Omar Khalid
Plastic is everywhere, from the deepest ocean trenches to the human placenta. It is durable, useful, and almost impossible to recycle. Despite the benefits of recycling, the US recycling rate lags behind other developed countries. Only about a quarter of waste is recycled, and just 60% of US communities have access to curbside recycling pickup. The plastic that is recycled is usually downcycled into lower-quality products, and the process is often confusing for consumers. The oil and gas industry has also been accused of greenwashing, using the promise of recycling to sell more plastic. However, some advancements in recycling technology, such as AI-powered sorting machines, are helping to improve the process.
Is recyclable plastic good?
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Plastic is technically recyclable | Yes, but only 9% of all plastic ever made has been recycled into new plastics. |
| Plastic is recycled | Yes, but it is often "downcycled" into lower-quality and lower-value products, such as carpet fiber or car parts. |
| Plastic is recycled infinitely | No, unlike glass and metal, plastic loses quality and purity each time it is recycled. |
| Plastic is easy to recycle | No, it has to be sorted by type and cleaned before it can be recycled. |
| Plastic is always the best choice when it is recyclable | No, sometimes it takes a greater toll on the environment to recycle a product. |
| Plastic is always recycled when placed in a recycling bin | No, sometimes it is determined to be useless and ends up in a landfill or the incinerator. |
| Plastic is always clearly labelled for recycling | No, the "chasing arrows" logo has been criticised for confusing customers. |
| Plastic is always recycled when placed in curbside recycling | No, it is handled by private companies who recycle for a profit, and it may end up in landfill due to poor facilities or confusion about what is and isn't recyclable. |
| Plastic is the only option for packaging | No, other materials such as paper or metal can have a smaller environmental impact. |
| Plastic recycling will solve the problem of plastic pollution | No, recycling should be pursued alongside other solutions such as litter cleanup efforts. |
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What You'll Learn
Plastic recycling is a myth
An investigation by NPR and PBS Frontline revealed that the oil and gas industry used the promise of recycling to sell more plastic, even when they knew it was not feasible. The industry's internal documents from as early as 1974 expressed doubts about the economic viability of plastic recycling, yet they continued to advertise and promote the practice.
The consequences of this deception are far-reaching. Plastic waste has severe environmental impacts, contaminating the soil, water, and air with toxic chemicals. It is often shipped to other countries, such as China, Indonesia, and other Asian nations, leading to disputes over contaminated waste and the illegal waste trade.
Even when plastic is recycled, the process is not perfect. Mechanical recycling, the current standard, involves sorting, cleaning, shredding, melting, and remoulding plastic. However, each time plastic is recycled this way, its quality degrades, and it becomes harder to process. This results in a downward spiral of waste and degraded materials, with plastic often becoming unsuitable for use in food packaging after a limited number of recycling cycles.
While chemical recycling, which turns plastic back into oil, has been proposed as a potential solution, it has not been widely adopted due to the large amount of energy required and the volatile price of crude oil. As a result, new plastic products are often cheaper to produce than recycled ones, perpetuating the problem.
The reality is that recycling alone cannot solve the plastic waste crisis. It is essential to reduce plastic production and usage, as well as improve recycling infrastructure and education, to effectively address this issue.
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Plastic recycling is a downward spiral
The plastic industry has been accused of perpetuating the myth that recycling can solve the plastic crisis. California's attorney general has opened an investigation into Big Oil, accusing the fossil fuel industry of misleading the public by promoting the idea that plastic could be recycled, thus encouraging the consumption of plastic products. This is despite the fact that the industry has long been aware that recycling plastic is not economically viable.
The process of recycling plastic is labor-intensive and expensive. It involves sorting, cleaning, shredding, melting, and remoulding the plastic. Each time plastic is recycled, its quality is degraded, and it can only be reused a limited number of times before it becomes unusable. Additionally, the variety of plastics on the market, such as squeezable food pouches, has made the task of recycling even more difficult.
The high cost of recycling plastic, combined with the low cost of producing new plastic from cheap oil and gas, means that companies often find it unappealing to use recycled plastic. As a result, most plastic waste is not actually recycled, even when it is physically possible to do so.
To address the growing plastic waste problem, drastic reductions in plastic packaging and a shift towards reusable containers and alternative materials such as paper, metal, or glass are necessary.
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Oil companies touted recycling to sell more plastic
While the general public has been diligently sorting their trash with the belief that most plastic can be recycled, the reality is that the vast majority of plastic produced cannot be recycled. In fact, in the last 40 years, only about 9% of plastic has been recycled.
This disparity between perception and reality can be attributed to the efforts of oil and gas companies, who have spent millions of dollars promoting the idea of recycling to the public. An investigation by NPR and PBS Frontline revealed that these companies, which are the makers of plastic, have long known that recycling plastic on a large scale is not viable. However, they continued to advertise the benefits of recycling to maintain their profits and prevent plastic bans.
The investigation uncovered internal industry documents and interviews with former officials, indicating that the industry was aware that recycling would not keep plastic out of landfills and the environment. Despite this knowledge, they spent tens of millions of dollars on advertising campaigns, recycling projects, and public relations, telling people that plastic could and should be recycled.
The motivation behind this deceptive campaign was to sell more plastic. By promoting recycling, the industry could fend off plastic bans and keep sales growing. As one industry insider noted, the goal of these companies is to "sell as much oil as you possibly can," and recycled plastic competes with this objective.
The result of these efforts has been a betrayal of public trust. Recycling companies and local governments have struggled to keep up with the volume of plastic waste, often resorting to burying or incinerating it. Despite these challenges, the plastics industry continues to produce more complex and varied types of plastic, further complicating the recycling process.
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Chemical recycling
The traditional way of recycling plastics is a downward spiral of waste and degraded materials. Mechanical recycling involves sorting, cleaning, shredding, melting, and remoulding plastic waste. However, each time plastic is recycled this way, its quality is degraded, and it can only be recycled a limited number of times before it becomes unusable.
Gasification involves heating waste materials to very high temperatures (around 1000-1500°C) in a low-oxygen environment. The oxygen breaks down the molecules into their simplest components, resulting in syngas, a mix of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide. Syngas can be used to produce a range of chemicals, including methanol, ammonia, hydrocarbons, and acetic acid, which are useful for plastic production, fuel, and fertilizer.
Pyrolysis, or thermal cracking, is another process within chemical recycling. It involves heating plastic waste to temperatures above 400°C under low-oxygen conditions, breaking down long polymer chains into basic hydrocarbon products like gas, wax, diesel, and naphtha. These products can be fed into petrochemical plants to create new plastics or used directly as fuel.
Depolymerization is a chemical recycling process that uses chemistry, solvents, and heat to turn polymers back into smaller molecules called monomers. These monomers can then be fed back into the plastic production process as secondary raw materials, creating an infinite recycling system.
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Plastic recycling is not always the best choice
One reason for this is that plastic is usually "downcycled" into lower-quality and lower-value products, such as carpet fibres or car parts. Each time plastic is recycled, its quality is degraded, and it becomes harder to process. This means it often cannot be used for the same purpose again. For example, recycled plastic is often no longer suitable for food packaging.
Another issue is that, before plastic can be recycled, it must be sorted by type, which can be challenging and time-consuming. Only two types of plastic are regularly turned into new products: Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and High-density polyethylene (HDPE). Other types of plastic are rarely recycled, and some are almost never recycled. In addition, plastic items made from a combination of different plastics, such as salad bags and other food containers, cannot be easily separated in a recycling plant and so often end up in landfill.
Furthermore, recycling plastic can be more expensive than producing new plastic, especially when the price of crude oil is low. This is because the process of chemical recycling, which is required to recycle some plastics, uses a large amount of energy.
Finally, the environmental benefits of recycling plastic are questionable. A 2019 study by David Allaway, a senior policy analyst at the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, found that non-recyclable packaging, such as plastic-metal laminate bags, had a smaller environmental impact than recyclable steel cans. This suggests that simply increasing the recyclability of products may not always be the best solution for reducing environmental harm.
Therefore, while recycling plastic can be beneficial in some cases, it is not always the most effective or environmentally friendly option.
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Frequently asked questions
Plastic recycling is notoriously difficult. The current method of recycling plastic is a downward spiral of waste and degraded materials. Only 9% of all plastic ever made has been recycled into new plastics.
Plastic recycling faces many challenges. Firstly, plastic needs to be sorted by type, and only two types are regularly turned into new products: Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and High-density Polyethylene (HDPE). Other types of plastic are rarely recycled. Secondly, plastic must be washed and free of food residues to be recycled, which is often not done by consumers. Finally, the recycling process degrades the quality of plastic, making it harder to process over time.
Yes, chemical recycling, also known as "infinite" recycling, is a potential alternative. This process involves turning plastics back into oil, which can then be used to make new plastic. However, the large amount of energy required and the volatile price of crude oil have been stumbling blocks to implementing this process on a large scale.
The environmental impacts of plastic recycling are complex. While recycling can reduce litter and waste, conserve energy and water, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it can also increase other environmental impacts. For example, the process of recycling plastic can be energy-intensive and generate significant waste. Additionally, the recycling rate for plastic is relatively low compared to other materials, with the majority of plastic ending up in landfills or the ocean.
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