Wondering what people generally do after receiving a package in a prepaid satchel or just good parcel do you throw away the packaging or reuse it and does Australia Post allow you to reuse old used parcels and packages because I feel bad throwing them away when just a bit of tape can make them good as new again and it is not like we expect the satchels and parcels to be pristine condition all the time.
Do they actually get recycled?
A very important question that most definitely needs to be detailedly answered for today's future.
If I recall correctly soft plastics cannot get recycled chemically but are just turned into bean bag fodder and are basically reused as filling for toys, clothes, furniture and other stuff.
This is bad unless you wanna live a bean bag fodder plastic life.
Rip our future generations.
Whilst not ideal, it's still technically reusing/recycling and meets all the criteria for lowering our environmental impact.
@[Deactivated]: Not really. Recycling is the process of coverting waste materials into new products and it is a process that can be repeated over and over again, say with aluminium cans.
Turning soft plastic into bean bag fodder is downcycling, where a product is recycled into a product of a lower quality and functionality than the original item. Downcycling can usually only be performed once before the item becomes landfill.
The aim of recycling is to keep products out of landfill entirely.
@Placebo: But what if (theoratically) it is downcycled to a product that doesn't get thrown out?
Hot potato law at work here. The last person who consumes it is responsible. Don't want to be responsible, don't be the last. It will trickle its way up. Ie. If people do not buy plastic bean bag fodder, then there's nowhere for these bags to go and no claim to "recycling" is made hence these bags retain a negative reputation.
@[Deactivated]: Well yes, you can say "last person deals with it" if you want to, but surely most people recycle because they (vaguely) care about the planet as opposed to just doing it for appearance? In which case it absolutely does matter what happens to it after you've gotten rid of it.
@callum9999: Of course it matters but as someone who has already taken the effort to sort their plastics and ensure it is collected for recycling, how much further should one be held accountable for the outcome?
A clear cut definition is if someone is willing to take on the material, that person accepts responsibility moving forward.
@[Deactivated]: lol that is a (profanity) up view on the world and society as a whole man.
Don't be the last guy is a terrible philosophy and way to do things it is basically equivalent to the "not my problem not my responsibility" kind of philosophy and only ends badly.
Government or law regulations needs to really ban processes where the net effect is basically useless and unrecyclable? / irrecyclable? product waste or have extremely super tight restrictions only allowing life essential items to be produced in this manner because we are definitely going to see the effect of it in future generations to come.
My current game is guessing how long it will take to reach this point and for other essential points or milestones to be reached to have a sustainable future and basically a future where we don't completely (profanity) up the planet into oblivion.
I know it is a tough topic but yeah needs to be said and praise be to those seriously working on the important issue / topic.
@AlienC: When one has to impose law unto another to make them behave as per someone's definition of appropriate, it never works.
If we ban plastic bags, do we then ban other plastic nonsense? What then would we classify as nonsense? Fidget spinners, Rubik's cubes, cheap tools…
… and if we completely remove plastic, the demand of plastic drops but the supply may not as it utilizes byproducts of petrochemicals. A poorer country may just increase their usage of a cheaper material.
Ultimately, it is the end user that has the most significant impact. If all end users do not want plastic crap, plastic crap will not be made.
I say this as someone who hasn't used a plastic bag in years.
@[Deactivated]: Good call and I highly agree that imposing laws do not work or do not get the effect that we really desire also it just feels bad imposing anything on another individual free will must be the main determinant at play here.
In saying that I feel like there still should be hard limits or ceiling rules so that we do not go too crazy on the plastic excess which I assume there might be already because it just takes one crazy company or individual to then destroy the environment and cause chaos in our landfills but it is touchy tricky subject so I will stop it right there.
We cannot control individuals or even affect them so honestly at the end of the day it is just a gamble and lotto to whatever happens in this scenario.
Redcycle send it to Replas in Victoria who use the plastics to make products. Signs, bollards, furniture etc.
Through the REDcycle Program Replas is proud to partner with companies, such as Coles and Woolworths, who have taken responsibility for the plastic waste they create. The soft plastic material collected through the program can be recycled by Replas and turned into products designed for outdoor use within the community.
I reused a prepaid satchel I received recently. You have to pay for postage if you reuse it though. You are only reusing it as wrapping for your package.
ok then this answers my question thank you
I save ones that aren't too ripped up for when I need to send stuff. Especially the padded ones or ones with built-in bubble wrap.
ok cool damn I threw a padded one because it was huge and taking up space and had no clue if it was reusable or not but thanks now I have the answer many thanks much appreciated
Always reuse them! Though it's easy to get carried away with hoarding them.
Honestly I would rather hoard then basically landfill them.
If everyone is reusing them instead of land filling them (at least the non broken salvageable ones) then in my mind that is a good thing for the whole of society to do because we gotta sleep in the bed we make ourselves in.
Much to my partners disgust I hoard and re use them. I hide them under the house now.
Just find an Amazon or other big box lying around and use that to store them and let them imagine whatever they want to imagine what is inside.
Ambiguous big boxes ftw.
How are you supposed to reuse a prepaid satchel since they come with tracking? Cover the old tracking number?
Yes
Yeah I assume you get a new tracking sticker and paste it over so the old tracking number gets covered.
Obviously you can't use old or used tracking number and prepaid parcels.
I turn them inside out.
I do the same with my underwear.
I re-use padded bags and tough bags.
I usually staple them up and put tape over the staples so they aren't a WHS hazard for the posty.
Just the boxes if I think I'll be able to use it later on to send something myself, very convenient.
If it's a mailing box there is away to convert the inside to be the outside - thus you have one clean box. If the box to big you can also resize (usually just the height) to desirable height.
We had a big cardboard box we put a towel on and the cat used to love sleeping on. After the old cat died we got a new kitten and he peed all over it. Much better than trying to clean off a piece of furniture.
You can recycle soft plastics at the bins outside your local Woolworths or Coles.
Redcycle