Thank you for carefully rinsing, sorting and recycling your plastic containers. But plastic is trash and trying to recycle it is futile, Greenpeace said in late October. Greenpeace and other environmental groups have warned for years about the “greenwashing” of plastic recycling by the petroleum and chemical industries, but those chemical companies have made recycling and reuse of plastics viable and It claims to be on the verge of a major breakthrough in cost savings. effective.
Consumers, on the other hand, are stuck in the middle. Is plastic recycling just a feel-good charade that we need to stop bothering to act, or is there some utility in keeping plastic recycling flowing?
What does Greenpeace’s new report say?
US households will generate about 51 million tonnes of plastic waste in 2021, of which only 2.4 million tonnes will be recycled, Greenpeace USA said in a report, “Circular billing will level off again.” I’m here. This means that only about 5% to 6% of U.S. plastic waste is recycled, up from peaks of 9.5% in 2014 and 8.7% in 2018. Decreased before stopping accepting dumps.
Some plastics are recycled at a higher rate. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) No. 1 commonly used in bottled beverages and High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) No. 2 used in milk jugs, shampoo and detergent bottles accounted for 20.9% and 10.3% respectively. are recycled in Greenpeace says. But all other types of plastic are below 5%.
Lisa Lumsden, Senior Plastics Campaigner for Greenpeace USA, said in a statement, “The data is clear. The reality is that most plastic is not recyclable.” An even smaller proportion is recycled.As the industry plans to triple its plastic production by 2050, the crisis is getting worse and will continue to get worse without dramatic change. prize.”
So no recyclable plastic?
Most plastics can be recycled, but current processes are energy intensive, produce pollutants, and are more costly to make reusable than using virgin plastic. And recycling 5% of America’s plastic is probably better than recycling 0%.
To meet the recyclable definition used by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastic Economy (EMF NPE) initiative, an item must be at least 30% recycled.In the U.S., even the most recyclable types of plastic don’t meet that standard.
The Federal Trade Commission’s “Green Guide” uses a different measure of recyclability, labeling an item as “recyclable” only if 60% of consumers have access to a recycling facility where the item can be recycled. can be attached. The Barge report. Under that definition, PET and HDPE bottles and jugs are considered recyclable. However, yogurt containers, plastic cups, plastic plates, and other common products never approach that 60% threshold, stating, “Just because people have access to PET and HDPE recycling facilities. , it does not mean that those products are actually recycled. The Barge Note.
So what happens to the plastic that goes into the trash?
“It goes to a recycling facility, not recycled,” Trent Carpenter, general manager of the Southern Oregon Health Authority, told NPR News. “It goes to a recycling facility and ends up in another landfill. . [you] Plastic waste can also be burned to release toxic fumes, some of which ends up in the ocean, where it decomposes and releases microplastic particles that appear in fish, birds, and humans. .
“We had to re-educate people that a lot of material was ending up in landfills,” Carpenter said, adding that people didn’t want to hear it. We’re going to take everything and I think it can be recycled,’ and it’s easier to look the other way,’ but he said, ‘That’s greenwashing at its best.
Of course, some of it is recycled and reused. According to the National Association for PET Container Resources, 21% of plastic bottles collected for recycling in 2017 were made new, for example.
Will plastic become virtually recyclable?
The plastics industry keeps saying yes. “What we’re trying to do is really create a circular economy for plastic, because we think it’s the most viable option to keep plastic out of the environment,” he says. Associated Press“We think we are on the cusp of a sustainability revolution where circularity is at the heart of it,” he added. “Innovative technologies like advanced recycling make this possible.” .”
The “advanced recycling” he refers to is also called chemical recycling, and some big plastic companies are investing significant resources in building large-scale plastic recycling plants. “The main chemical recycling technologies use pyrolysis, gasification, or depolymerization.” APs report. “U.S. plastic producers say they will recycle or recover all plastic packaging used in the U.S. by 2040.”
“Our mission is to solve plastic pollution. ‘It’s not just a catchphrase. We all really want to solve plastic pollution.’ is converted into a synthetic oil solution that can be shipped to petrochemical plants to make new plastic products, and 15% is fully converted to run the process.
Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin announced the creation of a new enzyme earlier this year. The enzyme breaks down PET plastic in just 48 hours, dissolving “everything from water bottles to clamshell packaging for food,” graduate student Daniel Acosta told his WSB in Atlanta. tv set. A new enzyme, his FAST PETase, was created using artificial intelligence.
The FAST PETase enzyme is still in lab testing. Andrew Ellington, professor of molecular biology at UT, told WSB TV: DeBenedictis said he also licensed Alterra’s technology. Because it’s “the best way to make an impact in the world most quickly”.
Is it a realistic possibility to reduce plastic?
Greenpeace argues that is the only realistic possibility. “The real solution is to switch to a recycling and replenishment system,” said Greenpeace’s Ramsden. “This is not really a new concept. It used to be the way milkmen used to, and how Coca-Cola got drinks to people. I will use it.”
Users of giant plastic products such as Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestle and Unilever should do this voluntarily or they could be forced to do so, Ramsden said. is at a decision point on plastic pollution.It’s time for companies to turn off the plastic tap.Instead of continuing to greenwash and mislead the American public, the industry will stand on the right side of history this November. A plastics treaty that will ultimately end the era of plastics by drastically reducing ambitious global production and increasing refilling and recycling.”
At the same time, plastic has undergone “an extraordinary evolution as a material” since its symbolic exposure in Mike Nichols’ 1967 masterpiece. Graduateas John Seabrook wrote New Yorker According to Greenpeace, 2010 marked the peak of plastic recycling.
“In this film, ‘plastic’ is understood to mean a cheap, barren, ugly, meaningless way of life, an old-generation value that is almost by definition boring and disgusting to young Benjamin. It’s the embodiment of everything about,” Seabrook said. he wrote “Plastic! What a joke! How lame! Even after 43 years, McGuire’s advice doesn’t seem so lame.” “Imagine a world where millions of people could have a 3D printer on their desk and download designs from the internet and print them. Many products would be made of plastic. ”
Kate O’Neill, professor of environmental science, policy and management at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of the book Uselesscame to believe that chemical recycling must be part of the solution to the world’s plastic crisis. APs“For some of these big issues, nothing can be ruled out,” O’Neill said.
So is it worth throwing plastic in the trash?
Apparently, “For a long time there was no difference between sorting, rinsing and recycling plastic juice bottles and throwing them away with the rest of your household waste,” wrote Tom Wrobleski. I’m here. Staten Island Advance“Actually, you’d be better off putting the bottle in a garbage bag in the kitchen, because at least that way it’s contained and landfilled.”
The hard reality is that “plastic bottles and containers are everywhere,” Wrobleski adds, “and if we can’t recycle them, we’ll have to come up with alternatives.” “It turned out that being green was a lot harder than they told us.”
“Recycling seems pointless, so it can be demoralizing,” said John Oliver. last night tonight “But it’s important to know that’s not the case. We should definitely continue recycling paper, cardboard and aluminum. Even plastic recycling is 90% more wasteless than you might think. It might make sense, but it can still have a modest environmental impact: Sorting the right kind of plastic into the bin has a “benefit.”
