Sustainable Produce Container Takes on the Lie of "Recyclable Plastic Clamshells"
Plastic Recycling is a Lie!
Part of the challenge of trying to get growers to use 100% recyclable Sustainable Produce Containers over plastic clamshells is they believe their packages are being recycled. It's not. All people have to be RE-educated about this type of plastic. In it's excellent investigative journalism, PBS has revealed the truth about how the oil industry fooled the public into believing plastic is recyclable. How? They just leave off the rest of the sentence...IF there was a market for it. And to make it worse? The plastic you tried to recycle, that they knew never could be recycled, is now getting shipped off to places like Africa! Here's a recent article:
How Big Oil Misled the Public Into Believing Plastic Would Be Recycled ARTICLE:
Literally, the only plastic most municipalities can recycle are those with a spout because they are injection molded and the labels are easy to remove. Think: If it has a spout, don't throw it out! Plastic clamshells can't be sorted correctly by municipal recycling machines, they have UV labels too difficult to remove, and they are thermoformed so they melt at a different temperature than other plastics, creating an ash that can ruin an entire batch of good plastic.
PBS Frontline Plastic Wars FULL VIDEO:
I think the only way we will change this plastic recycling problem is to pass a law like the ones that were passed for seat belts and smoking. The law could penalize through fines or could tax the end seller of a product if its packaging did not have a viable outlet for reuse, repurpose or recycling that would stand on its own economic merit and not be government subsidized.
PBS Newshour FULL VIDEO:
Some bigger grocery stores are forcing produce growers to bear the cost of "washable" plastic clamshell labels that are more expensive and harder to apply. Stores are doing this to be able to say that the hurdle is overcome for recycling plastic clamshells since the previous/current stick-on labels contaminated the plastic recycle processing. It still doesn't mean there are any buyers for that plastic and in the end they've penalized the produce industry. Also, the grocery stores don't want to pay any more than what they're currently paying to switch from an old unrecyclable clamshell whose investment costs have long ago been paid for to a new sustainable package. In volumes of millions, my recyclable paperboard package at $0.095 for the pint is not going to cut it because it's a couple pennies more. Unless...it would cost Kroger $0.03 for every pack they sell that would to go to a sustainability fund to help develop alternatives. Or just switch to something already on the market that's 100% recyclable, like the Sustainable Produce Container.
