Omar Khalid
Plastic recycling is a myth. Despite public environmental campaigns, advertisements, and school education aimed at increasing recycling, only a small fraction of plastic is recycled. The plastic industry has spent tens of millions of dollars promoting the benefits of plastic, a product that, for the most part, ends up buried, burned, or in the ocean. Oil companies have misled the public into believing that plastic can be recycled when, in reality, there is no cheap way to repurpose it. The world is in the midst of a plastic waste crisis, producing about 400 million tons of plastic every year, with plastic production on the rise.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Percentage of plastic waste that gets dumped or incinerated | 90% |
| Percentage of plastic waste recycled globally | 9% |
| Percentage of plastic waste recycled in the U.S. | 6% |
| Percentage of plastic waste recycled in the U.K. | 9% |
| Percentage of plastic waste recycled in the U.S. (as per a Greenpeace report) | 5-6% |
| Percentage of plastic waste recycled (as per a 2017 Science Advances paper) | 9% |
| Country that is the largest producer of plastic waste per person | U.S. |
| Country that was the largest market for recycled waste | China |
| Current dumping ground for recycled waste | Malaysia |
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What You'll Learn
Plastic recycling is a toxic nightmare
The problem is twofold. Firstly, there are thousands of different types of plastics, each with unique characteristics, chemicals, additives, and colorants. This makes it extremely difficult and expensive to sort and process plastic waste. Secondly, the economics of recycling plastic are challenging. Collecting, sorting, transporting, and reprocessing plastic is costly, and there are few markets for plastic trash.
The result is that plastic waste often ends up in landfills, oceans, and the environment, polluting ecosystems and impacting human health. As plastic is made from fossil fuels, it also contributes to global warming. The burning of plastic waste releases toxic chemicals into the air, soil, and water, causing further environmental damage.
Advanced recycling technologies, which use high heat or chemicals to break down plastic waste, have been touted as a solution. However, these processes have been largely unsuccessful, with only 1-14% of plastic processed through these methods being used to manufacture new plastic. The environmental and economic impacts of advanced recycling are also significantly worse than those of manufacturing new plastics.
The only real solution to the plastic waste crisis is to reduce plastic production and eliminate unnecessary single-use plastic and plastic packaging.
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Oil companies promoted plastic recycling
Oil companies have played a significant role in promoting plastic recycling as a solution to the plastic waste crisis. However, it is now clear that recycling alone cannot address the vast amount of plastic waste generated globally.
For decades, the oil and plastic industries have deceived the public and contributed to the current crisis. Despite knowing about the problems caused by plastic waste, these industries have successfully avoided regulations and continued to promote a false narrative about plastic recycling. They have shifted the responsibility for plastic waste management onto consumers rather than acknowledging the role of producers.
The oil industry has a vested interest in promoting plastic recycling because plastic production is a significant growth market for oil demand. As demand for transport fuel decreases due to the rise of electric cars and government vehicle-efficiency mandates, the oil industry is doubling down on plastics. According to the International Energy Agency, plastic production is forecast to double by 2040, becoming the biggest growth market for oil demand over the next decade.
In addition to influencing regulations and demand, oil and plastic companies have also made and broken promises to boost recycling rates. Some of the world's biggest consumer brand companies, including those in the beverage industry, have faced public outcry over plastic pollution. In response, they have pledged to increase recycling but have failed to deliver on these promises.
Furthermore, investigations have revealed that the plastics industry has long known that recycling would likely never be effective on a large scale. Despite this knowledge, they continue to promote recycling as an environmental solution to ensure the continued growth of plastic demand.
The promotion of plastic recycling by oil companies has contributed to a "throw-away culture," where plastic has become embedded in nearly every aspect of human life. As a result, the world is struggling to manage the sheer volume of plastic waste, with more than 90% of plastic garbage dumped, incinerated, or ending up in landfills and oceans.
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Plastic waste is choking landfills and oceans
Plastic is a significant contributor to the waste crisis the world is currently facing. The annual global production of plastic is about 400 million tons, with the US alone producing almost 500 pounds of plastic waste per person each year. The vast majority of this waste ends up in landfills, in the oceans, or spread across the land.
The plastic waste crisis is not a new phenomenon. For years, the fossil fuel industry has been turning oil and natural gas into plastics in massive, heavily-emitting "cracker" plants. The oil industry is now doubling down on plastics in anticipation of shrinking fossil fuel demand. As a result, plastic production is on the rise, with production already at 8.3 billion tons worldwide, and projected to double by 2040.
The consequences of this are dire. Plastic waste is not only choking landfills and despoiling oceans, but it is also contributing to global warming as it is made from fossil fuels. As plastic breaks down into microscopic fragments, it enters our bodies, with unknown health repercussions. It infiltrates ecosystems, polluting coastlines and waterways. A beach on Padre Island National Seashore on the Texas Gulf Coast, for example, was found to be littered with plastic—old diapers, water bottles, and plastic detergent jugs.
The reality is that only a small fraction of plastic is recycled. In the US, only about 6% of plastic waste was recycled last year, down from 9% in 2018. This is due to a variety of factors, including the fact that there are thousands of different types of plastics, each with unique characteristics, chemicals, additives, and colorants, which makes it extremely difficult and expensive to sort and process for recycling.
The narrative that plastic waste is the responsibility of consumers to recycle has been perpetuated by the plastics industry for decades, allowing them to avoid blame for the ecological mess their products have caused. However, the reality is that most plastic was never meant to be recycled and will likely end up in landfills, incinerators, or the environment.
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Plastic recycling projects are commercially non-viable
Additionally, there are limitations in the types of plastics that can be recycled together. For instance, certain materials like PET#1 bottles and clamshells, or green and clear PET#1 bottles, must be separated, increasing the complexity and cost of the recycling process. This segregation requirement also extends to single-use plastic items from fast-food restaurants, which often include a variety of plastic types that cannot be recycled together.
Another critical issue is the contamination of plastic waste with other garbage. In the case of Boise's advanced recycling plan, the level of contamination was reported to be ten times higher than expected, hindering the effectiveness of the recycling process.
Furthermore, the oil industry's role in promoting plastic recycling to sell more plastic has been controversial. Despite knowing the limitations of plastic recycling, the industry spent millions on advertising campaigns to encourage the public to recycle. This has led to a perception that recycling is a solution to the plastic waste problem, when in reality, it is not economically viable on a large scale.
Lastly, the burning of mixed plastic waste in cement kilns, as seen in Boise, results in climate-warming carbon emissions, further highlighting the environmental and health concerns associated with plastic recycling processes.
While there are significant challenges, it is important to note that some advancements have been made in certain regions, such as Western Europe, where mechanical recycling rates have been increasing. However, the overall commercial viability of plastic recycling projects remains questionable due to the various economic, logistical, and environmental obstacles outlined above.
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Misleading labels on plastic products
Plastic recycling is a myth perpetuated by oil companies, which have avoided blame for the ecological mess their products have caused. They have done so by promoting a largely false set of promises about our ability to recycle plastics. This has resulted in a global explosion of plastic waste, with more than 90% of the world's plastic garbage getting dumped or incinerated.
In response to growing public concern over plastic pollution, many corporations are making high-profile, global commitments to make their products recyclable, reusable, or compostable. They are also expanding the use of "recyclable" labels on plastic products. However, Greenpeace has identified numerous examples of US companies using misleading labels. These include Target, Nestlé, Danone, Walmart, Procter & Gamble, Clorox, Aldi, SC Johnson, and Unilever. These companies have been asked to correct their labels, and some changes are underway.
Misleading labels often use terms such as "conscious", "ecological", and "recycled" without providing explanations or evidence to support such claims. They also intend to confuse consumers with labels that appear to be sustainability certifications granted by independent third parties when, in reality, they are created by the companies themselves.
Several reports have shown that a large number of fashion companies also use deceptive labels, making false claims about sustainability to attract environmentally conscious consumers. The non-profit organization Changing Markets Foundation published a report in 2021 titled "Synthetics Anonymous: Addiction of Fashion Brands to Fossil Fuels," which assessed 4,000 products in Europe and the UK from 46 fast fashion and luxury fashion companies. The report found that almost 60% of the ecological claims on products marked as environmentally friendly were unfounded or misleading.
According to the Federal Trade Commission Green Guides requirements for product claims and labeling, it is deceptive to misrepresent, directly or by implication, that a product or package is recyclable. Marketers should clearly and prominently qualify recyclable claims to avoid deceiving consumers about the availability of recycling programs and collection sites.
While some companies have made changes to their labels, others have shown no willingness to end this deception. Organizations like Greenpeace plan to file formal FTC complaints if companies continue to use misleading labels.
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Frequently asked questions
Plastic recycling is considered a myth because only a small fraction of plastic is recycled. Most of the plastic produced ends up in landfills, the ocean, or spread across the land, polluting our coastlines, infiltrating ecosystems, and, when it breaks down into microscopic fragments, entering our bodies.
There are several reasons why plastic recycling has failed:
- The variety of plastics makes it difficult to sort and process.
- The cost of collecting, sorting, transporting, and reprocessing plastic is extremely high.
- The oil and gas industries have made new plastic cheap and abundant.
- Advanced recycling technologies have not proven commercially viable.
Plastic waste that is not recycled often ends up in landfills or is incinerated, contributing to environmental pollution and global warming. Some countries, like China, Malaysia, and Indonesia, have also been battling the dumping of foreign plastic waste, which is often burned or abandoned, ending up in their rivers and oceans.
Retailers like Target have been called out by Greenpeace for misleading labeling, as most types of single-use plastic sold in their stores cannot be recycled. Consumers have also been led to believe that recycling is a solution to the plastic waste crisis through public environmental campaigns, advertisements, and school education.
The real solution to the plastic waste problem is to reduce plastic production and eliminate unnecessary single-use plastic and plastic packaging.
