Recently there have been several investigative documentaries on streaming services that have heightened our country’s awareness of the ineffectiveness of plastic recycling. In fact, many one-time recyclers have now chosen not to recycle out of frustration over the misinformation and ineffectiveness of current recycling practices. But, is the system broke beyond repair? What should we believe about plastics recycling? What can I still do to help my environment? Most people do not begin to know how to get these questions answered.
I hope this blog will at least clear the air a bit and help you in your journey to find some answers that you can live with.
- It is not an easy solution to understand.
- First of all, plastic waste can be hard to collect.
- Also, There are some types of plastics that are more recyclable than others. Single-use plastics tend to be highly toxic and low in value but have a 20+% recyclable rate. Accurate sorting is virtually impossible. While alternatives, like aluminum or glass, are adequate solutions, the recycling rate on aluminum cans sits at around 50%.
- Finally, toxic materials are contained in plastics and also contaminate recycling efforts.
- Recycling is not impact-free. Plastic recycling is not the panacea we might think, it still has an impact on our environment (transportation, energy, and water). As experts seem to all agree, the best course of action is for our country to invest in reusable/refillable solutions.
- Recycling is not a very economical solution. In addition to energy consumption; labor to collect, separate and clean; there are few markets for plastics since China locked down on their collection of recycled bundles. While the effort may well be worth the cost, it still is not a profitable venture on its own that might attract private companies to invest in.
- Recycling is not a lost cause. There is still merit in recycling, even though the process is somewhat flawed and not perfect. The technology is evolving, we need to do our part. Our environment should be important enough to encourage us to take a longer view of our current actions. There are so many examples of “green technologies” that have overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles like solar panels, energy-efficient appliances/lighting, electronic devices, electric vehicles, etc… The ability to collect, sort and clean plastics will get more economical, have less of an impact on our environment, and will eventually make economical sense. However, bottom line, it takes concerned consumers to explore and adopt such technologies when they avail themselves and don’t give up.