> separation by the consumer is still more effective than having it done after collection.
Why would this be true? I would think that a worker after collection would be 10x more efficient and precise when separating recyclables then individuals doing it piecemeal.
The consumer is certainly paid less than a employee to do that job badly (in comparison), but there's no way that the extra taxes that I would have to pay to have recyclables sorted centrally would be higher than value of the time it takes to sort it myself.
Try to take apart a box where you have half-empty yoghurt cups and newspapers.
And now imagine having them separately.
Separation by the consumer is far easier, because they can make sure in the paper container is purely paper, and it can just be dissolved, cleaned, and recast into paper. And in the plastic container is just plastic, metal and organic stuff, so you can clean it with water, and are left with plastic and metal, and can separate magnetically.
Commercial recyclers operate at a scale too large to hire people to sort. They depend on automated sorting, which uses blown air and physics to separate items - plastic flies higher than metal.
What doesn't go into one of the other slots gets sent to the landfill... Including most of the glass jars that you cleaned and sorted carefully.
Actually in some cases the equipment is more advanced. About 8 years ago I visited a mixed recycling facility in London which separated plastic bottles by computer vision triggering a precise air jet to launch each bottle into a different hopper. There was also a stage that used rollers to shatter glass bottles, though I don't remember the purpose of that.
Why would this be true? I would think that a worker after collection would be 10x more efficient and precise when separating recyclables then individuals doing it piecemeal.
The consumer is certainly paid less than a employee to do that job badly (in comparison), but there's no way that the extra taxes that I would have to pay to have recyclables sorted centrally would be higher than value of the time it takes to sort it myself.