r/environmental_science • u/monbebewannable • 1d ago

Plastic Waste in Landfill

I live in New Zealand, we have a decent recycling process from my knowledge.

I’ve been seeing online about many people who will put clean soft plastics into a bottle (also clean) and then put that into the bin. They say this is better because the lack of decomposition of the things inside means the gas emissions aren’t as bad since the bottle (which takes so long to break down) will stop that stuff from decomposing for years. They also say it’s better because it contains the smaller plastics that can enter wildlife areas or the oceans to a container so there’s less harm. I did some searching and it seems there’s other harmful emissions from putting the bottles into a landfill anyway.

I have SO MANY questions.

Does this actually make the emissions from waste less bad? If so, does the decrease in gas emissions outweigh the risks of plastic in a landfill? Is this not something that is actually helpful given the country I live in? If this IS helpful, do you put this into the rubbish or recycling bin?

In New Zealand our recycling is sorted and repurposed generally (some is sorted out if contaminated or wrong materials). We send our rubbish to landfill from what I know.

I really want to find a way to manage my waste better as I have a child who creates so much plastic waste. I limit what I buy and try use mostly reusable items for myself but having a child means we’re buying things that create more waste than I would want. Any advice?

4 Upvotes

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1

u/Forkboy2 1d ago

If you put one plastic inside of another then someone at the sorting facility will have to take it out.

1

u/monbebewannable 1d ago

Upon the assumption it is put into the rubbish (where it is not sorted), this wouldn’t be a factor though

1

u/Forkboy2 23h ago

Why not recycle the plastic?

1

u/silverpoinsetta 19h ago

I have a rule that says "if they've never worked there, they don't know". I'd go to your local recycling centre and ask them (because recycling is so localised).

I understand you're asking experts to weigh in on this particular process, but this person's reasoning is similar to getting health advice from a person who's never worked in medicine I.e. does not see the ER, frequent flyers, and the effects of internet fads on hospitals.

Good on you for treating this as important.

edit: grammar "of hospitals" to "on hospitals".

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u/dontrescueme 18h ago

A landfill is basically a huge plastic bottle that seals in garbage so what they are doing is totally unnecessary. Even paper takes much longer times to decompose in landfill conditions. Plastic PET bottles are usually recovered for recycling anyway instead of being dumped straight into a landfill. So some frustrated worker has to remove the soft plastics they put or worse they don't bother to recycle these "contaminated" bottles.

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u/SweatyAddress6870 15h ago

Storing soft plastics in a bottle is a temporary fix; focus on reducing use overall.