Most of us are aware that we “should” recycle (even though the economics of recycling are, for most items, mixed at best), but as Kevin Milligan points out, there are no universal standards for what can and can’t be recycled among municipalities:
The headline and tone of this story on recycling "Canadians are doing it wrong" shows everything that is wrong with recycling. Confusing, complex, and conflicting rules relying on voluntary compliance leads to a large waste. It's not citizens' fault. https://t.co/VcvSpJIypR
— Kevin Milligan (@kevinmilligan) April 6, 2018
Check out this part. It's Plastic, labelled as recyclable, but somehow the citizen is supposed to know it's not recyclable. At least in Toronto. Cross a municipal border and there will be different rules. pic.twitter.com/QpVUoH8uWk
— Kevin Milligan (@kevinmilligan) April 6, 2018
Ok you finish your takeout coffee. Quick: which bin does soiled waxed paper go in? I have no clue. Depends where you are. UBC seems to have different rules than Vancouver. And that's different from home/condo rules. And their enforcement strategy is to try to shame us.
— Kevin Milligan (@kevinmilligan) April 6, 2018
To me, the solution seems to be centralized standards; clear and uniform for manufacturers and consumers. I've always found the German Grüne Punkt system easy to follow. https://t.co/MzLCRmC6fr pic.twitter.com/1lXlNpmawC
— Kevin Milligan (@kevinmilligan) April 6, 2018
Anyway. I don't do research in this area so I'm just a citizen with no expertise. As a citizen though I would like a system designed like the designers have ever met an actual human. Also, get off my lawn.
— Kevin Milligan (@kevinmilligan) April 6, 2018
This is what generates my rantiness. In Vancouver there are pro-recycling bus ads that explicitly try to shame people for not recycling everything; depict you literally as a monster for not complying. I reject this shaming! https://t.co/VDDdrjNKBC
— Kevin Milligan (@kevinmilligan) April 6, 2018
