In My Opinion: Published in E-Scrap News
Photos below, article in link above.
Plastics Recycling's Burdensome New "Narrative"
A friend from Carleton College, physican, philosopher, professor and author Peter Ubel, nominated me on Facebook to comment on a new Frontline and NPR series:
The headline implies that plastic never would be recycled. I've seen some other reporting to this effect, harkening back to the Penn and Teller video "Recycling is Bull***t".
How about:
"Some in Big Oil Misled the Public Into Believing More Plastic Would Be Recycled Than Could Be"
The thing is, plastics recycling is not all that complicated to explain, compared to say health care policy.
"Part of the problem with mixed plastics recycling is insufficient participation. Manufacturers cannot meet % recycled content goals if consumers don't participate. "Another is over-participation. When in doubt, leave it out. Over-eager recyclers contaminate feedstock with mayo. "
Not really that political.
Self-Cancellation in the Era of Public Shaming
Over the decade-plus that I've added to this blog, there have been times I self-censored, and times I lobbed bombs. If anything protects me, it's probably the sheer volume of posts. It's difficult even for me to find the 2010-ish posts on shipping car seats to Africa rather than shredding them. But my experience with trying to do that, during a 2 year stint running Retroworks as a Thrift Store / Electronics Recycler, was an early example of public shaming. A woman on my staff stridently refused, saying we'd be putting African children in danger by exposing them to "expired" car seats.
But increasingly I've had some very revealing draft blogs sit unposted, unpublished. I've learned from Facebook and Twitter that no matter how insightful or pithy a thought, that it runs a high risk of being "cancelled" by someone critical of my privilege and race and gender.
Procurement to the Rescue of the Right To Repair
I've provided several written and oral testimony on behalf of "Right To Repair" Laws in several states. What prepares me for the discussion is over 3 decades of interest in Warranty Law, Planned Obsolescence, Trademark and Patent Law.
Here's the thing. Most of the testimony in favor of Right To Repair is based on past Planned Obsolescence techniques. Most of the testimony AGAINST Right to Repair is based on scary things that might occur in the future, if OEMs are forced to stop blocking independents (who according to OEM TV ads are far more likely to stalk you than OEM repair shops).
But the VERY SCARY future is based on what Planned Obsolescence has in mind.
Profile of Critical Thinking, Mistakes, and Systemic Language
Through approximately 13 years of blogs, I've made a number of errors. There are too many blogs now to really go back and change. And arguably it's a mistake to edit the history of the thought, it is a snapshot of evolution.
When my dear friend and co-founder of the company, Yadji Moussa, drowned eight years ago, I wrote a rather passionate eulogy. I wanted to be honest and not cover up some of Yadji's problems - he had lost his family through drinking and in the 12 years he lived in Middlebury and worked with me, he'd spent an enormous percent of his paychecks frivolously. I thought I'd also been equally complimentary about why he'd been my best friend in Cameroon, and why his family in Michigan still loved him as much as I did.
Well, I didn't accomplish a Neil Young song about the setting sun. And a stranger from University of Vermont chimed into the comment section about all of the ways my tribute/critique of Yadji's life were implicitly racist.
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