According to a Greenpeace USA Report, plastic recycling rates are decreasing even as production rises, and the report was published Monday. It blasted industry claims about creating an efficient, circular economy, calling them “fiction.”
The title of the article is “Circular Claims fall flat again.” Study findsOnly 2.4 million tonnes of plastic waste, which is around five percent, was recycled by US households out of 51 million tons.
After a 2014 peak at 10 percent, the trend has been declining, particularly since China began to refuse West’s plastic waste in 2018.
Virgin production – of non-recycled plastic, that is – meanwhile is rapidly rising as the petrochemical industry expands, lowering costs.
Greenpeace USA activist Lisa Ramsden said that big corporations and industry groups have been pressing for recycling to be a solution. She spoke to AFP.
She added that “by doing so, they have shirked every responsibility” for recycling being effective. She named Unilever, Coca-Cola and Nestle as examples. Prime offenders.
According to a survey by Greenpeace USA, only two types are accepted at the country’s 375 material recycling facilities.
The first is Polyethylene Terephthalate(PET), commonly found in soda and water bottles; the second is High density polyethyleneHDPE, also found in shampoo bottles, milk jugs and cleaning product containers.
These are numbered “1”, and “2” according a standardized system, which includes seven types.
Although products may be recyclable in theory, they are not always recycled in practice.
The report found that PET and HDPE products had actual reprocessing rates of 20.9 percent and 10.3 percent, respectively – both down slightly from Greenpeace USA’s last survey in 2020.
Plastic types “3” through “7” – including children’s toys, plastic bags, produce wrappings, yogurt and margarine tubs, coffee cups and to-go food containers – were reprocessed at rates of less than five percent.
Although they may have the recycling symbol on the labels of many products, those that use plastic types 3-7 fail to meet the Federal Trade Commission criteria for recyclable.
This is because these products are not being recycled and are not used in the manufacture or assembly of new items.
According to The reportPlastic recycling is a “failed” concept for five reasons.
Economically impracticable
First, there is a lot of plastic waste. It is extremely difficult to collect – as becomes clear during what the report called ineffective “volunteer cleanup stunts” funded by nonprofits such as “Keep America Beautiful.”
Second, even if all of it was collected, mixed plastic refuse cannot be recycled together. It would also be “functionally impossible” to sort the trillions pieces of consumer plastic waste each year, the report stated. .
The third is that recycling itself can be harmful to the environment. It exposes workers to toxic chemicals, and generates microplastics.
Fourth, recycled plastic poses toxicity risks due to contamination with other types of plastic in the collection bins. This prevents it from being made into food-grade material.
The fifth and final step is the cost of recycling.
“New plastic competes directly with recycled plastic and is far cheaper to make and of better quality.” This report.
Ramsden asked corporations to support a Global Plastics Treaty which was signed by United Nations members in February. It would encourage refilling and reuse strategies.
“This isn’t actually a new concept – it’s how the milkman used to be, it’s how Coca-Cola used to get its beverages to people. She explained that they would drink their beverage and then give the glass bottles back to be sterilized and reused.
Some countries are setting the example, such as India, which recently banned 19 single use plastic items. Austria has set reuse goals of at least 25 percent by 2025, and at minimum 30 percent by 2030 for beverage packaging. Portugal has the same goal, with a 30 percent target by 2030.
Chile has decided to ban single-use cutlery. It will also mandate refillable bottles.
