States aim to overhaul plastic recycling

A bill recently in California would criminalize putting the well-known recycling symbol on any item that is not commonly recycled. CBS MoneyWatch reporter Irina Ivanova joins CBSN AM to discuss the bill and what it would mean for the plastics industry.

[carlacaldwell]

I am an American living in France. There are recycling bins everywhere and the local "dumps" are not landfills. You presort your items and go into the dump and put your cardboard in one large bin, your electrical items in another, your paper in another, your metal in another, and your glass in another. Obviously they have technology to recycle these items. Your take your light bulbs and batteries to a bin at the supermarket. Same with printer cartridges. Plastic bottle lids go in another bin because that is a different type of plastic. All of this can be done in the US if there is the will.

[voidisyinyangvoidisyinyang]

I contacted a recycling specialist for the plastics industry and she verified that water softener salt plastic bags ARE recyclable and can be included in the specialized plastic bag collection sites - as long as the plastic handle is cut off and the bag is washed out so there's no salt in it. thanks

[mralabbad]

Can't we just stop making so much plastic?
Make laws and apply them to manufacturers not consumers
Because recycling is hard and inconvenient a lot of times
Then when there's not as much new plastic around we can actually find worth in getting the old plastic and using again

[maxlinder]

I bury my plastic in my yard ..& it's about to explode...!!!! Such a Happy news report ....

[ZebraFacts]

I take everything that says CRV on it and is plastic and aluminum to a recycling center. Other things like glass, non-CRV, and paper items, I put in the blue bin for the city to pick up on trash day. The part that is never talked about and frustrates a lot of recyclers, is the cheating that goes on at every recycling center I have ever been to. Some of them will put different numbers on the scale than what your items actually weighed. Others will assume you have non-CRV items mixed in with your CRV items and will lower your refund. I never mix non-CRV with my CRV items. Still, I can be sure, I am going to be shorted at every recycling center I take my plastics and aluminum to. Stop the cheating!

[terriblackburn]

I see other countries building roads out of recycled plastic! I live on the ocean and there’s no recycling here!!!! Doesn’t make enough money is the defense.

[psyeevee]

The Green New Deal is a proposal to clean the planet, modernize our infrastructure, and train and employ the middle class to expand our economy. Corporations should be incentivized to produce and transition to carbon negative technology, along with the federal government creating a workforce with different subgroups dedicated to specific aspects of environmental cleanup and maintenance with a substantial majority NOT needing a bachelor’s degree.

[devinhigoy]

I didn't know they watched Cracked Honest Ads!!!

Guest needs to learn about vocal fry and quit talking like that