Too Much Recycling Information: Barcelona Spain 2022

"Less is More". "TMI". "The Perfect is the Enemy of the Good". Recycling activists, enthusiasts, and considered experts all seem to have a personal relationship with at least one intelligent, well-meaning, considerate, educated person whose method of sorting recyclables from contaminants is, "what do I do with THIS?" 

They've learned enough about recycling to know that participation is good, contamination is bad. 

But despite having (in my friend's case a Ph.D) years of exposure to our advice, lectures, and examples, they are like an Expat who cannot speak our language. "What about THIS?" drew a #metoo laugh when I described my live in partner's method of recycling.  In her defense, she remembers where she puts her keys, I need to ask her for a reminder.

News reporters come in to offer expertise, inverview someone (hopefully an expert) and then try to boil it down, to simplify for consumers what is good and bad, what belongs in the recycling bin and what does not. Sadly, as I've noted for years, math majors don't often become journalists (a few datajournalists are the welcome exception). And when a statistic does appear - like "80% of e-waste" or "80% of exports" - most reporters become parrots at best, and at worst, employ witch-doctor statistics to scare/motivate/impugn, some how add another #gotcha to the by-line. (My dad, Ph.D of journalism from Columbia MO, oft said if he could do one thing to improve journalism, it would be to get rid of the byline, which he said was the source of ego, which was the contamination of objectivity... but TMI, sorry). 

If Recycling is a waste disposal system, it's the Antonio Gaudi design.  The architecture takes a genius to compose and more than a century to decipher.

Here are the simple instructions on the Barcelona bins...

FIRST, THE YELLOW "PLASTIC" RECYCLING BINS...

Everyone tells me at least that this is the"plastic recycling". 

- Cans and bricks

- Metals (skillet shown)

- Plastic bags (shown)

and NOT

- cloth toys (teddy bears

- umbrellas (this is apparently important, see below)

- CDs and DVDs

There is no mention at all of plastic PETE, HDPE, or other containers. But this is called the "Plastic" collection point in the neighborhood.

Now take a look at the gray - TRASH / WASTE bin instructions. Nothing is disallowed. But as importantly, Barcelona gives us examples of what can be thrown away.

- Ceramics (banned from glass, below)

- Diapers (banned from paper, below)

- Sweepings (which as I took these photos, a shopkeeper emptied into the yellow PLASTIC collector)

- Umbrellas (banned from "plastic", above)

So what about my plastic bottle?

As a professional recycler, I know the foil on it is a problem. But I'm fascinated that amid all the teddy bears, CD disks, and umbrellas, there's no mention anywhere of plastic drink containers, sold everywhere.

No plastic bottle instructions on the "Plastic" bin

No light bulbs, metal lids, or ceramics in the glass container (this is the most normal set of instructions)

The paper collection container is also familiar - if specific - in its instructions. Yes to paper and cardboard and "diaries". No to brick drink containers, aluminum coated paper (I understand this, but your average consumer probably won't), and photographic paper (the fax paper we tried to avoid in 1980s office building programs... I suspect this was added by an expert in his or her 60s).

And compost!

Yes, outside of Sagrada Familia, in an area overwhelmed by tourists and retailers, there are compost bins.

- Food (fish bones shown)

- Corks

- Plant and herb clippings.

but no-no's

- diapers

- pieces of wood

- diaries

Now if you can follow the instructions (in Catalan, not in Spanish, by the way) for recycling, you may be on your way to deciphering the blueprints for the Sagrada Familia.

 The big picture is upstream consumption, extraction costs... you've heard that here. But why has recycling become so dang confusing today? Take my trip this morning to recycle PETE bottles in Barcelona, Spain. Barcelona is a semi-source-separation system. People who have waste to dispose of (or commodities to contribute) are offered a choice of 5 bins on most city blocks.