Many of us believe that recycling plastic is an excellent way to reduce our ecological footprint and save the earth. When you consider that only around 10% of the nearly 300 million tonnes of new plastic generated each year is recycled, it’s evident that, while important, plastic recycling is only one aspect of any effective solution to the worldwide plastic pollution challenge.
Different Types of Plastic Recycling Patterns
The low rate of plastic recycling might be attributed to a variety of factors. We frequently toss all plastics into the recycling bin, yet not all plastics can be recycled due to their material qualities. About 90% of global plastic output is thermoplastics, which can be melted and moulded again and again to create new polymers, making all thermoplastics recyclable in theory. The remaining 10% of global plastic manufacturing is thermoset plastics, which ignite instead of melting when exposed to heat, making them hard to recycle. Electrical insulation, ropes, belts, and pipes are examples of products made with this sort of plastic.
Thermoset polymers are widely used and account for a significant amount of new plastic production. Despite the numerous challenges involved with their use, thermosets are disposed of less frequently than thermoplastics, making them, in principle, a less harmful environmental contaminant. The fact that thermosets contribute significantly to microplastic water contamination, as well as the fact that incineration contributes significantly to GHG emissions and degrades air quality, are all issues associated with their disposal. Because it is impossible to recycle these materials, recycling is only a part of the solution to the plastic pollution challenge.
Even when thermoset plastics are included, the question of what happens to the majority of recyclable plastics remains unsolved. The fate of recyclable plastics is determined by the economics of waste management/post-consumer commodities, to give an all-encompassing answer.
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Consumers’ Role and Recycling Facilities
Let’s take a look at the issue on a more personal level. Assume you’re a responsible consumer who disposes of recyclable plastics in the proper container. Let’s say you thought your duty was done when you threw away an empty plastic oil container. Plastic containing food leftovers in or on it, on the other hand, cannot be recycled. Only high-quality plastics are capable of being recycled. Recycling is a time-consuming process that becomes more costly when further steps, such as post-consumer selection and washing, are added.
The new plastic is incredibly inexpensive to manufacture, creating a competitive climate in which additional processing costs make recycled plastic substantially more expensive. Furthermore, in nations where power is expensive, it may be more cost-effective to incinerate rather than recycle. The fact that the market is fragmented adds to the issues, making it difficult for people selling recycled plastic to find buyers. Because recycling facilities are dispersed unevenly, recyclable plastics cannot be recycled in some regions due to a lack of machinery that would allow for efficient selection and recycling.
Global economic policymaking has recently had a significant impact as well. China used to import low-priced recyclables from the United States and Europe, but with the rising cost of Chinese labour and the abundance of domestic recycling, China banned low-quality recyclable imports. Due to a lack of recycling infrastructure in the United States and Europe, consumers’ carefully picked recyclables have been destined for landfills and incinerators for more than a year. All of this served as a reminder that recycling is only one component of the answer. India’s position as a leader in sustainable approaches to plastic waste management has been aided by this growth, thanks to its enormous infrastructure and sophisticated recycling culture.
New and alternative techniques are urgently needed to avert the limit of our wasteful tendencies. To provide consumers with the most effective and sustainable global impact, the rePurpose team has worked with local recycling facilities and waste collecting cooperatives in India. Learn about your plastic footprint and what you can do to reduce it (here).
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