This headline appeared in an NPR news story in September , and understandably, it has since prompted a lot of questions from concerned recyclers. It has also generated some long-needed awareness around the challenges of recycling plastic and the need for petrochemical companies to finally take responsibility for the immense amount of plastic material they thrust upon the market without taking action to recycle it.
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Since the appearance of this article, recyclers have been asking us, Are you actually recycling the plastics we send you? The answer is: Yes, we are, and yes, we have been. However, this is becoming more difficult with petroleum subsidies, the lack of companies using recycled plastics to make their products, and the growing glut of different types of plastic packaging. As the NPR story rightly highlights, plastics recycling is not going to solve our plastics pollution problem. The real solution is that the plastics industry takes responsibility for the plastics they produce.
Plastics recycling in its current form is neither sustainable nor adequateand the plastics industry is currently on a trajectory to triple their current levels of production by . As they execute this plan to dramatically increase plastics production, they are doing precious little to create a recycling market for their material by using recycled plastic content to make new plastic products, as other industries like the aluminum, steel, paper, and glass markets do. The plastics recycling that currently exists is largely due to niche markets like recycled carpeting that cannot possibly create enough market demand for the supply of recyclable plastic out there.
To date, only 9% of the plastics ever produced has been recycled. The rest lies in landfills or in our environment, including our rivers and oceans. The fault for this statistic is almost always placed at the feet of recyclers and consumers when it really belongs with producers.
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The plastics industry must take responsibility for creating and funding a systemic approach to stemming the tide of the obscene amount of plastics that fill our markets shelves and later our oceans. Our goal isnt to just clean up plastic waste or invent better recycling technology, as the chemical industry would tell you. The goal is to stop using fossil fuels! Better recycling is one part of that solution, but it must start with REDUCING plastic production in the first place.
Its important to note that not all recycling involves plastics; in fact, it is only a small fraction of the overall material we recycle. So while there are significant challenges at this time with recycling plastic, it shouldnt reflect on recycling as a whole, which continues to grow. Recycling was rightly considered an essential industry during COVID shutdowns as it is now an essential part of our economy. So keep recyclingeven the plastics that are included as recyclable on your local recycling guidelines. But also please consider ways you can reduce your use of plastics while we work together toward a true comprehensive plastics solution!
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