Study: Plastic Recycling A “Failed Concept” Plastic recycling rates are declining even as pro- duction shoots up, according to a Greenpeace USA report that blasted industry claims of creating an efficient, circular economy as “fiction.” Titled “Circular Claims Fall Flat Again,” the study found that of 51 million tons of plastic waste gen- erated by U.S. households in 2021, only 2.4 million tons were recycled, or around five percent. After peaking in 2014 at 10 percent, the trend has been decreasing, especially since China stopped accept- ing the West’s plastic waste in 2018. Virgin production — of non-recycled plastic, that is — meanwhile is rapidly rising as the petrochem- ical industry expands, lowering costs. Practice Over Theory According to Greenpeace USA’s survey, only two types of plastic are widely accepted at the nation’s 375 material recovery facilities. The first is polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is commonly used in water and soda bot- tles; and the second is high density polyethylene (HDPE), seen in milk jugs, shampoo bottles and cleaning product containers. These are numbered
“1” and “2” according to a standardized system in which there are seven plastic types. But being recyclable in theory doesn’t mean prod- ucts are being 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 chil- dren’s toys, plastic bags, produce wrappings, yo- gurt and margarine tubs, coffee cups and to-go food containers — were reprocessed at rates of less than five percent. Despite often carrying the recycling symbol on their labels, products that use plastic types “3” through “7” fail to meet the Federal Trade Commis- sion classification of recyclable. This is because recycling facilities for these types aren’t available to a “substantial majority” of the population, defined as 60 percent, and because the collected products are not being used in the man- ufacturing or assembly of new items, according to the report. According to the report, there were five main rea- sons why plastic recycling is a “failed concept.” First, plastic waste is generated in vast quantities (Cont’d on Page 9)
GOLD RISK FREE TRIAL BLADE LAST 5-10X LONGER THAN CARBON STEEL 856-461-9111 | sales@allisonblades.com
October 24, 2022 5
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online