jimmie_jim_bob

A "government watchdog" released their scalding report on the plastic recycling industry - and it's not about giant cargo ships be parked in Papau. Which, if you need a reminder:

"Thailand must not be a dump site for plastic waste," Varawut Silpa-archa, Thailand’s natural resources and environment minister, told the Bangkok Post. "We need to protect our country." ^intlpolitics

Demand up from 500 million tons per year to 800 million tons in 2040. They say "recycled plastic demand" is 5% of that, I think it's roughly closer to 10%. ^econ

But what they don't touch on there is that 10% ain't gonna hold in 2040. Nah, more like 60%. I guarantee. Which brings us to the Chump administration using that as fodder to not only deregulate the plastic industry, but the EPA altogether. To clarify, I am beholden with the idea that we are vastly underestimating the demand for recycled plastic a decade and a half from now.

So let's focus on just the beverage industry. As a bellwether, if a major country could achieve a 50% recycling rate for plastic beverages, that would be a great indicator that we are capable - as a planet - in a distributed fashion - of this somewhat monumental task. Given that - what - probably 10% of all plastic ends up in the ocean, right?

Okay then, so let's look at our Seinfeld-esque plastic recyling by way of consumer deposit, which for the most part is New England, Michigan, Iowa, California, and Hawaii. wiki Texas was looking into it, but only if they could hit 75% redemption (at 10 cents per container). Iowa achieves 60% redemption (at 5 cents per container). Nationwide average is less than a third. So, if that's any indicator, we simply need some kind of federal mandate on bottle redemption.

Oopsies. Not so fast. I meant the entire beverage industry, not just those who are some how required to comply with these deposits. I'm looking at these energy drink companies don't comply with bottle redemption anyway. They barely even meet the FDA GRAS (as in, even able to be on the shelves in the first place). Or what about Gatorade? They definitely are somehow exempt too. And all those random coffee drinks, etc.

So yeah, that's both the FDA and the EPA. We need them in a joint resolution toward better plastic recycling. Anytime you are dumping off entire cargo ships of "recylables" halfway to Siberia, you have a problem.

[intlpolitics] intercontinental waste management politics

[econ] growth in industry 8% yoy and 5 billion over next four years (enough to lobby anyway)

Inspo/Preface