I’ve worked with plastic recycling in West Africa at one factory, and just sorting plastic waste by hand is a decent job for a few dozen marginalized women because it demand real human level work.
The reason why is pigment and color. They could recycle yellow into yellow or tan, red into red, green into green. But blue and black were the deal breakers. Black being probably already recycled plastic that uses black pigment to mix colors.
Everything after the sorting is trivial. Shredding, re-peletizing, molding, all easily done.
I’ve worked with plastic recycling in West Africa at one factory, and just sorting plastic waste by hand is a decent job for a few dozen marginalized women because it demand real human level work.
lots of waste are toxic and you get skin rashes if you touch it because it’s toxic. also fumes, smell etc.
The women sorting plastic are all outside, 150m from the re-peletization machines. They’re the only ones with a job that isn’t knee-deep in carcinogens.
I’ve worked with plastic recycling in West Africa at one factory, and just sorting plastic waste by hand is a decent job for a few dozen marginalized women because it demand real human level work.
The reason why is pigment and color. They could recycle yellow into yellow or tan, red into red, green into green. But blue and black were the deal breakers. Black being probably already recycled plastic that uses black pigment to mix colors.
Everything after the sorting is trivial. Shredding, re-peletizing, molding, all easily done.
lots of waste are toxic and you get skin rashes if you touch it because it’s toxic. also fumes, smell etc.
i would not call these “decent jobs” TBH
The women sorting plastic are all outside, 150m from the re-peletization machines. They’re the only ones with a job that isn’t knee-deep in carcinogens.