If you're interested to hear more about recycling and the complications behind the process, check out my most recent podcast here >>> itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-rise-of-the-ecopreneur-by-ubuntoo/id1437202076?mt=2
Hey shelbizleee, my name is Emma and im a freshman in high school. I was wondering if you have heard of Ecobricks? Its where you take plastic bottles and stuff them with non-recyclable materials. You stuff it in so much that it turns that bottle of plastic into a brick. Which is excatly what they are used for. You ship a bunch of these brick-like bottles to the company and they send them to 3rd world countries who are too poor to buy bricks and they use these plastic bottle bricks to make houses and other stuff. My class has started doing it and we are planning on making something with it! Was just wondering if you've heard of it. I love your channel, keep up the good work!
I think it is both for now...the company selling said item should make the packaging recyclable. BUT until the company(companies) make all of their packaging recyclable, the recycling companies should come up with a way to recycle items that aren't yet already recyclable. OMG, LOL it is so complicated. I understand why you are undecided. I mean, the recycling companies will probably have to spend money, use resources, etc to come up with a way to recycle the items, so maybe the companies with non recyclable packaging etc should work together with recycling companies to help them find ways to recycle said items until the business can make said things recyclable. Wheew...that was exhausting..
Tammy Duke I am 😊 I’m trying to get better at going zero waste and saw this video and was just wondering if she was also doing the number one best thing for the environment, which is cutting out all animal products from our lives
In Switzerland we do not put our trash into landfill, we burn it. Everything that you can not recycle is burned. There is no air polution, because there are really got filters etc. And the produced heat is used to make energy or to heat houses. All countries should deal with the trash responsibly and not putting it in landfill.
Here in the Netherlands we do that too. But it's not a great solution because all the raw mateirals used go tot waste. Plus that there are a lot of chemicals in a lot of products that will make the ashes very toxic.
Sweden here, and im pretty sure we recycle most of these things x) we even improt trash since we can handle more than we produce ^^ it really shouldn't be such an issue with landfills, I understand why some countries would use them, but us feels way too "advanced"
I think its both. If the material exists, there must be a way to recycle it, and until that is true companies should choose alternative packaging AND invest in research.
Social Responsibility is the responsibility of the company producing the goods. Unfortunately the concept of social responsibility is not widely adopted here in the US yet. My Pizza boxes are used as a weed barrier in our gardens. Funny story, before I became aware of "recycling" I thought I was doing so much better than my neighbors because I had 3 recycle bins, lol. Now my goals have drastically changed to Zero waste versus Recycling Queen. We use our homestead to enable these goals. I honestly will not have to by any veggies, meat or cleaning products in 2019! At least that is my goal.
That 1870's Homestead you absolutely rock. You inspire me! We just moved into our Kentucky homestead in 2018 and hope to do the same by 2020! I’m even gonna make mead and wine. What’s your top resource for info on homesteading?
I always appreciate hearing about recycling. I'm an environmental science major and managing waste streams is super interesting to me; it's so much more nuanced than most people realize. I'd like to point out that plastic bags are actually recyclable! Not in curbside, single-stream systems, but many grocery stores in the USA have drop-off bins for film plastics. This includes everything from plastic grocery bags to bubble wrap to bread bags. I'm not advocating that people go hog wild using these products by any means, but there is a responsible way to dispose of them!
Man, this is so disheartening because this information is not out there for everyone to know. I've been throwing most of my plastic in the recycling bin of my apartment for years thinking I was doing good. To know that they take things and then throw them in the landfill is so sad. And for those of us who live in apartments or recycling is done for your office we can't control what others put in the bins that can contaminate the recyclables. Of course now I am living more low waste but sometimes plastic cannot be avoided and usually it's the type that can't be easily recycled.
Once i get my own house i plan on sorting my recyclables and bringing them to recycling centres with bins so that it has a better chance of being recycled.
Wait... You don't have those containers that are meant for glass specificly? Here in the Netherlands people bring glass to these containers, there is a bin for clear glass and coloured glass (which is sometimes also seperating into green and other colours). From there the glass gets recycled. We don't throw it in the same bin as other things that have to be recycled.
My curbside is single stream, meaning we throw all recyclable materials into one bin and it gets sorted at the facility. That's why broken glass is not accepted.
In Spain we’ve got one for glass, another one for plastic, another one for paper and cardboard, another one for cooking oil and another one for clothes... but we don’t have a compost one, don’t know why.
Where I live we can not recycle glass. I save mine and either reuse or I box them and when I drive to the city I take tge boxes of glass. There is can sort them by color.
Definitely! They're a little iffy to me because every-time I try to find one near me there isn't one and my only option is to purchase a box myself, and they're quite expensive. Either way, I linked them as a resource in the description (:
@@Shelbizleee I agree they are super expensive. I save all the money I get for CRV on recycling to put towards buying a box some day. In the mean time I take advantage of as many free programs as I can and also looking for more alternatives to buying those types of packaging.
@@deLollypopGIRL09 Geen idee of het een naam heeft, bij mij in de buurt kunnen ze worden ingeleverd bij de kringloopwinkel en bij de bibliotheek. Soms kan het bij supermarkten en ik heb het ook een keer op een camping gezien. Voor zover ik weet kun je niet echt op internet vinden waar in de buurt je die dingen kan inleveren ofzo...
I wish they had ways to sort broken glass because a lot of the time, glass breaks when you put them in a recycling bin especially when they throw them into the trucks
In my city, all the recycling is collected in bags directly from the housholds except for glass. For glass we have se parate collection points with bins. This way broken glass is not a problem, I suppose.
Plastic bottle caps are recyclable! They are different plastic, yes. However, that was never the reason to not recycle them. They are so small that they get jammed in the machines that separate and break down your recyclables. What most facilities are recommending now is that you screw the plastic cap back onto the bottle and recycle the entire thing that that way. Then if you have loose caps, those should be repurposed or thrown in the trash bin. Of course, it is always best to call the facility in your area to make sure. Also, I feel like responsible packaging should be the responsibility of its creator AND the company using that product...equally.
Love your channel, and this video was particularly helpful! I always struggle to know what is/isn't recyclable in my area. I was wondering if you could do a video on low-waste pet ownership? I have two cats and when I clean their litterbox twice a week I use plastic bags. I've thought about using compostable bags, but since cat poop can't be composted (because of risk of pathogens), that doesn't seem like a workable option. I'm sure a lot of people with cats, dogs, and other pets have similar questions.
Hi, Shelbi! Love your videos. But I’ve got a few answers for this particular video. I have no idea on how recycling works in USA so I can talk only about Russian recycling program: 1) bottle cup is made of plastic 4 and actually CAN be recycled. In Russia (where I live in) we also collect them and send tons of them to recycling. 2) we do recycle plastic bags bc they’re made of plastic 5, if you want to recycle you should collect a pile and press it. 3) broken glass actually IS RECYCLABLE but in Russia you should bring it to people who sort trash and give it them personally so they won’t cut themself. Mb it works similar in USA, I don’t know, ask you local sorting company if they can take your broken glass personally. Moreover I’ve been to Germany and they made a really great job in recycling glass. You sort it while getting rid of it in 3 separate bins (white, green, brown glass) so people don’t have to double sort it and even the broken glass can be recycled 4) toothpaste tubes are recycled in a few European countries (still have no idea about USA). But you can connect with your local Colgate company and ask if they participate in this program. If your locals don’t you can send your tubes to another state or country where this program is available. That’s it, thank you very much for your videos and for reading my comment till the end! Sorry for my English, it’s not my native language. Wish you luck, inspiration and sending you all my love from still snowy Russia!💕
The producer. Everything used to be glass because companies would pick up and recycle/reuse. Once they started realize they can pawn the responsibility on the consumer, they stopped doing the effort
I think manufacturers should either use existing recyclable packaging, or they should work with/fund recyclers to develop new processes. Or we should be able to drop off the packaging at the retailer so they recycle them properly.
The producer should be responsible for the packaging they make. If the laws were more strict forbidding producers to package their products in toxic materials. So goverments are to blame for this as well. The consumer is the last person in the chain of responsibility, to make sure they recycle the pakaging responsibley, but also the consumer is responsible for decreasing their consumption of products packaged in toxic materials. Also some of the sthings you mentioned are responsible in some municipalities. As far as I know plastic bags, pizza boxes, and styrofoam are recyclable here in Toronto, Canada. This doesnt mean we should not avoid using the plastic bags and styrofoam. They just suck all around, for so many reasons.
If you do end up with plastic grocery bags, many grocery stores like Sprouts have bins where you can deposit your plastic bags. I’m not sure how they reuse or recycle them, maybe turning them into fences, but that is an option.
Wow! Very informative as always. But if your followers live in the UK please find out what your local council collects. In Bedford Borough where I live we have ‘Orange Bins’ in which we can put TetraPaks, plastic carrier bags, aluminium foil, aerosol cans etc, etc......... We are very lucky here. We have to take glass bottles to ‘Bottle Banks’ which are usually at supermarkets and in public facility car parks and in those broken bottles are fine! We also have a Recycling Centre (I’m lucky, it’s a 5 minute drive from my house and on my way into town so I put stuff in the boot of my car and drop it off when I’m passing) where we can recycle wood, metal, garden waste (we also have Green Bins for garden waste which are collected every two weeks at the kerbside), small electrical items, fridges, ovens, batteries, paint, oil, clothing, lightbulbs and books. There are many other things as well 👍 It’s eye opening for me to see how not everyone has this available to them, also infuriating that not everyone bothers to sort their waste into the correct bins at home 😡😡I understand not everyone can get to the recycling centre but those who can and simply don’t bother are unforgivable. Keep on posting, the world needs all the good you are doing! 👍
It's mad that on the opposite side of London to you (Sutton) we have a different system. We now have: a bin for general waste, a bin for paper waste, a bin for glass/ plastic/ tins, and a bin for food waste. Then even being away for university down south there's a different system I've had to learn, but living with flatmates who are not so environmentally aware I often think there's no point me even trying to split the various materials... It's a losing battle between the ignorance of the people we live with, and councils that run a different system to the one next door!
Ruth 1996 I know, it’s crazy isn’t it! In Central Bedfordshire (a 10 minute drive away in the same county) they have a different system which also collects food waste. I appreciate that complete systems where everything can be collected and recycled are a bit of a dream as they would be so expensive and councils are badly underfunded. The more people that use the system correctly the better as more would be recycled and it may bring the cost down. Keep trying with your flat mates, if you keep leading by example they will hopefully follow. Good luck 🤞
Trex is a company that makes deck and outdoor kitchen materials out of 90 something percent recycled materials. They use wood chips and sawdust that can’t be reused and also plastic films like plastic shopping bags and the wrap that your paper towels is packaged in and melts them down to make their composite decking. Super cool concept. I’m not sure how we can send them our own plastic films and what not, but I checked out their website and they keep some millions of lbs of plastic out of landfills every year. Just thought I’d share, so we can support other companies that do things like this.
Thank you so much for this video! So helpful and informative. I’ve been starting an urban homestead with my partner for the last seven months and you have given me so many ideas for reuse. I’ve been binge watching your channel for days and I love it! I wake up excited to watch more 😂. You’re very down to earth and approachable. I love it all. My point is, girl, thank you so much.
Cups are plastic type 5, LUSH stores are happy to take them, just collect them and bring it to them. They make new pots from it for their skincare and even shopping trolleys.
Water bottle caps are great for seed starters. Then when the seedling get big enough you can add them to your next size container or garden. Ive glued them to a tray, and reused over and over!
6:42 some stores like Walmart do have special programs and bins where you return plastic grocery bags. However, if you want to use reusable bags, a good habit to get into is to have a couple in your car (if you have a car) so you’ll never be without one. That’s what my grandparents have done for years and I haven’t seen them use a plastic grocery bag in... idek so long lol
In the Netherlands all the glass is broken before it's recyled. The things that it's collected in are also made that the glass usually breaks because that way more glass fits in. I'm suprised that recycling in a different country works so differently.
In my county, they take all plastics (1-7) and they also want you to keep the lids on glass jars when recycling them. Everyone gets a GIANT (like trash can with wheels big) recycling bin, and my county does mixed recycling. The consumer doesn't need to sort things anymore, just dump it all in the bin. They also have a facility called "ecopark" where you can bring your otherwise not curbside recyclable items to be recycled. They take things like hazardous waste, light bulbs, plastic bags/wrap, appliances, TVs, sharps, Styrofoam, and things that were too big to fit in your recycling bin but are recyclable. It's cool if you have the resources and time to drive out there! I'm actually going this weekend to recycle paint that the previous owners of my house left in the basement. I feel like they make it so easy to throw stuff out, you can but anything on the curb and they'll take it, but recycling, we have to jump through hoops. :(
I believe it is everyone's responsibility it's our planet and it will die if we don't figure out what to do with everything we have and I thank you for all the influence you give to so many people because of you I figured out acrylic yarn is not good so will either upcycle from old sweaters or buy yarn that is made from recycled materials which is expensive and we r on a budget for everything so I will probably just upcycle
The whole world needs to watch this video! I've learnt to much in 12 minutes. I contacted my local council (I live in the uk) and found out that for the past 9 years that I have been living here my soya milk tetrapacks haven't been recycled at kerbside and that I have to drive(I can't drive) 30 mins away to recycle them and to be honest how certain can I be that they even get recycled on not just shipped half way around the world and burnt?! I didn't know about the bottle lid issue I always squash the bottles hoping to take up as little room as possible and it didn't occur to me about different coloured plastic. The more I try to avoid plastic the more I end up using for some reason. Everything seems packaged and package free food isn't really accessible where I live apart from some fruit and veg and then they have those annoying stickers on anyway. I can't afford organic so even a veg box delivery isn't something I can look into and even though a bulk zero waste shop has opened in my city it is all overpriced organic produce which like I said I can't afford we afford really a low and one income family of 5
To answer your question, I think the producer is mainly responsible. If companies are producing products, they should provide a solution to not contribute to the landfill. They are the ones producing the trash that's going into our oceans.. I feel like there's only so much our recycling facilities can do with the millions of products they're receiving daily, but at the same time, they can do a better job at educating people on how to recycle. I wish I knew how to recycle properly at an earlier age. Great video Shelbi! I thoroughly enjoyed it and learned so much. I've gotten into the habit of checking my plastics to be recycled since I am not 100% zero waste yet. I wanted to mention some things I've learned in my journey!: - There's a recycling program called Preserve Gimme 5 where they partner with companies to recycle #5 PP plastics, such as yogurt cups, butter containers, hummus, sour cream tubs, AND plastic bottle caps, and turn these into toothbrushes, razors, and other products (which can then be recycled back into the gimme 5 program)! Pretty much any plastic that is stamped #5 can be recycled in this program and all you have to do is make sure it's clean and find a drop off location (a big one being Whole Foods) or mail it in. Since I've discovered this I've been checking and collecting #5PP plastics so I can recycle them (hey, better than it being "recycled" or thrown into the landfill, right?) so I know where these things are going. You'd be surprised at what kind of things are made of #5 plastic! Here's a link for more info www.preserveproducts.com/recycle/programs/gimme-5-program-171 - Most bottle caps are made from #5PP plastic! :) - Plastic bags can be recycled at participating grocery stores like Target, Whole Foods, or your local grocery store, but not at curbside pickup like you mentioned.. Here's a helpful link that shows what kind of plastic bags/film can be recycled (such as produce bags, dry cleaning film, bread bags, ziplock bags, air pillows) and where to do it www.plasticfilmrecycling.org/recycling-bags-and-wraps/plastic-film-education-individuals/learn-whats-recyclable/ - Random, but dog food bags are NOT recyclable either!! A lot of ppl don't know this, but they are lined with plastic to keep the food fresh :(. I called my local pet food store and they participate in terracycle so I was able to bring it back! Wow long post. Didn't mean for it to be that long but wanted to share my findings for those who are like me and still have plastic in the household! Progress not perfection :)
I whole-heartedly believe that companies are responsible for making recyclable/ecofriendly packaging. It's also on the recycling companies to think of ways to recycle new stuff, but it is definitely moreso on the companies.
Both! A huge part of the problem is lack of communication. If companies, those who come up with ways to manage/handle waste and even us consumers all worked together to tackle such issues we wouldn't be in the situation we're in. So many people put the responsibility on someone else - pointing fingers and saying it's up to them not me. But taking care of the planet is on every single one of us. We all live here. We all need to take equal responsibility. Love your vids BTW!
In my opinion, the makers of the products should be the ones responsible for their packaging. But I think that both parties should try to work in tandem, in order to increase efficiency. Great video!
I clicked so fast because I saw your mehndi on your hand and the stain looks like you used natural organic henna and not the fake chemical henna 🙌🏽💯🌿 love your videos and your message! ♻️🌿
I'm from Belgium and I live in the Netherlands now. In both countries recycling is picked up seperately, so plastic goes with plastic, glass goes with glass, etc. Especially plastic recycling is getting a lot of attention these days because they started to accept plastics that previously weren't accepted. Interestingly most of the plastic recycling used to happen in China. Recently China stopped accepting plastic from other countries and European facilities don't have the capacity to recycle the amount of plastic we put in those bins. The plastic thus gets put in seperate bins just to go to the "normal" facilities where they burn anything that cannot be recycled. So a lot of time, energy and resources are being used to accomplish exactly nothing. All the more reason to avoid plastic if at all possible.
@@carolinanoriega3813 They did recycle it to their standards. Fact is that that was our way of dealing with our waste. 111 million tons of trash worldwide per year went to their facilities. If you think you're doing great by "recycling" your plastic waste, you're not, cause no recycling is being done anymore, regardless of what used to happen.
In Australia (Queensland): we can recycle plastic bags through a soft plastic recycling program at grocery stores. The recycling truck will still be recycled even if there are some non recyclables in it. Colour of plastic doesn't affect whether it can be recycled or not. Individual recycling bins are not checked. We are encouraged to recycle more than less items as everything will be sorted. We had a short series "War on Waste" by Craig Rucassel that was on national TV that educating on the huge problem of waste.
On the plastic bags thing, if you’re into crafts like knitting or crochet you can shred up plastic bags and create yarn from them in order to make baskets, tote bags, etc. so there’s a cool option
This is a weird little hack but I like to use old prescription bottles as togo containers for things like dip and hummus, it's the perfect size and because they are usually childproof and shut closed tightly, they are perfect for this!
I was in Chicago the other week and found out that there they prefer for you to leave the caps on bottles when recycling! Whereas in Portland you can't recycle lids at caps at all. Also as for coffee filters, I always get ones that can be composted!
Dear Shelby, off topic but just another idea for anti haul - wasteful things> in supermarkets, there are those umbrella bags, made of plastic of course, where you can put your wet umbrella when you walk into a supermarket. As if you could not just leave it by the door, or put it into your basket, or just carry around and even if a few drops of water will fall, so what!
Wow, lots of great info here, a lot of which I didn't know! The contamination of broken glass, etc. Depressing, but great info to know going forward!! I think a lot of us (me included) feel a bit self congratulatory when we fill our recycle bins, not realizing that a lot of it isn't actually recyclable. Need to start at the source, buy more bulk, avoiding plastic packaging. Thanks so much for doing all this research and passing it on to us!!! :)
Good hack for moving away from plastic bags/ finding new life for them, is to make them into a ‘yarn’, which you can then use to knit or crochet a re-usable shopping bag!
Although I haven't yet done any research about it myself, I have heard that in Germany the manufacturer is responsible for recycling/disposing of all of the packaging that its products come in. I think that's how it should be.
I'm using biodegradable plastics for my art prints, I need to leave a note for my customers so they recycle it well! I didn't know this so thanks for the info :)
I think it is our responsibility to create a consumer demand for packaging that has less waste or that uses recyclable materials. The more we make it financially attractive to the companies, the more likely they will make the effort. I grew up in the 70s and I know that we were able to affect changes in air quality, water quality and even recycling through our voices and our purses. It is so exciting to see where the environmental advocacy movement is going in waste reduction. Change is happening!
I think it’s a tough question of who should be responsible, but I think it should be both. Since the process on both ends of the line require innovation and thought, there’s a higher chance of making an impact if everyone were to take on that responsibility, especially since not all businesses are being mindful of it.
I think it should start with the producer/company. I'm also not 100% sure. Very thought provoking! My local news company posted online and in print asking people to stop recycling plastic grocery bags due to them getting caught in the machinery. I lived on Maui for a long time and they didn't have any plastic bags as an option. I believe it was (probably still is) banned on the island. When I lived on an Alaskan island it was the same thing. I wish more mainland cities would get on the same route. If the plastic bags just aren't even an option...then you're going to start using a fabric bag or no bag.
Broken glass, plastic bags, soiled paper and cardboard and even polystiren is recycled in central Europe. We also don't have mixed recycling, you have to go to the recycling bins located in each neighbourhood (yellow is for plastig, green for grass, white for clear glass, blue for paper, brown for compost and red for small electronics).
I think both. Waste is a design flaw and companies should seek to make their products produce less waste or make it so that it is more easily recyclable. Recycling companies/plants should make more ways to recycle but also educate and make it clear how to recycle certain types of waste. Love this channel and love how you are educating people on a lower impact lifestyle ❤️😁
I’m a theatre Scenic artist in Austin and we actually use styrofoam a looot to make props or other set decor so that is a GREAT tip to know that Tech (which my sister goes to) “recycles” their styrofoam into blocks! Of course it’s not ideal and I wish we didn’t use styrofoam anyway but I will definitely be asking my sister to bring me back those styrofoam blocks to use at our scene shop for props!!!
I’ve always wanted to see a video on keurigs using the refillable k-cup vs a normal coffee maker using filters for the health and low/zero waste arguements. I’ve recently heard that coffee filters filter out a certain oil in the coffee but then you cannot recycle the filter, but then with a keurig, the oil comes through and there is the potential for plastic leakage since part of the pods (even the reusable ones) are plastic. Just a thought :) love your videos!
Definitely the producer! If we had items that are produced responsibly then we wouldn't have to invest money and time into figuring out how to keep products out of landfill. The focus could instead go towards maximum efficiency for existing recyclables.
LOVE videos like this!! I'm constantly confused by what can actually be recycled so thank you so much for clearing some of this up. My dad doesn't understand why or believe me when I tell him that things like styrofoam can't be recycled so this will be a great resource to share with him.
Thanks so much for this Shelby! I've been wondering these types of questions for a while! I feel like the responsibility of both the companies and recycling plants. Companies need to firstly be looking for alternativites, and if there are none, then it should be the recycling be plants' responsibility. Love your videos girly! Keep it up! You're a wonderful role model:)
In Australia we have a program called red recycling and you can recycle soft plastic at a chain of major supermarkets and it gets turned into benches and stuff.
My university is in the process of switching to a garbage system that separates food scraps and food contaminated goods (greasy cardboard, napkins, coffee cups, etc) from other trash and recycling. it gets brought to a renewable energy plant and these food scraps and goods avoid the landfill while being made into energy that powers our city water treatment facility. Don’t let slow progress frustrate you. Progress is happening!
I know this video is kind of old now but if you have a Kohl's near you near the Customer Service desk there should be a green cardboard box that you can put plastic bags in to be recycled, regardless of where they're from! You can also bring in your plastic hangers and those can be sent out to be recycled as well!
Can you do a video on safe synthetics? Such as sulfates and other chemicals in shampoos, body washes, and other products. A lush video made me concerned.
For most of these its municipality based! Make sure to check with your local waste facility (my waste facility will take back bottle caps, my parents municipality recycles plastic bags if bundled up)!
I think it is the responsibility of the producers/ companies to create and use packaging that is a lot easier to recycle widely in a variety of cities. This would reduce so much packaging from even having to be recycled or thrown away, saving energy, time and money to solve a problem that simply could be avoided! Also, I wish this video started off with a disclaimer for everyone to check out whether their city recycles these items because my city does in face recycle styrofoam packaging and plastic bags (when collected in a bag, not just single bags).
It's up to everybody - the companies need to be responsible for reducing/eliminating packaging or creating sustainable packaging. And it's up to the consumers to take the next step and dispose of packaging responsibly and vote with their dollar by avoiding wasteful/unsustainable products. Recycle, reduce, reuse.
I've got a reusable coffee filter (got it at Kroger or Target, they're easy to find) and it's awesome, would highly recommend it to any other coffee fiends out there.
In general I would say both yet if I had to choose, I would say the company as they are producing the product, if they designed it a more sustainable way or package free recycling plants would be smaller and only recycle items like glass, paper and metal. With pizza boxes, my local council in Wales lets you place them in the weekly food waste collection! I normally don't get takeaway yet it's handy to know!
Great video! I think it could be argued that it's a form of corporate welfare, where the companies take advantage of using cheaper, one-time use materials and then leave it to the consumer/taxpayer/government to clean up their mess so to speak. However, I also think that us as consumers should choose to buy (where budget allows of course) from companies that are more eco-conscious in order to create a demand. Also, the only place in my home where I still find a use for plastic bags is to line the bathroom trash can, not having some sort of liner is not an option for me so I would be interested in any suggestions you may have. Thanks Shelbi!
Also, some recycling programs do recycle bottle caps, if they are still screwed onto the bottle (not separate). I know this is the case in Seattle, possibly other places? Honestly, everyone needs to look at the recycling protocols in their hometowns because they can vary drastically.
This video brings up so many more questions for me. So what do I do with the plastic forks straws etc that I already have at home. My kids friends bring them over with their take out food and I wash them but now have a collection and don't know what to do with them. And... don't my glass jars break when emptied into the large trucks, especially if my neighbors glass is already in the back of those trucks that empty the large recycling containers mechanically?
in Poland there are campaigns encouraging people to collect the lids from plastic bottles, students bring them to schools and give to foundations that sell them to recycling companies - this way they can be recycled and used to produce something else, plus the bottles are separated from the lids before they go to the recycling bins. Apart from that profits from the sale of the lids are dedicated for charity - usually to help get like special wheelchairs or help children with cancer - so people are more willing to collect the lids since they feel they are helping someone.
I actually think it's the government's responsibility to regulate production. Companies don't have any reason to care about if what they make is bad for the environment, but they will adapt if we enact rules at a governmental level. Individuals should do what they can but we will never individually zero-waste ourselves out of the problem. We need to vote on these issues on a larger scale!
If you're interested to hear more about recycling and the complications behind the process, check out my most recent podcast here >>>
itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-rise-of-the-ecopreneur-by-ubuntoo/id1437202076?mt=2
Hey shelbizleee, my name is Emma and im a freshman in high school. I was wondering if you have heard of Ecobricks? Its where you take plastic bottles and stuff them with non-recyclable materials. You stuff it in so much that it turns that bottle of plastic into a brick. Which is excatly what they are used for. You ship a bunch of these brick-like bottles to the company and they send them to 3rd world countries who are too poor to buy bricks and they use these plastic bottle bricks to make houses and other stuff. My class has started doing it and we are planning on making something with it! Was just wondering if you've heard of it. I love your channel, keep up the good work!
I think it is both for now...the company selling said item should make the packaging recyclable. BUT until the company(companies) make all of their packaging recyclable, the recycling companies should come up with a way to recycle items that aren't yet already recyclable. OMG, LOL it is so complicated. I understand why you are undecided. I mean, the recycling companies will probably have to spend money, use resources, etc to come up with a way to recycle the items, so maybe the companies with non recyclable packaging etc should work together with recycling companies to help them find ways to recycle said items until the business can make said things recyclable. Wheew...that was exhausting..
Recycling is awesome, but are you also vegan? :)
@@ChrisCGraham Not sure you are asking the question of...but Shelby is vegan and so am I. 😊 Are you vegan?
Tammy Duke I am 😊 I’m trying to get better at going zero waste and saw this video and was just wondering if she was also doing the number one best thing for the environment, which is cutting out all animal products from our lives
In Switzerland we do not put our trash into landfill, we burn it. Everything that you can not recycle is burned. There is no air polution, because there are really got filters etc. And the produced heat is used to make energy or to heat houses. All countries should deal with the trash responsibly and not putting it in landfill.
I'm from Switzerland too !! And this landfill problem always seemed so weird to me. And broken glass is totally recyclable !
Here in the Netherlands we do that too. But it's not a great solution because all the raw mateirals used go tot waste. Plus that there are a lot of chemicals in a lot of products that will make the ashes very toxic.
How are the filters cleaned, changed or recycled? ♻️
What about co2, there is a way to burn without ?
Sweden here, and im pretty sure we recycle most of these things x) we even improt trash since we can handle more than we produce ^^ it really shouldn't be such an issue with landfills, I understand why some countries would use them, but us feels way too "advanced"
I think its both. If the material exists, there must be a way to recycle it, and until that is true companies should choose alternative packaging AND invest in research.
Social Responsibility is the responsibility of the company producing the goods. Unfortunately the concept of social responsibility is not widely adopted here in the US yet. My Pizza boxes are used as a weed barrier in our gardens. Funny story, before I became aware of "recycling" I thought I was doing so much better than my neighbors because I had 3 recycle bins, lol. Now my goals have drastically changed to Zero waste versus Recycling Queen. We use our homestead to enable these goals. I honestly will not have to by any veggies, meat or cleaning products in 2019! At least that is my goal.
Not everyone can live on a homestead😐
@@carolinanoriega3813 You don't have to live on a homestead to do your part. There are so many ways we can live an eco friendly life.
True ladies, I was just sharing how I have been able to use my farm to enable my zero waste lifestyle. Do what you can where you are!
Tammy Duke tru😊 lack of homestead isn’t a viable reason/excuse
That 1870's Homestead you absolutely rock. You inspire me! We just moved into our Kentucky homestead in 2018 and hope to do the same by 2020! I’m even gonna make mead and wine. What’s your top resource for info on homesteading?
I love that you provide solutions to several of the items in this list rather than JUST giving a list of problems.
I think the Politicians and legislation should be such that it sets some good ethical rules for packaging and the environment
I always appreciate hearing about recycling. I'm an environmental science major and managing waste streams is super interesting to me; it's so much more nuanced than most people realize.
I'd like to point out that plastic bags are actually recyclable! Not in curbside, single-stream systems, but many grocery stores in the USA have drop-off bins for film plastics. This includes everything from plastic grocery bags to bubble wrap to bread bags. I'm not advocating that people go hog wild using these products by any means, but there is a responsible way to dispose of them!
my high schools here in indiana collect caps off bottles for shop and they make benches out of them so there is extra seating
Man, this is so disheartening because this information is not out there for everyone to know. I've been throwing most of my plastic in the recycling bin of my apartment for years thinking I was doing good. To know that they take things and then throw them in the landfill is so sad. And for those of us who live in apartments or recycling is done for your office we can't control what others put in the bins that can contaminate the recyclables. Of course now I am living more low waste but sometimes plastic cannot be avoided and usually it's the type that can't be easily recycled.
Yup I live in an apt complex and realizing that it may not be feasible to recycle.
Once i get my own house i plan on sorting my recyclables and bringing them to recycling centres with bins so that it has a better chance of being recycled.
it's not sad, there is nothing wrong with landfills.
@@MrDeviousdom ???
Wait... You don't have those containers that are meant for glass specificly? Here in the Netherlands people bring glass to these containers, there is a bin for clear glass and coloured glass (which is sometimes also seperating into green and other colours). From there the glass gets recycled. We don't throw it in the same bin as other things that have to be recycled.
My curbside is single stream, meaning we throw all recyclable materials into one bin and it gets sorted at the facility. That's why broken glass is not accepted.
In New Zealand we have one bin for glass, another for paper and plastic ;)
In Spain we’ve got one for glass, another one for plastic, another one for paper and cardboard, another one for cooking oil and another one for clothes... but we don’t have a compost one, don’t know why.
Where I live we can not recycle glass. I save mine and either reuse or I box them and when I drive to the city I take tge boxes of glass. There is can sort them by color.
@@ritalynb7070
So cool you take the time to do this! Big hugs to you!!
There is also a company called Terracycle. They have a lot of free programs for recycling hard to recycle items like toothpaste tubes and snack bags.
Definitely! They're a little iffy to me because every-time I try to find one near me there isn't one and my only option is to purchase a box myself, and they're quite expensive.
Either way, I linked them as a resource in the description (:
@@Shelbizleee I agree they are super expensive. I save all the money I get for CRV on recycling to put towards buying a box some day. In the mean time I take advantage of as many free programs as I can and also looking for more alternatives to buying those types of packaging.
@@Shelbizleee They teamed up with Credo Beauty now!
Here in the Netherlands there are a lot of places where those lids are collected, sold to recycling companies and the money is given to charity.
That's awesome! Always wishing we had more systems in the US like that.
Cecily Haag hey ik ben ook Nederlands! Hoe heet het?
Lotte de jager Je kunt het bij de AH doneren ;)
@@deLollypopGIRL09 Geen idee of het een naam heeft, bij mij in de buurt kunnen ze worden ingeleverd bij de kringloopwinkel en bij de bibliotheek. Soms kan het bij supermarkten en ik heb het ook een keer op een camping gezien. Voor zover ik weet kun je niet echt op internet vinden waar in de buurt je die dingen kan inleveren ofzo...
I wish they had ways to sort broken glass because a lot of the time, glass breaks when you put them in a recycling bin especially when they throw them into the trucks
In my city, all the recycling is collected in bags directly from the housholds except for glass. For glass we have se
parate collection points with bins. This way broken glass is not a problem, I suppose.
Plastic bottle caps are recyclable! They are different plastic, yes. However, that was never the reason to not recycle them. They are so small that they get jammed in the machines that separate and break down your recyclables. What most facilities are recommending now is that you screw the plastic cap back onto the bottle and recycle the entire thing that that way. Then if you have loose caps, those should be repurposed or thrown in the trash bin. Of course, it is always best to call the facility in your area to make sure. Also, I feel like responsible packaging should be the responsibility of its creator AND the company using that product...equally.
In my country (Italy) greasy pizza boxes go in the compost!
In Quebec too :)
Same in Vancouver 🇨🇦
The packaging companies should think of a way to make their products automatically recycled.
Love your channel, and this video was particularly helpful! I always struggle to know what is/isn't recyclable in my area. I was wondering if you could do a video on low-waste pet ownership? I have two cats and when I clean their litterbox twice a week I use plastic bags. I've thought about using compostable bags, but since cat poop can't be composted (because of risk of pathogens), that doesn't seem like a workable option. I'm sure a lot of people with cats, dogs, and other pets have similar questions.
Hi, Shelbi! Love your videos. But I’ve got a few answers for this particular video. I have no idea on how recycling works in USA so I can talk only about Russian recycling program: 1) bottle cup is made of plastic 4 and actually CAN be recycled. In Russia (where I live in) we also collect them and send tons of them to recycling. 2) we do recycle plastic bags bc they’re made of plastic 5, if you want to recycle you should collect a pile and press it. 3) broken glass actually IS RECYCLABLE but in Russia you should bring it to people who sort trash and give it them personally so they won’t cut themself. Mb it works similar in USA, I don’t know, ask you local sorting company if they can take your broken glass personally. Moreover I’ve been to Germany and they made a really great job in recycling glass. You sort it while getting rid of it in 3 separate bins (white, green, brown glass) so people don’t have to double sort it and even the broken glass can be recycled 4) toothpaste tubes are recycled in a few European countries (still have no idea about USA). But you can connect with your local Colgate company and ask if they participate in this program. If your locals don’t you can send your tubes to another state or country where this program is available. That’s it, thank you very much for your videos and for reading my comment till the end! Sorry for my English, it’s not my native language. Wish you luck, inspiration and sending you all my love from still snowy Russia!💕
I’m so passionate about the plastic problem subject that I’m doing a project in science for it 💁🏼♀️
I'm getting into recycling culture thank you so much
The producer. Everything used to be glass because companies would pick up and recycle/reuse. Once they started realize they can pawn the responsibility on the consumer, they stopped doing the effort
I think manufacturers should either use existing recyclable packaging, or they should work with/fund recyclers to develop new processes. Or we should be able to drop off the packaging at the retailer so they recycle them properly.
I think it’s everyone’s responsibility! There’s no one party who should be responsible.
The producer should be responsible for the packaging they make. If the laws were more strict forbidding producers to package their products in toxic materials. So goverments are to blame for this as well. The consumer is the last person in the chain of responsibility, to make sure they recycle the pakaging responsibley, but also the consumer is responsible for decreasing their consumption of products packaged in toxic materials.
Also some of the sthings you mentioned are responsible in some municipalities. As far as I know plastic bags, pizza boxes, and styrofoam are recyclable here in Toronto, Canada. This doesnt mean we should not avoid using the plastic bags and styrofoam. They just suck all around, for so many reasons.
If you do end up with plastic grocery bags, many grocery stores like Sprouts have bins where you can deposit your plastic bags. I’m not sure how they reuse or recycle them, maybe turning them into fences, but that is an option.
Wow! Very informative as always. But if your followers live in the UK please find out what your local council collects. In Bedford Borough where I live we have ‘Orange Bins’ in which we can put TetraPaks, plastic carrier bags, aluminium foil, aerosol cans etc, etc......... We are very lucky here. We have to take glass bottles to ‘Bottle Banks’ which are usually at supermarkets and in public facility car parks and in those broken bottles are fine! We also have a Recycling Centre (I’m lucky, it’s a 5 minute drive from my house and on my way into town so I put stuff in the boot of my car and drop it off when I’m passing) where we can recycle wood, metal, garden waste (we also have Green Bins for garden waste which are collected every two weeks at the kerbside), small electrical items, fridges, ovens, batteries, paint, oil, clothing, lightbulbs and books. There are many other things as well 👍 It’s eye opening for me to see how not everyone has this available to them, also infuriating that not everyone bothers to sort their waste into the correct bins at home 😡😡I understand not everyone can get to the recycling centre but those who can and simply don’t bother are unforgivable. Keep on posting, the world needs all the good you are doing! 👍
It's mad that on the opposite side of London to you (Sutton) we have a different system. We now have: a bin for general waste, a bin for paper waste, a bin for glass/ plastic/ tins, and a bin for food waste. Then even being away for university down south there's a different system I've had to learn, but living with flatmates who are not so environmentally aware I often think there's no point me even trying to split the various materials... It's a losing battle between the ignorance of the people we live with, and councils that run a different system to the one next door!
Ruth 1996 I know, it’s crazy isn’t it! In Central Bedfordshire (a 10 minute drive away in the same county) they have a different system which also collects food waste. I appreciate that complete systems where everything can be collected and recycled are a bit of a dream as they would be so expensive and councils are badly underfunded. The more people that use the system correctly the better as more would be recycled and it may bring the cost down. Keep trying with your flat mates, if you keep leading by example they will hopefully follow. Good luck 🤞
Trex is a company that makes deck and outdoor kitchen materials out of 90 something percent recycled materials. They use wood chips and sawdust that can’t be reused and also plastic films like plastic shopping bags and the wrap that your paper towels is packaged in and melts them down to make their composite decking. Super cool concept. I’m not sure how we can send them our own plastic films and what not, but I checked out their website and they keep some millions of lbs of plastic out of landfills every year. Just thought I’d share, so we can support other companies that do things like this.
Thank you so much for this video! So helpful and informative. I’ve been starting an urban homestead with my partner for the last seven months and you have given me so many ideas for reuse. I’ve been binge watching your channel for days and I love it! I wake up excited to watch more 😂. You’re very down to earth and approachable. I love it all. My point is, girl, thank you so much.
Cups are plastic type 5, LUSH stores are happy to take them, just collect them and bring it to them. They make new pots from it for their skincare and even shopping trolleys.
Water bottle caps are great for seed starters. Then when the seedling get big enough you can add them to your next size container or garden. Ive glued them to a tray, and reused over and over!
6:42 some stores like Walmart do have special programs and bins where you return plastic grocery bags. However, if you want to use reusable bags, a good habit to get into is to have a couple in your car (if you have a car) so you’ll never be without one. That’s what my grandparents have done for years and I haven’t seen them use a plastic grocery bag in... idek so long lol
In the Netherlands all the glass is broken before it's recyled. The things that it's collected in are also made that the glass usually breaks because that way more glass fits in. I'm suprised that recycling in a different country works so differently.
In my county, they take all plastics (1-7) and they also want you to keep the lids on glass jars when recycling them. Everyone gets a GIANT (like trash can with wheels big) recycling bin, and my county does mixed recycling. The consumer doesn't need to sort things anymore, just dump it all in the bin. They also have a facility called "ecopark" where you can bring your otherwise not curbside recyclable items to be recycled. They take things like hazardous waste, light bulbs, plastic bags/wrap, appliances, TVs, sharps, Styrofoam, and things that were too big to fit in your recycling bin but are recyclable. It's cool if you have the resources and time to drive out there! I'm actually going this weekend to recycle paint that the previous owners of my house left in the basement. I feel like they make it so easy to throw stuff out, you can but anything on the curb and they'll take it, but recycling, we have to jump through hoops. :(
Excellent feature. Even as an eco woman I DIDN'T know a lot of the things you told us. Thank you x
I believe it is everyone's responsibility it's our planet and it will die if we don't figure out what to do with everything we have and I thank you for all the influence you give to so many people because of you I figured out acrylic yarn is not good so will either upcycle from old sweaters or buy yarn that is made from recycled materials which is expensive and we r on a budget for everything so I will probably just upcycle
The whole world needs to watch this video!
I've learnt to much in 12 minutes.
I contacted my local council (I live in the uk) and found out that for the past 9 years that I have been living here my soya milk tetrapacks haven't been recycled at kerbside and that I have to drive(I can't drive) 30 mins away to recycle them and to be honest how certain can I be that they even get recycled on not just shipped half way around the world and burnt?! I didn't know about the bottle lid issue I always squash the bottles hoping to take up as little room as possible and it didn't occur to me about different coloured plastic. The more I try to avoid plastic the more I end up using for some reason. Everything seems packaged and package free food isn't really accessible where I live apart from some fruit and veg and then they have those annoying stickers on anyway. I can't afford organic so even a veg box delivery isn't something I can look into and even though a bulk zero waste shop has opened in my city it is all overpriced organic produce which like I said I can't afford we afford really a low and one income family of 5
To answer your question, I think the producer is mainly responsible. If companies are producing products, they should provide a solution to not contribute to the landfill. They are the ones producing the trash that's going into our oceans.. I feel like there's only so much our recycling facilities can do with the millions of products they're receiving daily, but at the same time, they can do a better job at educating people on how to recycle. I wish I knew how to recycle properly at an earlier age.
Great video Shelbi! I thoroughly enjoyed it and learned so much. I've gotten into the habit of checking my plastics to be recycled since I am not 100% zero waste yet. I wanted to mention some things I've learned in my journey!:
- There's a recycling program called Preserve Gimme 5 where they partner with companies to recycle #5 PP plastics, such as yogurt cups, butter containers, hummus, sour cream tubs, AND plastic bottle caps, and turn these into toothbrushes, razors, and other products (which can then be recycled back into the gimme 5 program)! Pretty much any plastic that is stamped #5 can be recycled in this program and all you have to do is make sure it's clean and find a drop off location (a big one being Whole Foods) or mail it in. Since I've discovered this I've been checking and collecting #5PP plastics so I can recycle them (hey, better than it being "recycled" or thrown into the landfill, right?) so I know where these things are going. You'd be surprised at what kind of things are made of #5 plastic! Here's a link for more info www.preserveproducts.com/recycle/programs/gimme-5-program-171
- Most bottle caps are made from #5PP plastic! :)
- Plastic bags can be recycled at participating grocery stores like Target, Whole Foods, or your local grocery store, but not at curbside pickup like you mentioned.. Here's a helpful link that shows what kind of plastic bags/film can be recycled (such as produce bags, dry cleaning film, bread bags, ziplock bags, air pillows) and where to do it www.plasticfilmrecycling.org/recycling-bags-and-wraps/plastic-film-education-individuals/learn-whats-recyclable/
- Random, but dog food bags are NOT recyclable either!! A lot of ppl don't know this, but they are lined with plastic to keep the food fresh :(. I called my local pet food store and they participate in terracycle so I was able to bring it back!
Wow long post. Didn't mean for it to be that long but wanted to share my findings for those who are like me and still have plastic in the household! Progress not perfection :)
I whole-heartedly believe that companies are responsible for making recyclable/ecofriendly packaging. It's also on the recycling companies to think of ways to recycle new stuff, but it is definitely moreso on the companies.
Both! A huge part of the problem is lack of communication. If companies, those who come up with ways to manage/handle waste and even us consumers all worked together to tackle such issues we wouldn't be in the situation we're in. So many people put the responsibility on someone else - pointing fingers and saying it's up to them not me. But taking care of the planet is on every single one of us. We all live here. We all need to take equal responsibility. Love your vids BTW!
In my opinion, the makers of the products should be the ones responsible for their packaging. But I think that both parties should try to work in tandem, in order to increase efficiency. Great video!
I clicked so fast because I saw your mehndi on your hand and the stain looks like you used natural organic henna and not the fake chemical henna 🙌🏽💯🌿 love your videos and your message! ♻️🌿
I got it done at a vegan festival and loved it so much! I really want to purchase my own kit now 💚
Thank you for this! Finding out what's recyclable and how to recycle them has been my hardest part on living eco friendly
I'm from Belgium and I live in the Netherlands now. In both countries recycling is picked up seperately, so plastic goes with plastic, glass goes with glass, etc. Especially plastic recycling is getting a lot of attention these days because they started to accept plastics that previously weren't accepted. Interestingly most of the plastic recycling used to happen in China. Recently China stopped accepting plastic from other countries and European facilities don't have the capacity to recycle the amount of plastic we put in those bins. The plastic thus gets put in seperate bins just to go to the "normal" facilities where they burn anything that cannot be recycled. So a lot of time, energy and resources are being used to accomplish exactly nothing. All the more reason to avoid plastic if at all possible.
China was just dumping all that "recycling"
@@carolinanoriega3813 They did recycle it to their standards. Fact is that that was our way of dealing with our waste. 111 million tons of trash worldwide per year went to their facilities. If you think you're doing great by "recycling" your plastic waste, you're not, cause no recycling is being done anymore, regardless of what used to happen.
In Australia (Queensland): we can recycle plastic bags through a soft plastic recycling program at grocery stores. The recycling truck will still be recycled even if there are some non recyclables in it. Colour of plastic doesn't affect whether it can be recycled or not. Individual recycling bins are not checked. We are encouraged to recycle more than less items as everything will be sorted.
We had a short series "War on Waste" by Craig Rucassel that was on national TV that educating on the huge problem of waste.
i felt so meta watching this while going through my recycling
More like this one please. Honestly learning so much. Trying to make the change....
On the plastic bags thing, if you’re into crafts like knitting or crochet you can shred up plastic bags and create yarn from them in order to make baskets, tote bags, etc. so there’s a cool option
This is a weird little hack but I like to use old prescription bottles as togo containers for things like dip and hummus, it's the perfect size and because they are usually childproof and shut closed tightly, they are perfect for this!
Thank you for this video. I learned so much from it. I didn't know what so much plastic isn't recycable.
Where I live in Australia, plastic bags are banned and stores have to provide reusable bags and you have to purchase them or BYO
Girl you are so inspiring, cranking out so many quality videos. 🙌🏼
I was in Chicago the other week and found out that there they prefer for you to leave the caps on bottles when recycling! Whereas in Portland you can't recycle lids at caps at all.
Also as for coffee filters, I always get ones that can be composted!
I definitely lean towards it being the responsibility of the company.
Dear Shelby, off topic but just another idea for anti haul - wasteful things> in supermarkets, there are those umbrella bags, made of plastic of course, where you can put your wet umbrella when you walk into a supermarket. As if you could not just leave it by the door, or put it into your basket, or just carry around and even if a few drops of water will fall, so what!
Wow, lots of great info here, a lot of which I didn't know! The contamination of broken glass, etc. Depressing, but great info to know going forward!! I think a lot of us (me included) feel a bit self congratulatory when we fill our recycle bins, not realizing that a lot of it isn't actually recyclable. Need to start at the source, buy more bulk, avoiding plastic packaging. Thanks so much for doing all this research and passing it on to us!!! :)
Shelbizlee I love your channel. Every video is so informative. Thankyou so much. I know the world loves all the good you are doing.
COMPANIES need to package their product sustainably my dude
Such a helpful video! Thank you for talking about this - its so frustrating when people encourage recycling but neglect the details :/.
I started taking my pill bottles back to cvs for them to reuse !! They use them if their is no pills in them
Good hack for moving away from plastic bags/ finding new life for them, is to make them into a ‘yarn’, which you can then use to knit or crochet a re-usable shopping bag!
Can you do a video on mistakes you've made when first going zero waste?
So informative and easy changes that everyone can be doing!
Although I haven't yet done any research about it myself, I have heard that in Germany the manufacturer is responsible for recycling/disposing of all of the packaging that its products come in. I think that's how it should be.
I'm using biodegradable plastics for my art prints, I need to leave a note for my customers so they recycle it well! I didn't know this so thanks for the info :)
I think it is our responsibility to create a consumer demand for packaging that has less waste or that uses recyclable materials. The more we make it financially attractive to the companies, the more likely they will make the effort. I grew up in the 70s and I know that we were able to affect changes in air quality, water quality and even recycling through our voices and our purses. It is so exciting to see where the environmental advocacy movement is going in waste reduction. Change is happening!
I live in waterloo Ontario Canada and I just checked my waste management site and here you are to leave the caps on the lids
I think it’s a tough question of who should be responsible, but I think it should be both. Since the process on both ends of the line require innovation and thought, there’s a higher chance of making an impact if everyone were to take on that responsibility, especially since not all businesses are being mindful of it.
I think it should start with the producer/company.
I'm also not 100% sure. Very thought provoking!
My local news company posted online and in print asking people to stop recycling plastic grocery bags due to them getting caught in the machinery.
I lived on Maui for a long time and they didn't have any plastic bags as an option. I believe it was (probably still is) banned on the island. When I lived on an Alaskan island it was the same thing. I wish more mainland cities would get on the same route. If the plastic bags just aren't even an option...then you're going to start using a fabric bag or no bag.
Broken glass, plastic bags, soiled paper and cardboard and even polystiren is recycled in central Europe. We also don't have mixed recycling, you have to go to the recycling bins located in each neighbourhood (yellow is for plastig, green for grass, white for clear glass, blue for paper, brown for compost and red for small electronics).
I think both. Waste is a design flaw and companies should seek to make their products produce less waste or make it so that it is more easily recyclable. Recycling companies/plants should make more ways to recycle but also educate and make it clear how to recycle certain types of waste. Love this channel and love how you are educating people on a lower impact lifestyle ❤️😁
I’m a theatre Scenic artist in Austin and we actually use styrofoam a looot to make props or other set decor so that is a GREAT tip to know that Tech (which my sister goes to) “recycles” their styrofoam into blocks! Of course it’s not ideal and I wish we didn’t use styrofoam anyway but I will definitely be asking my sister to bring me back those styrofoam blocks to use at our scene shop for props!!!
Thank you, Shelby! Your input is always so valuable and informative. It is much appreciated. Keep it up!
Shoutout to Shelby's compostable stickers!! Solving problems I didn't know we had
We have a 'soft plastics' recycling system (via bins at the supermarket) called Redcycle who make park benches etc
WHO DISLIKED THIS QUEEN?
I’ve always wanted to see a video on keurigs using the refillable k-cup vs a normal coffee maker using filters for the health and low/zero waste arguements. I’ve recently heard that coffee filters filter out a certain oil in the coffee but then you cannot recycle the filter, but then with a keurig, the oil comes through and there is the potential for plastic leakage since part of the pods (even the reusable ones) are plastic. Just a thought :) love your videos!
Definitely the producer! If we had items that are produced responsibly then we wouldn't have to invest money and time into figuring out how to keep products out of landfill. The focus could instead go towards maximum efficiency for existing recyclables.
Super informative! Loved this video Shelby!
LOVE videos like this!! I'm constantly confused by what can actually be recycled so thank you so much for clearing some of this up. My dad doesn't understand why or believe me when I tell him that things like styrofoam can't be recycled so this will be a great resource to share with him.
Thanks so much for this Shelby! I've been wondering these types of questions for a while!
I feel like the responsibility of both the companies and recycling plants. Companies need to firstly be looking for alternativites, and if there are none, then it should be the recycling be plants' responsibility.
Love your videos girly! Keep it up! You're a wonderful role model:)
In Australia we have a program called red recycling and you can recycle soft plastic at a chain of major supermarkets and it gets turned into benches and stuff.
My university is in the process of switching to a garbage system that separates food scraps and food contaminated goods (greasy cardboard, napkins, coffee cups, etc) from other trash and recycling. it gets brought to a renewable energy plant and these food scraps and goods avoid the landfill while being made into energy that powers our city water treatment facility. Don’t let slow progress frustrate you. Progress is happening!
So much useful information! There's so much to recycling.
I know this video is kind of old now but if you have a Kohl's near you near the Customer Service desk there should be a green cardboard box that you can put plastic bags in to be recycled, regardless of where they're from! You can also bring in your plastic hangers and those can be sent out to be recycled as well!
Can you do a video on safe synthetics? Such as sulfates and other chemicals in shampoos, body washes, and other products. A lush video made me concerned.
For most of these its municipality based! Make sure to check with your local waste facility (my waste facility will take back bottle caps, my parents municipality recycles plastic bags if bundled up)!
I think we all need to join together and everyone. Manufacturers should, but we should also be willing to help them. Not just leave it up to them. 💚🌍✌
I think it is the responsibility of the producers/ companies to create and use packaging that is a lot easier to recycle widely in a variety of cities. This would reduce so much packaging from even having to be recycled or thrown away, saving energy, time and money to solve a problem that simply could be avoided!
Also, I wish this video started off with a disclaimer for everyone to check out whether their city recycles these items because my city does in face recycle styrofoam packaging and plastic bags (when collected in a bag, not just single bags).
It's up to everybody - the companies need to be responsible for reducing/eliminating packaging or creating sustainable packaging. And it's up to the consumers to take the next step and dispose of packaging responsibly and vote with their dollar by avoiding wasteful/unsustainable products. Recycle, reduce, reuse.
I've got a reusable coffee filter (got it at Kroger or Target, they're easy to find) and it's awesome, would highly recommend it to any other coffee fiends out there.
This was so informative and eye-opening!!
In general I would say both yet if I had to choose, I would say the company as they are producing the product, if they designed it a more sustainable way or package free recycling plants would be smaller and only recycle items like glass, paper and metal. With pizza boxes, my local council in Wales lets you place them in the weekly food waste collection! I normally don't get takeaway yet it's handy to know!
IT'S ALL OF OUR RESPONSIBILITY! Every time someone creates something that cannot be reused, they are the adding to the problem.
Great video!
I think it could be argued that it's a form of corporate welfare, where the companies take advantage of using cheaper, one-time use materials and then leave it to the consumer/taxpayer/government to clean up their mess so to speak. However, I also think that us as consumers should choose to buy (where budget allows of course) from companies that are more eco-conscious in order to create a demand.
Also, the only place in my home where I still find a use for plastic bags is to line the bathroom trash can, not having some sort of liner is not an option for me so I would be interested in any suggestions you may have.
Thanks Shelbi!
Also, some recycling programs do recycle bottle caps, if they are still screwed onto the bottle (not separate). I know this is the case in Seattle, possibly other places? Honestly, everyone needs to look at the recycling protocols in their hometowns because they can vary drastically.
This video brings up so many more questions for me. So what do I do with the plastic forks straws etc that I already have at home. My kids friends bring them over with their take out food and I wash them but now have a collection and don't know what to do with them. And... don't my glass jars break when emptied into the large trucks, especially if my neighbors glass is already in the back of those trucks that empty the large recycling containers mechanically?
in Poland there are campaigns encouraging people to collect the lids from plastic bottles, students bring them to schools and give to foundations that sell them to recycling companies - this way they can be recycled and used to produce something else, plus the bottles are separated from the lids before they go to the recycling bins. Apart from that profits from the sale of the lids are dedicated for charity - usually to help get like special wheelchairs or help children with cancer - so people are more willing to collect the lids since they feel they are helping someone.
I actually think it's the government's responsibility to regulate production. Companies don't have any reason to care about if what they make is bad for the environment, but they will adapt if we enact rules at a governmental level. Individuals should do what they can but we will never individually zero-waste ourselves out of the problem. We need to vote on these issues on a larger scale!
Hi Shelbi! I would really like to see a video where you react to the recycling system in Japan, which looks amazing
A thousand times thank you for the information!!!!! 🥰🥰