Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Spanish term or phrase:
plástico trágico
English translation:
orphan plastic
Spanish term
United States
Authentic translations, detailed editing
Native in: English (Variants: British, UK, US, Canadian) 
Works in: Spanish to English
plástico trágico
I'm considering the term "non-recyclable", which seems to encompass this meaning, but would like to hear from other translators.
See the section "¿Qué se recolecta?" at https://paisajesinplastico.cr/jornada/ for reference (note that this is for reference only and is not the text I am translating).
Thanks!
| 3 +4 | orphan plastic |
Althea Draper
|
Feb 9, 2023 15:19: patinba changed "Level" from "Non-PRO" to "PRO"
PRO (3): philgoddard, Marie Wilson, patinba
When entering new questions, KudoZ askers are given an opportunity* to classify the difficulty of their questions as 'easy' or 'pro'. If you feel a question marked 'easy' should actually be marked 'pro', and if you have earned more than 20 KudoZ points, you can click the "Vote PRO" button to recommend that change.
How to tell the difference between "easy" and "pro" questions:
An easy question is one that any bilingual person would be able to answer correctly. (Or in the case of monolingual questions, an easy question is one that any native speaker of the language would be able to answer correctly.)
A pro question is anything else... in other words, any question that requires knowledge or skills that are specialized (even slightly).
Another way to think of the difficulty levels is this: an easy question is one that deals with everyday conversation. A pro question is anything else.
When deciding between easy and pro, err on the side of pro. Most questions will be pro.
* Note: non-member askers are not given the option of entering 'pro' questions; the only way for their questions to be classified as 'pro' is for a ProZ.com member or members to re-classify it.
Proposed translations
United Kingdom
Freelance Medical Translator, MA (Hons)
Native in: English (Variants: British, Scottish) 
Works in: French to English, Spanish to English, English
orphan plastic
https://www.undp.org/es/costa-rica/press-releases/costa-rica...
"While informal waste pickers collect high-value recyclable materials such as PET plastic bottles, the non-recyclable low-value plastic from the same source isn’t being collected. This continues to pollute the oceans and impact coastal communities. The lack of value due to market demand, creates a bigger problem with no one taking responsibility – this is often called 'orphan plastic'."
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/06/impact-investing-the-...
"Orphan plastic is plastic waste that’s abandoned, mismanaged, and non-recyclable. These are the single-use plastics, plastic bags, plastic packaging, and other cheap plastic that is found everywhere and is difficult to get rid of. "
https://tontoton.com/orphan-plastics-why-do-we-need-to-pay-a...
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 47 mins (2023-02-09 14:50:52 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
"Some of the plastic we get can be recycled, but not all of it. And that’s going to make you feel bad about throwing it in the trash and messing up our environment with more plastic waste.
But there’s some light at the end of this tunnel! There are ways to give some of these orphan plastic items another chance at life and in some cases, multiple uses."
https://www.nj.com/news/2019/07/i-give-my-plastic-a-second-l...
"Much of what ends up on the beaches is sometimes known as “orphan plastics”, single-use plastic that is too lightweight and of too little value to be collected and recycled. "
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davisbrett/2021/06/10/innovativ...
| This is great, Althea, thank you! Completely accounts for the "en el ambiente" part and the broader context of the text. |
| agree |
philgoddard
: Well done.
15 mins
|
|
Thanks Phil
|
|
| agree |
Marie Wilson
21 mins
|
|
Thanks Marie
|
|
| agree |
Jessica Crotti
1 hr
|
|
Thanks Jessica
|
|
| agree |
neilmac
2 hrs
|
|
Thanks neilmac
|
Discussion
Based on this, I'm still comfortable with "non-recyclable plastic waste". I think the aspect of "que está en el ambiente" is being used fairly broadly in the Países sin Plástico resource. The plastic used in this aggregate often comes from low-income community collection centers, where people are literally gathering these materials from the environment, so to speak (a subtopic of my translation). In short, I'm gathering from these two resources that it's a pretty broad term.
Plástico no valorizable que está en el ambiente y que no es apto para reciclaje.
It would be useful to have the text you're translating, though. "Non-recyclable" doesn't cover "que está en el ambiente". This may or may not matter, depending on the context.