Recycling Plastic: Reducing Our Carbon Footprint Significantly

Recycling plastic is a simple way to reduce carbon emissions. Recycling plastic saves at least 30% of the carbon emissions that original processing and manufacturing produces, which could mean an annual saving of 30 to 150 million tons of CO2. Recycling also reduces the need for new plastic, which has a higher carbon footprint than recycling. However, it's worth noting that only 10% of plastic is recyclable, and 90.5% of plastic goes un-recycled worldwide.

Recycling plastic saves at least 30% of carbon emissions compared to virgin production

Estimates vary with the type of recycling process used, but researchers agree that recycling and re-manufacturing plastic saves at least 30% of the carbon emissions that original processing and manufacturing produces. This could mean an annual savings of 30 to 150 million tons of CO2. Some estimates put the savings at 70 to 80%, which would save between 30 and 170 million tons of carbon each year.

Recycling plastic is not the only way to reduce carbon emissions. Increasing the percentage of bio-based plastics, which are produced from plants, could also drive down emissions. However, currently, 90.5% of plastic goes un-recycled worldwide, so there is plenty of room for improvement when it comes to recycling plastic.

Recycling plastic saves 61kg of carbon

Using the conservative estimate of 30% carbon savings for recycled plastic, recycling could save between 30 and 170 million tons of carbon each year. This is the approximate equivalent of removing between six and 30 million vehicles from the US. Recycling plastic also displaces new virgin plastic on the market, making it advantageous from an emissions perspective. Incineration leads to extremely high emissions and is the primary driver of emissions from plastic waste management.

Recycling plastic saves between 30 and 170 million tons of carbon each year

The exact amount of carbon saved depends on the type of recycling process used. For example, recycling metals like aluminium cans and foil saves the most carbon emissions, as these use the most carbon emissions to source and manufacture. Recycling plastic saves less carbon than this, but it is still a significant amount.

Recycling offers a simple solution to reducing carbon emissions. The emissions reductions from eliminating the need for new plastic outweigh the slightly higher emissions that come from processing scrap plastic. However, it is worth noting that only 10% of plastic is recyclable, and 90.5% of plastic goes un-recycled worldwide. Therefore, increasing the percentage of bio-based plastics could also help to drive down emissions. Bio-based plastics are produced from plants, which capture atmospheric CO2 as they grow.

Recycling plastic is more environmentally friendly than incineration

The carbon savings from recycling plastic are estimated to be between 30 and 170 million tons of carbon each year. This is the approximate equivalent of removing between six and 30 million vehicles from the US.

Recycling plastic is also better for the environment than incineration because it displaces new virgin plastic on the market. Incineration leads to extremely high emissions and is the primary driver of emissions from plastic waste management. US emissions from plastic incineration in 2015 were estimated at 5.9 million metric tons of CO2.

Additionally, only 10% of plastic is recyclable, while almost 100% of other materials are. This means that recycling plastic can help to reduce the amount of plastic waste that ends up in landfills or is incinerated.

Only 10% of plastic is recyclable

Recycling plastic is a simple way to reduce carbon emissions. Recycling and re-manufacturing plastic saves at least 30% of the carbon emissions that original processing and manufacturing produces, which could mean an annual saving of 30 to 150 million tons of CO2. Some estimates put the savings at 70 to 80%.

However, only 10% of plastic is recyclable, whilst almost 100% of other materials are. This means that 90.5% of plastic goes un-recycled worldwide.

The emissions reductions from eliminating the need for new plastic outweigh the slightly higher emissions that come from processing scrap plastic. Recycling plastic has a moderate emissions profile but displaces new virgin plastic on the market, making it advantageous from an emissions perspective.

If growth in plastic production and incineration continues as predicted, their cumulative greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 will be over 56 gigatons CO2e, or between 10–13% of the total remaining carbon budget. By 2100, exceedingly conservative assumptions would result in cumulative carbon emissions from plastic of nearly 260 gigatons, or well over half of the carbon budget.

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