The Problem with Plastic Recycling

Plastic is ubiquitous. It wraps the food we buy in the supermarket; it’s used to manufacture myriad parts, household products, toys, and even clothing. When a plastic item is no longer useful, most people throw it away, meaning it ends up in a landfill, where it can potentially poison the ground it’s buried in.

But even when people and businesses attempt to be responsible and follow proper waste protocols, unseen barriers abound. There are many different types of plastic, each with its own collection system and disposal method. As a result, it’s challenging to know whether recycling efforts are ethical, helpful, or a flat-out waste of time.

Containers and packaging represent the highest tonnage of all plastics. According to the World Economic Forum, 36% of all plastic produced is used for packaging, of which 85% end up in landfills. And while we are doing marginally better at recycling than we did in the 1970s and 80s, landfill capacities continue to rise at an alarming rate.

Image Source: EPA

Adding to the complexity, several countries have banned plastic recycling imports. Plastic that would have been destined for China or Turkey is now often sent to poorer countries, where it ends up in landfills. The Basel Convention, introduced in 1992, seeks, among other things, to mitigate this phenomenon by controlling the movement of hazardous and toxic waste, but the US is not a signatory to the convention.

The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), which advocates for the recycling industry, avers that most outgoing shipments of waste plastics conform to Basel standards. However, they also agree that non-compliant materials often slip through, especially following the unprecedented demand for single-use plastics in the wake of the pandemic.

According to a study published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), more than eight million tons of pandemic-related plastic waste were generated in 2020 and 2021. Of that amount, 25,000 tons entered the world’s oceans. Inventory here includes plastic utensils, food packaging, plastic packaging from online shopping, PPE, and medical waste—the latter of which makes up the bulk of it. Though America may be behind targets regarding what they should be doing about plastic waste, many developing countries simply do not have the resources to deal with it. As a result, much of it accumulates on beaches and coastal waterways.  

Incineration vs. Landfills

Plastic waste is a global issue due to the range of products it powers and its resistance to degradation. While it is often easier to throw plastic away, this inherent laziness feeds into the environmental disaster we face today.

When recycling is not an option, we have two choices: landfill or incineration.

Incineration is the process of burning waste, reducing the original product to ash. Due to toxic chemicals released during plastic incineration, this method is neither a solution nor an alternative to landfills. Emissions from burning plastics contain poisonous chemicals like lead, mercury, carbon monoxide, arsenic, PCBs, and more. The ash then makes its way into landfills, which can destroy local soil and waterways.

A landfill is an excavated area dedicated to trash disposal. Waste is brought to these areas and buried, isolating waste in designated sites. The benefits of this approach, hypothetically at least, include monitoring by organizations in charge of landfills to minimize pollution levels and contain harmful gasses.

The reality is much more sinister—especially when you consider what we send to our landfills. Should this trend continue, the surrounding environment could become saturated with harmful substances that can deoxygenate water and cause soil to become infertile, not to mention the increase in vermin, disease, and respiratory disorders often associated with landfill proximity. 

What about recycling?

Recycling is a viable solution, but we all must take ownership of the process by:

• Choose more sustainable products, such as compostable materials for packaging
• Avoid single-use plastics and businesses/suppliers that still use them
• Replace single-use plastics with reusable alternatives
• Reduce reliance on heavily-packaged products where possible
• Understand what can and cannot be recycled
• Learn about proper disposal methods for unrecyclable plastics
• Proactively leverage local recycling and safe disposal programs

Finally, holding companies accountable for their environmental impact will go a long way toward ensuring our planet stays healthy for future generations. By understanding proper plastic disposal methods, we do our part to make the world a better place.