On second thought, just throw plastic away
I think this makes the same mistake that has always been made with respect to plastic -- it assumes the responsibility of making recycling work should fall to the consumer, when it should really be imposed on the producer. If the responsibility and cost were imposed on the packaging manufacturers to make sure that most of the packaging they produce get recycled, they would be forced to find a solution. They could then respond to this by choosing to move away from plastic altogether, or choosing materials that are easier to recycle, or raising prices and using the proceeds to pay for effective collection efforts and so forth. As it stands, the packagers&#x27; incentives are all aligned with plastic packaging -- it is cheaper to produce, cheaper to transport, and more versatile than other materials. As it stands, all of the costs of the waste stream from plastics are borne by consumers and the environment.