Recycling or pollution?
Many of us think we are doing our bit by recycling plastic. Are we?
A system which focuses on plastic recycling enables plastic pollution to continue albeit it a lesser rate. It simply delays the inevitable disposal of plastic, and there’s no good way to do that. Less than 10% of all the plastic created has been recycled. The term ‘plastic recycling’ is a contradiction. Recycling implies a sustainable, natural cycle. Plastic recycling does not fit that remit. A recent study of a UK plastics recycling facility estimated that up to 75 billion microplastic particles were released into each cubic meter of wastewater. This is clearly unhealthy and unsustainable.
Recycling is not Viable
There are more than 16,000 chemicals which constitute plastics, so the potential combinations are ginormous. Mixed plastics cannot simply be recycled together. They need to be separated to be recycled. Some cannot be effectively recycled at all. This gives rise to a massive problem of identifying and sorting prior to processing. And such processing requires transportation, energy and further resources. This processing costs money whilst further harming the environment. Hence virgin plastic is generally cheaper meaning that plastic recycling is not economically viable and continues plastic production.
Supermarket Greenwashing
Some supermarkets claim to recycle soft plastics. A Bloomberg reporter tracked Tesco soft plastics collected for recycling. Everyday Plastics did the same for Tesco and Sainsbury. The investigations showed that the majority of soft plastic 'recycling' ended up in incinerators in the UK and Europe. Under UK law, the latter is deemed recycling.
Scam
Plastic recycling is a scam (article 1 | article 2). It is claimed that Big Oil has known since the 1970s that a system of plastic recycling wasn’t viable yet promoted that system anyway. It is claimed that big plastic polluters such as Coca Cola also knew. Indeed Big Soda has lobbied through trade associations to block legislation on plastic reforms whilst promising publicly to cut waste; deception and manipulation; profit over people.
Turn Off The Tap!
The current system of plastic recycling, landfill, incineration / waste-to-energy and illegal dumping is unhealthy and unsustainable. Plastic pollutes throughout its existence using energy and resources. It’s best not to create it in the first place. This can be done by reducing consumption, implementing systems of reuse, and by using natural materials instead. It is with respect to the waste hierarchy - reduce, reuse, recycle. Put simply, we must turn off the tap of plastic production.
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