Separating plastic waste: Machines can distinguish 12 different types of plastic

> “Plastic must be at least 96% pure by polymer type to be recycled in conventional industry.”

If I’ve read this article correctly it is about more accurately identifying the composition of plastic containers. It does not enable us to recycle mixed composition plastics (only pure plastics mixed up into the same pile). This is an important problem to solve but the food industry should be punished for using mixed plastic containers in the first place. Wether that is though bad PR or regulation is up to the country you live in. Customers should be made aware of how those recycling badges we see everywhere are more of a marketing trick than anything else and that plastic is not infinitely recyclable like glass and tin are. You are lucky to get one more use out of it.

IMO, at the very least this practice of putting plastic windows on otherwise recyclable things like cardboard just so that you can see the food inside should stop. It is a purely unnecessary marketing gimmick.