos.

You're not on Atlantis anymore, Duncan Idaho.

Behodar

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#2140540 6-Dec-2018 13:58

The Coke can isn't in English. The lemonade box is apparently from the US (it mentions "flavor") and isn't even plastic!

Hammerer

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#2140546 6-Dec-2018 14:08

MadEngineer:
Batman:

MadEngineer: The comments in that article suggest those products are not from NZ after all. Never trust a stuff story, they never seem to provide the standard who/how/when/why/where that everyone is taught early in school, let alone do any proper fact checking.

The (caption of) photo in the article however suggests the products were sold in NZ ... never trust the comments?

have a look at the barcodes on your grocery items and you’ll notice a common theme. Then take another look at the article’s photos.

It would be more helpful to explain clearly rather than leaving us to come up with different meanings.

Which common theme are you talking about? Is it the same as or different from the barcodes in the photo?

black lines on white background
on retail products
my grocery products are in NZ versus the photographed packaging is in Malaysia
...?

Batman

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#2140549 6-Dec-2018 14:11

So either they've got the wrong pics or Greenpeace is lying ... both are equally probable!

Hammerer

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#2140568 6-Dec-2018 14:21

The overseas packaging suggests the possibility that it doesn't come from NZ but it doesn't prove anything either way. I would be slow to accuse anyone of dishonesty. Even if Greenpeace's record also suggests the probability of more lies that isn't sufficient evidence to prove that it has happened this time.

I can go to the dairies and grocers near my home and buy imported products with packaging like that in the photos. A lot of products like the soft drinks in the photos are parallel imported.

Lastman

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#2140616 6-Dec-2018 14:52

As I understand it, type 1 and 2 plastics (milk/softdrink containers) are recycled here. The rest is being shipped to Malaysia and the like or dumped. One of the tenants of the waste initiative is to minimise the amounts of these types of plastics in favour of 1 and 2.

Here is a company recycling some of the plastic bags:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/108474737/new-zealands-old-plastic-bags-will-be-made-in-to-fence-posts-for-farms

Of course, minimisation of the waste stream is the best option.

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