it's unclear to me why a city the size of toronto would be unable to recycle items that are recyclable elsewhere, and i'm frankly tired of being told that citizens are at blame for this, as though the recycling industry is above us in some way, and that it's alright if they can't be bothered to separate out things.

the coffee bins are a good example. there's a big market for these things. so, it should fall on the city to find a way to recycle them, if they end up in the bin - even if that means shipping them somewhere else.

if something is recyclable, the city should not be throwing it away just because it isn't locally recyclable; it should be making that effort to deal with the issue. and, if that costs money then they should ask for it; recycling is a core, essential service and not something that should be done on the cheap.

we need a change in culture, alright. and, it seems like the first culture that needs to change is the culture at the recycling plant.

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/04/13/bringing-purity-to-torontos-blue-bins.html