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Respekt in English27. 2. 2009

Burn after reading and drinking

It is a well-known fact – the Czech Republic is Europe's number one recycler and sorter of plastics. However, the successful and profitable system got stuck now. The economic crisis has decreased interest in sorted waste, which is now piling up in the warehouses of companies dealing with the collection of recyclable waste.

Astronaut
Autor: Respekt
Autor fotografie: Milan Jaroš Autor: Respekt

It is a well-known fact – the Czech Republic is Europe's number one recycler and sorter of plastics. However, the successful and profitable system got stuck now. The economic crisis has decreased interest in sorted waste, which is now piling up in the warehouses of companies dealing with the collection of recyclable waste. So far, nobody has been panicking and calling for the overflowing yellow, blue and green containers to be hauled away to waste dumps. However, the chain has been interrupted. And the question „where to put it?“ is even more pressing.

Where did the Chinese boats disappear to?

Secondary materials have become popular in the past years and an excellent business with these materials has developed. It solved several problems at once. It was not necessary to transport the piling waste to waste dumps where it would lie for hundreds of years, but it was used to produce useful things again – fleece jackets, benches or noise protection walls were made from plastic, toilet paper, cardboard, binders etc. were made from paper. Of course that technology and energy were costly, but it still payed off. Not only were there no fees for waste dumps and incinerators; it also helped slow down the shrinking of natural resources, which are expensive to extract, transport and process.

The advantages of recycled materials were evident especially when the prices of…

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