Nor do liners, lids, wrapping for utensils and even the more highly weighted plastic forks. Likely the plastic knives get recycled more than say forks, just on basic logistics of washing and sorting. This is really a shame on human civilisation the amount of bullshitbthay surrounds recycling. But I digress, easily Google a bull…!
If the issue isn’t plastics, why are straws an issue? Plastics are a massive problem. The elephant in the room is products not having easily separable types of plastics. Example. A coke bottle has a lid, a seal, a label, glue for the label and the bottle itself. Although this represents a logistical jughtmare for recycling, it is in fact probably some of the easiest to recycle plastic products.
Let’s now move onto the glue point. Aside fro. Glas being heavy and breakable, it’s easily the most reusable and recycleabke product we currently have for most things (especially health care and food related). Stick on that glue and label, things get tricky easy. Easy solution, make labels not attach. Enter fraud. FDA type organizations, for good reasons, frown upon this type of thing. Due to exactly that. Fraud. Also contamination. Case in point: raw organic produce must be wrapped and packaged or people get fined. It creates so much waste for such a counter productive purpose.
Those thin shirty plastic wraps, especially with labels glued onto them, cannot be recycled. At least not realistically with current forms and choices. We, as a country, certainly could make this packaging requirement more clean and safe…it would eb nice. Probably isn’t even that hard. But so far, we don’t, and plastic waste is still the norm. So I do feel plastics are the issue. I. The se se gkvernemnt regulation is too stupid, companies are too cheap and customers are just as stupid as the government policies. If not more so.
Especially today, 2024, it’s easy to say no. I say it every time. “By yong, wo hwai Jia che”. Or whatever the pinyin is. “Thanks, I don’t need. I am going home to eat”. Every taiwa ese eatery accepts this and it is no longer taboo and face losing to deny taking their crap. It used to be, it is no longer the case. “Just say no”. But smile and face save it. Easier than walling up their steps.
This is a sad truth. many consumers feel they need to ignore reality about and choose to buy anyway. No point claiming ignorance, we are too informed now. No excuses.
The amount of packaging that goes on BEFORE being on the shelf is already a disgrace. It’s not joke proof positive our species is not intelligent and frankly dumb as all fuck. Unless we thunk loads of pollution and garbage is net positive. Those people, albeit wrong, can at least justify their purchases 
We see containers wrapped in plastic, protected with cardboard, put into a box, wrapped in loads more plastic onto a wooden or plastic pallet then shipped across the globe. And that’s just basic level SOP.
We can do better. We should do better. We should be mandated to do better. But the governemtn gives zero fucks either until people stand up and insist. They will knee jerk into action once society gives half a fuck.
