When this reporter sees confusing guidelines for recycling, which are about as common as lying politicians, the response is generaly a dissapointed shake of the head and the decision to get on with life.

But on a recent Saturday morning, the instructions on a plastic bottle contaning what was supposed to be an energising shot of tumeric, ginger, and juice from Germany’s Edeka supermarket chain had this writer thinking, “What fresh hell is this?”

There, on a piece of film that appeared to be hastily glued to the back of the thumb-sized vial, were instructions to seperately dispose of the bottle, the lid, and the label stuck there in what looked to be an afterthought. It did not say who was to undertake this imporant work, nor where these various materials were to be sent. Is the user responsible? The sorter? The recycler? Is that scrap of film destined for a specific waste stream divergent from the bottle and cap? What in the world is happening here? 

If someone you know says they do not understand why people are angry at the plastics industry, feel free to show them the photo. It’s worth more than a thousand words.