Plastic waste is bulldozed at a landfill. Needpix
The plastic recycling model was never economically viable, but oil and gas companies still touted it as a magic solution to waste, selling the American public a lie so the companies could keep pushing new plastic.
<p>"The bottle may look empty, yet it's anything but trash," claims a 1990 ad showing a plastic bottle bouncing out of a garbage truck, <a href="https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/energy-environment/2020/09/13/381750/how-big-oil-misled-the-public-into-believing-plastic-would-be-recycled/" target="_blank">Houston Public Media</a> reported. It's full of potential.… We've pioneered the country's largest, most comprehensive plastic recycling program to help plastic fill valuable uses and roles."</p><p>While the ad and countless others like it extolling the value of recycling sound environmentalist in nature, they were paid for by the plastics industry and their lobbying and trade organizations, the news report added.</p><p>Americans believed these ads and have been recycling plastic for decades, trusting the discards would be kept out of burgeoning landfills and oceans and reborn as new goods. The reality, however, is that most plastic can't and won't be recycled, reported NPR. According to the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/plastics-material-specific-data" target="_blank">EPA</a>, in the last 40 years, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/recycling-plastic-reality-2615116844.html" target="_self">less than 10% of plastic has been recycled</a>.</p><p>Up until 2018, most recyclable plastic was shipped to China to deal with, reported Forbes. When the latter banned imports of 24 kinds of waste, including plastic from the U.S., more plastic ended up in U.S. landfills, the news report said. In 2017, 35,370 tons of plastic were produced and 26,820 tons of that was landfilled, the EPA estimated, reported Forbes.</p>
<p>A series of investigative reports done by <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/03/31/822597631/plastic-wars-three-takeaways-from-the-fight-over-the-future-of-plastics" target="_blank">NPR</a> and the PBS series <em>Frontline</em> this year found that the oil and gas industries — the makers of plastic — knew all along that plastic recycling would never be realistically feasible on a large scale, yet they spent tens of millions of advertising dollars each year telling the public that plastic can and should be recycled.</p><p>Internal documents from the 1970s and former executives confirmed that the industry knew all along that recycling at a large scale would never be economically viable because the process costs more than making new plastic, NPR reported.</p><p>Larry Thomas, who led the industry's lobbying group for more than a decade, broke his silence about what happened decades ago. The plastic industry never wanted recycling to work, because recycling was in direct competition with their business of selling as much oil as they possibly could, <a href="https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/energy-environment/2020/09/13/381750/how-big-oil-misled-the-public-into-believing-plastic-would-be-recycled/" target="_blank">Houston Public Media</a> reported.</p><p>"You know, they were not interested in putting any real money or effort into recycling because they wanted to sell virgin material," Thomas told the news report.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, starting in the late 1980s, the industry misled consumers into believing that recycling could be a magic panacea. Spending $50 million a year, big oil and plastic ran ads, installed collection centers and funded recycling projects and public regulation campaigns to convince the public that recycling works, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/09/11/897692090/how-big-oil-misled-the-public-into-believing-plastic-would-be-recycled" target="_blank">NPR</a> reported.</p><p>"Selling recycling sold plastic, even if it wasn't true," another former plastic executive told NPR.</p><p>Most of these projects never came to fruition before funding was cut, or have long since ended, reported Houston Public Media.</p><p>The industry also lobbied 40 states to put recycling symbols with numbers on all plastic, even if they weren't recyclable, to bolster the public image that plastic can be a renewable resource, the news report found.</p>
<p>"It's pure manipulation of the consumer," Coy Smith, a frustrated recycler out of San Diego, told Houston Public Media. He witnessed firsthand how the symbols caused consumers to think any plastic with the symbol was recyclable.</p><p>Again, lobbying groups and the plastics industry knew all this. A 1993 industry report said that the codes created "unrealistic expectations" about how much plastic can actually be recycled and were being misused by companies as a "green marketing tool," Houston Public Media reported.</p><p>When plastic bans started to pop up in the '80s and '90s, the industry similarly promoted recycling as an alternative to the bans, NPR reported. The industry again decided to "advertise [its] way out" of cultural and policy shifts that could potentially lead to falling sales of new plastic, NPR reported.</p><p>"The feeling was the plastics industry was under fire, we got to do what it takes to take the heat off, because we want to continue to make plastic products," Thomas told NPR. "If the public thinks the recycling is working, then they're not going to be as concerned about the environment."</p>
<p>The strategy worked, and the companies promoted recycling while selling billions of dollars worth of new plastic. Meanwhile, old plastic continued to get trashed.</p><p>In response to the investigation, industry representative Steve Russell said the industry has never intentionally misled the public about recycling and is committed to ensuring all plastic is recycled, Forbes reported. Still, according to the news report, the oil industry makes $400 billion a year producing plastic and is discussing how to increase investment in plastic production given that demand for oil for cars is down.</p><p>As the truth about recycling comes out, states and environmentalists struggle to see <a href="https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2020/03/13/fix-recycling-america/" target="_blank">if the broken system can be fixed at all</a>. While they do that, plastic production is predicted to triple by 2050, NPR reported, and, "once again, the industry is spending money on ads and public relations to promote plastics and recycling."</p>
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A row of colorful recycle bins line a wall in Machynlleth, Wales in the UK. Dave Goodman / Wikimedia Commons / CC by 2.0
By Regina Frei and Diego Vazquez-Brust
The secretive way in which plastic recycling is handled in the UK carries the potential for the next big scandal. While the government's statutory guidance is supposed to clarify who is responsible, our research suggests that what happens to plastics we believe to be recycled in the UK is in reality quite obscure.
<p>Each council in the UK contracts different companies for the disposal and recycling of household waste, so the rules for residents in different areas vary. But you probably separate recyclables before filling your recycling bin and expect that waste (<a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/12/black-plastic-recycling-supermarkets-waste/" target="_blank">except when it's black</a>) to be recycled.</p><p>Meanwhile, manufacturers and retailers <a href="https://www.wrap.org.uk/content/the-uk-plastics-pact" target="_blank">have pledged</a> to reduce single-use plastics by redesigning their products and using more recycled materials, as well as making different materials easier to separate. There's no legal obligation for companies in the UK to separate multiple types of recyclable waste when it's discarded, but many do it anyway.</p><p>The success of all our efforts to recycle as much plastic as possible relies on the system working. So where does it all go wrong?</p>
Recycling Rates
<p>We sifted through countless reports from businesses and local government bodies, as well as news stories and dozens of interviews with people at waste management companies, including one whistleblower.</p><p>What we discovered revealed several inconsistencies about recycling in the UK.</p><p>A <a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8515/" target="_blank">government briefing paper</a> from March 2020 stated that 91% of the five million tonnes of plastics used in the UK each year is "sent towards treatment." This does not mean it is actually recycled, just that it went to a waste management company. Even so, the World Wide Fund for Nature estimated that the recycling rate for single-use plastics was <a href="https://www.wwf.org.uk/sites/default/files/2018-03/WWF_Plastics_Consumption_Report_Final.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">29% in 2018</a>.</p><p>A <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/45069410" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2018 report</a> by the Local Government Association found only one-third of plastics collected from households <em>can</em> be recycled, due to contamination, low-grade and mixed materials and technical difficulties.</p><p>The National Audit Office, an independent body responsible for auditing government departments, claimed in <a href="https://www.nao.org.uk/report/the-packaging-recycling-obligations/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2018</a> that there was a sixfold increase in exports of packaging material for recycling abroad between 2002 and 2017. Exports accounted for half of all packaging reported as recycled in 2017. So what happened to all of it?</p>Exporting the Problem
<p>According to industry experts, many businesses that call themselves recycling companies actually only sort waste and then sell it on, often via brokers, towards unknown destinations. Few have their own recycling facilities, and many refuse to say where the plastics go, claiming this is commercially sensitive information.</p><p>The prices at which plastic waste is traded vary depending on who you ask – councils, waste management and recycling companies, or businesses using recycled materials – without any explanation for the discrepancies. A report by the UK charity WRAP <a href="https://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/WRAP_Plastics_market_situation_report.pdf" target="_blank">indicated</a> that mixed rigid plastics fluctuated between negative prices and £55 (about $73) per tonne between 2016 and 2019, and about £50 ($66) to £120 ($158) for mixed polymers. One company we interviewed claimed to receive £350 ($462) per tonne of mixed plastics.</p><p>The UK exports large quantities of plastics to other countries, including Turkey, Egypt and Malaysia, as <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2018/11/china-ban-plastic-trash-imports-shifts-waste-crisis-southeast-asia-malaysia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">China stopped importing waste</a> in January 2018. These countries lack the facilities to recycle their own plastics, let alone plastics from elsewhere. Little wonder that most plastics Turkey promises to recycle are actually <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/ajimpact/turkey-awash-plastic-waste-coronavirus-worse-200422003922227.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">burned or dumped</a>. Turkey's recycling capacity in 2019 was claimed to be <a href="https://www.dailysabah.com/turkey/2019/10/17/plastic-recycling-sets-43-million-ton-goal-by-2030" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">850,000 tonnes</a> whereas <a href="https://www.ban.org/news/2020/6/29/plastic-waste-sent-from-eu-to-turkey-increased-by-almost-200-times" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">almost 600,000 tonnes were imported</a> from EU countries. Compare this to the 650 million tonnes that the UK alone exported and something does not add up.</p><p>Even just talking about "plastic waste" obscures how diverse the materials involved are, and how complicated the inevitable recycling process is. Take <a href="https://theecologist.org/2010/jan/19/how-green-are-tetrapak-food-cartons" target="_blank">TetraPaks</a> – the drink cartons you probably buy milk or orange juice in. Some 68% of councils <a href="http://www.ace-uk.co.uk/" target="_blank">collect them from the curbside</a>, but there are <a href="https://mashable.com/article/tetra-pak-recycle/?europe=true" target="_blank">few facilities worldwide</a> equipped to recycle them. The UK has <a href="http://www.ace-uk.co.uk/recycling/uk-reprocessing-plant" target="_blank">only one</a>, built in 2013, that can process 25,000 tonnes a year. But the UK produces about 60,000 tonnes of these cartons annually. Yet, the facility is running under capacity, according to an email they sent us. So most drink cartons must either be exported or have only their cardboard recycled, as they also contain low-density polyethylene (about 21%) and aluminum foil (4%) which are <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269412640_Optimizing_and_developing_a_continuous_separation_system_for_the_wet_process_separation_of_aluminum_and_polyethylene_in_aseptic_composite_packaging_waste" target="_blank">difficult to separate</a>.</p><p>And COVID-19 has made the UK's recycling problem <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-pandemic-could-slash-the-amount-of-plastic-waste-we-recycle-139616" target="_blank">much worse</a>. The use of single-use plastics, including disposable masks and other PPE, has prompted <a href="https://theconversation.com/avoiding-single-use-plastic-was-becoming-normal-until-coronavirus-heres-how-we-can-return-to-good-habits-140555" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a steep increase</a> during the pandemic. Online shopping, with all the additional packaging, has risen too, while recycling in <a href="https://theconversation.com/rubbish-is-piling-up-and-recycling-has-stalled-waste-systems-must-adapt-137100" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">developing countries and elsewhere</a> has halted. All of these factors have increased the amount of plastic waste the UK exports, and increased the likelihood that it will be dumped.</p>What to Do
<p>Exporting plastic waste should be forbidden without clear proof it will be recycled. We want to alert the public to this growing problem so that the government is forced to create a legal framework with enforceable regulations, ensuring British plastics are responsibly recycled in Britain.</p><p>Plastics recycling comes in many shapes and forms. There are mechanical and chemical processes for recycling the many different types. Most processes require plastics to be clean and separated by type, but there are also processes such as <a href="https://www.plasticexpert.co.uk/plastic-recycling-pyrolysis/" target="_blank">pyrolysis</a> that can process mixed and contaminated plastics, including printed films.</p><p>To deal with all of our plastics, the UK needs to build an integrated plastics recycling facility that can deal with all these in every part of the country.</p><p>As a last resort, the unrecyclable leftover waste should be burned in an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/21/climate/sweden-garbage-used-for-fuel.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">incinerator</a> to generate energy. These are common in continental Europe, but the UK seems to <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-50212332" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">prefer landfill</a>, with incinerator projects <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-49056263" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">regularly rejected</a>.</p><p>Though not perfect, incineration in Britain would be a vast improvement on the current situation, where plastics are shipped to the other side of the planet only to be dumped and burned illegally.</p>From Your Site Articles
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Solar photovoltaic panels convert sunlight into energy and help combat the climate crisis. BlackRockSolar / Flickr / CC by 2.0
Solar photovoltaic (PV) panels convert sunlight into energy and continue to play an essential role in the fight to stop the climate crisis. As the pioneering panels of the early 2000s near the end of their 30-year electronic lives, however, they are at risk of becoming the world's next big wave of e-waste.
<p><a href="https://www.irena.org/documentdownloads/publications/irena_ieapvps_end-of-life_solar_pv_panels_2016.pdf" target="_blank">International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)</a>, a leading energy agency, projected that up to 78 million metric tons of solar panels will have reached the end of their life by 2050, resulting in about 6 million metric tons of new solar e-waste annually, reported <a href="https://grist.org/energy/solar-panels-are-starting-to-die-what-will-we-do-with-the-megatons-of-toxic-trash/" target="_blank">Grist</a>.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.irena.org/documentdownloads/publications/irena_ieapvps_end-of-life_solar_pv_panels_2016.pdf" target="_blank">IRENA report</a> noted that since their debut, solar PV deployment has grown at "unprecedented rates," with global installed PV capacity reaching 222 gigawatts (GW) by the end of 2015, with projections rising to 4,500 GW by 2050. <a href="https://earth911.com/eco-tech/recycle-solar-panels/" target="_blank">Earth911</a> reported that solar is the fastest-growing energy source in the world.</p><p>According to recent research, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy-cheaper-than-coal-2645469706.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1" target="_self">wind and solar renewable energy technologies will soon be cheaper than coal globally</a>. This will drive even further deployment of solar panels. <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy-growth-us-2641236776.html" target="_self">The United States</a>, China, India, Japan and Germany have planned for "particularly high" deployment, the <a href="https://www.irena.org/documentdownloads/publications/irena_ieapvps_end-of-life_solar_pv_panels_2016.pdf" target="_blank">IRENA report</a> said. As the global PV market continues to expand, so too will the e-waste we can expect when the panels are decommissioned.</p>
<p>IRENA also analyzed the potential upside and value creation of proper end-of-life management of PV panels. It noted that proper management could help shift the world to sustainable long-term development.</p><p>By 2030 and 2050, respectively, the report projected:</p><ul><li>Cumulative PV capacity to be 1,600 GW and 4,500 GW,</li><li>Cumulative PV waste to reach up to 8 million tonnes and 78 million tonnes,</li><li>Value creation to be $450 million and $15 billion in raw materials recovery,</li><li>New industries and employment opportunities to arise from repair, reuse, recycling and treatment of PV panels,</li><li>Enough raw materials recovered to produce 60 million new panels (equivalent to 18 GW) and 2 billion new panels (equivalent to 630 GW).</li></ul><p>Current global panel recycling trends are not yet poised to capitalize on this environmental and economic opportunity. According to <a href="https://grist.org/energy/solar-panels-are-starting-to-die-what-will-we-do-with-the-megatons-of-toxic-trash/" target="_blank">Grist</a>, while the E.U. requires manufacturers to ensure panels are properly recycled, in the U.S., there are no regulatory frameworks requiring the recycling of old panels, except for Washington state. In Japan, India and Australia, recycling requirements are being discussed. Without robust recycling mandates, most of this toxic trash will be sent to landfills.</p>
<p>There, the valuable silver and silicone in solar panels will go to waste and toxic chemicals like lead can leach out.</p><p>Another current challenge is the cost of recycling, which currently far outweighs revenue from recycling and dumping costs.</p><p>"We believe the big blind spot in the U.S. for recycling is that the cost far exceeds the revenue," Arizona State University solar researcher Meng Tao told <a href="https://grist.org/energy/solar-panels-are-starting-to-die-what-will-we-do-with-the-megatons-of-toxic-trash/" target="_blank">Grist</a>. "It's on the order of a 10-to-1 ratio."</p>
<p>Tao estimated that PV recyclers today can get about $3 a panel from recovering the aluminum, copper and glass out of a 60-cell silicon panel, the news report said. Sam Vanderhoof, CEO of Solar CowboyZ, one of the only U.S. companies dedicated to PV recycling, compared it to the cost of recycling that panel in the U.S. — between $12 and $25 — due to transportation costs. Grist also estimated that states that allow dumping charge less than $1 to toss the same panel into a solid waste landfill.</p><p>As a result, only about 10 percent of panels are currently recycled in the U.S.; the rest go to the landfill or are shipped overseas to countries with more lax environmental rules, the news report said.</p><p>"If we don't mandate recycling, many of the modules will go to landfill," Tao told Grist.</p>
<p>Better design of panels to align with recycling capabilities could help increase recycling rates, reported <a href="https://www.greenmatch.co.uk/blog/2017/10/the-opportunities-of-solar-panel-recycling" target="_blank">GreenMatch</a>. New recycling methods may more efficiently extract and purify valuable silver and silicone, helping to improve the cost/dump to revenue ratios, <a href="https://grist.org/energy/solar-panels-are-starting-to-die-what-will-we-do-with-the-megatons-of-toxic-trash/" target="_blank">Grist</a> reported. Industry researchers are also brainstorming ways to repair and resell panels still in good condition and to repurpose old panels for things like e-bike charging stations and housing complexes, the news report found.</p><p>For the solar industry to substantially grow to meet global demands and to support a clean energy revolution, it will need supportive policies and regulations and a means to deal with the e-waste glut that will soon result.</p><p>"We need to face the fact that solar panels do fail over time, and there's a lot of them out there," Vanderhoof told Grist. "And what do we do when they start to fail? It's not right throwing that responsibility on the consumer, and that's where we're at right now."</p>
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Plastic pollution at a popular viewing site for the Hollywood Hills in California. ROBYN BECK / AFP via Getty Images
More than 60 major brands, government agencies and nonprofits are coming together to create a circular economy for plastics in the United States.
<p>The <a href="https://usplasticspact.org/" target="_blank">U.S. Plastics Pact</a>, launched Tuesday, unites major producers like Coca-Cola, Nestlé and Unilever United States with environmental advocacy organizations like <a href="https://oceanconservancy.org/" target="_blank">Ocean Conservancy</a> and the <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/" target="_blank">World Wildlife Fund</a> around a series of goals to reduce single-use plastics by 2025.</p><p>"<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/plastic-pollution" target="_self">Plastic pollution</a> is a global crisis that needs local solutions, and the United States is one of biggest opportunities where regional interventions can result in transformative change around the world," WWF head of Plastic Waste and Business Erin Simon said in a <a href="https://usplasticspact.org/launch-august2020/" target="_blank">press release</a>. "To do this, WWF sees the U.S. Plastics Pact as the linchpin for uniting the critical stakeholders — industry leaders, waste management systems, and policymakers — under a common vision and action plan for meaningful, measurable impact."</p>
<div id="1b86a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5d0688820f7290b90aea63c81688f368"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1298290428895268866" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Today, along with @RECYPartnership and @circulareconomy, we’re thrilled to announce the launch of the U.S. Plastics… https://t.co/oWTVCnirb0</div> — WWF Sustainability Works (@WWF Sustainability Works)<a href="https://twitter.com/WWFBetterBiz/statuses/1298290428895268866">1598371533.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>That action plan is based around the following four goals:</p><ol><li>Creating a list of unnecessary plastic packaging items by 2021 and working to phase them out by 2025</li><li>Ensuring all plastic packaging is <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/recycling" target="_self">recyclable</a>, reusable or compostable by 2025</li><li>Working to compost or recycle 50 percent of plastic packaging by 2025</li><li>Making sure the average plastic packaging is made of 30 percent recycled or responsibly sourced material by 2025</li></ol>
<p>The U.S. Plastics Pact is the latest in the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's global network of plastics pacts, which have so far launched in Chile, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa and the UK, in addition to a wider European Plastics Pact, the <a href="https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/news/the-u-s-launches-a-national-plastics-pact-supported-by-all-sectors" target="_blank">foundation explained</a>.</p><p>The UK Plastics Pact, for example, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/plastics-pact-companies-uk-2563573289.html" target="_self">launched in April 2018</a> with similar goals for reducing single-use plastic packaging by 2025.</p><p>"This is an exciting step on the journey towards a circular economy for plastic in the United States, one that keeps plastic in the economy and out of the environment. This effort will not only help to create solutions in the US, but across the world, as part of our global network of Plastics Pacts," New Plastics Economy Lead at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation Sander Defruyt said.</p><p>"We are looking forward to working with all those involved to drive real change, by eliminating problematic and unnecessary plastic items, innovating to ensure all plastic packaging is reusable, recyclable, or compostable, and circulating it in practice. We encourage others to join us on this journey towards a United States free of plastic waste and pollution."</p>
<div id="e877b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b02df1d68d5ad6b675468c07df41223c"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1298320698851708929" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Delighted to launch the U.S. Plastics Pact together with @RECYPartnership & @WWF today at #circularity20!
60+ orga… https://t.co/fqmEZYQsVP</div> — Sander Defruyt (@Sander Defruyt)<a href="https://twitter.com/SanderDefruyt/statuses/1298320698851708929">1598378750.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The pact was announced at a virtual event called <a href="https://events.greenbiz.com/events/circularity/online/2020" target="_blank">Circularity20</a> dedicated to uniting more than 10,000 professionals in sharing information and resources to develop a circular economy. The pact is being led by the <a href="https://recyclingpartnership.org/" target="_blank">Recycling Partnership</a>, a nonprofit that works to improve recycling in the U.S., with the support of WWF.</p><p>"As the lead organization that engages the full supply chain to advance circularity in the U.S., it's a natural fit for The Recycling Partnership to further collaborative action with other industry leaders to create substantial, long-lasting change for the betterment of our planet," Recycling Partnership VP of Circular Ventures Sarah Dearman said in a press release. "The results from the U.S. Plastics Pact's efforts to advance packaging, improve recycling, and reduce plastic waste will benefit the entire system and all materials."</p>
<div id="98776" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="853dbf522fa0f41a6c27d8eb67866382"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1298651577000103936" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Have you heard about the #USPlasticsPact yet? Check out how we’re collaborating with other organizations to create… https://t.co/Tpa0VgyJEW</div> — RecyclingPartnership (@RecyclingPartnership)<a href="https://twitter.com/RECYPartnership/statuses/1298651577000103936">1598457638.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The U.S. produced the second-most amount of plastic in 2010, at 38 million tonnes (approximately 42 million U.S. tons), according to <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/plastic-pollution" target="_blank">Our World in Data</a>. It ranked behind only China, which produced nearly 60 million tonnes (approximately 66 million U.S. tons). It also ranks high in terms of the amount of plastic produced per person, at 0.34 kilograms per person per day (approximately 0.75 pounds per person per day). Only 8.4 percent of the plastics discarded in the U.S. in 2017 was recycled, <a href="https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/plastics-material-specific-data#:~:text=While%20overall%20the%20amount%20of,plastic%20containers%20is%20more%20significant." target="_blank">according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)</a>.</p>
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Recycled paper at the Northern Adelaide Waste Management Authority's recycling site piles up in Edinburgh, Australia, on April 17, 2019. Brenton Edwards / AFP / Getty Images
By Alex Thornton
The Australian government has announced a A$190 million (US$130 million) investment in the nation's first Recycling Modernization Fund, with the aim of transforming the country's waste and recycling industry. The hope is that as many as 10,000 jobs can be created in what is being called a "once in a generation" opportunity to remodel the way Australia deals with its waste.
Waste Mountain
<p>The need for a dramatic increase in Australia's recycling capacity pre-dates the COVID-19 pandemic. <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-27/where-does-all-australias-waste-go/11755424" target="_blank">Australians create approximately 67 million tons of waste a year</a>, and like in many wealthy countries, much of that was sent overseas. That all changed when China announced it was <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/10/china-has-banned-foreign-waste-so-whats-the-future-of-world-recycling" target="_blank">banning the import of a huge range of foreign waste</a> and recyclables. Soon <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/05/malaysia-flooded-with-plastic-waste-to-send-back-some-scrap-to-source" target="_blank">other countries followed suit</a>, and Australia was forced to look for alternative solutions.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUzNjY4Mi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNDc4NjgwNH0.kcj4RYDc0cQERhMB5duEBzcdA9A0eJ5qad1OyIyIH98/img.png?width=980" id="37769" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2546d96e25cd54902ceb66a326743b4c" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Biggest exporters of plastic. Statista
Waste Export Ban
<p>Australia has adopted a strategy of taking responsibility for its own waste. Starting in January 2021, it is phasing in <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/protection/waste-resource-recovery/waste-export-ban" target="_blank">bans on the export of different forms of waste</a>. By mid 2024, Australia's home-grown recycling industry will have to deal with an extra 650,000 tons of waste plastic, paper, glass and tires.</p><p>"As we cease shipping our waste overseas, the waste and recycling transformation will reshape our domestic waste industry, driving job creation and putting valuable materials back into the economy," federal environment minister Sussan Ley said in a <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-australia-waste/australia-to-set-up-132-million-fund-to-boost-recycling-following-export-curbs-idUKKBN247060" target="_blank">statement to Reuters</a>.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUzNjY4OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NDU2NzA0M30.5pHIN6g44hCE4tNeeiJebL9KkNEb8Awnr3mOzRYWUDE/img.jpg?width=980" id="0aad3" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="927fc17a933d0287cf67f633a3e745b9" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Timeline for Australia's waste export ban. Australian Government
Trash Into Treasure
<p>The benefits to the environment of boosting recycling rates are well known – less landfill, less plastic in our ocean, reduced need for virgin materials, and lower carbon emissions. The Recycling Modernization Fund initiative aims to divert more than 10 million tons of waste from landfill, part of an <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/protection/waste-resource-recovery/publications/national-waste-policy-action-plan" target="_blank">overall strategy to reduce the total waste generated per person by 10%</a>, and push <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/7381c1de-31d0-429b-912c-91a6dbc83af7/files/national-waste-report-2018.pdf" target="_blank">Australia's total resource recovery rate from 58% in 2017</a> to 80% by 2030.</p><p>But like many countries, Australia is focusing on the economic benefits of better waste management as well.</p><p>"This will mean Australia converts more waste into higher valued resources ready for reuse locally by manufacturers and brands in their packaging and products," Rose Read, CEO of the National Waste and Recycling Industry Council, <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-australia-waste/australia-to-set-up-132-million-fund-to-boost-recycling-following-export-curbs-idUKKBN247060" target="_blank">told Reuters</a>.</p>Green Jobs
<p>The great potential of the circular economy to create green jobs is being recognized across the world.</p><p>In the UK, the Waste and Resources Action Program has launched a <a href="https://wrap.org.uk/buildbackbetter" target="_blank">six-point plan which it claims could add $90 billion to the economy, and create 500,000 new jobs</a>. Investment in the circular economy forms a significant part of the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/14/us/politics/biden-climate-plan.html" target="_blank">$2 trillion climate plan that Democratic candidate Joe Biden</a> is taking into November's US presidential election. And the <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_940" target="_blank">European Union has put its Green New Deal at the heart of its plans for recovery</a> from the economic shock of COVID-19.</p><p>The World Economic Forum's <a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_Future_Of_Nature_And_Business_2020.pdf" target="_blank">Future of Nature and Business</a> report identifies 15 systemic transitions with annual business opportunities worth $10 billion a year that could create 395 million jobs by 2030.</p><p>As is the case with Australia's Recycling Modernization Fund, a combination of private enterprise and government investment can offer ways to get people back to work by building a more environmentally sustainable economy.</p>From Your Site Articles
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The Pianodrome, a first-of-its kind theater currently under construction in Glasgow, Scotland is being built with recycled pianos. Matt Wright
A first-of-its kind theater currently under construction in Glasgow, Scotland is giving the phrase "in tune with nature" a whole new meaning.
<p>The 80-person performance space is the UK's first permanent auditorium made entirely from <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/recycling" target="_self">recycled</a> pianos, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jul/26/glasgow-project-uses-recyled-pianos-create-new-theatre-space?CMP=fb_gu&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR1TeM4dbqchkceVXm3Ug2LXkTH-hJdPS5b9THqyMSxlIKMWhGGRs65W9z0#Echobox=1595770531" target="_blank">The Guardian reported Sunday</a>. The innovative design is the fruit of a collaboration between Glasgow community organizer Alex Docherty; Tom Binns, a man who finds homes for old pianos in Glasgow, and <a href="https://pianodrome.org/" target="_blank">Pianodrome</a>, an Edinburgh-based group that built the world's first 100-seat amphitheater from recycled pianos.</p><p>Pianodrome's Tim Vincent-Smith told <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/pianos-auditorium-young-perfomers-glasgow-springburn-374483" target="_blank">inews</a> that the discarding of old pianos reminded him of the treatment of the environment.</p><p>"The countryside is like a piano that granny used to play but we don't have any use for anymore," Vincent-Smith said. "And we are chucking our environmental health away and literally burning it."</p>
<p>The piano theaters work against this throwaway logic by giving old instruments new homes.</p><p>"People have an extraordinary emotional attachment to their instruments and would be heartbroken to see them go in a skip," Binns, who founded the <a href="https://www.glasgowpianocity.org/" target="_blank">Glasgow Piano City</a> project in 2013 to reuse discarded instruments, told The Guardian. "We're giving pianos a new life."</p><p>The pianos are in turn bringing new life to Glasgow's Springburn Park neighborhood. Two years ago, Docherty stopped a steel hut from being torn down so he could transform it into a community space instead.</p><p>"When I talk to my gran who grew up in Springburn, it used to have cinemas and places to go," Docherty told The Guardian. "But since the decline in industry and the motorway demolitions [creating the unpopular dual carriageways and flyovers that bisect Springburn] they disappeared. We really need a community space in the area."</p>
<p>It was Binns who thought of Pianodrome to design the space's auditorium.</p><p>For Pianodrome, which premiered its temporary amphitheater at the Edinburgh Fringe festival in 2018 and has conducted numerous temporary installations since, it was a chance to design a permanent structure.</p><p>"Here, our installations have been limited to 28 days here and there, whereas in Springburn the council have given the Springburn Auditorium a long-term use of that building and the plan is to make an installation that is going to stay there," Vincent-Smith told inews.</p>
<p>Pianodrome is now <a href="https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/the-pianodrome" target="_blank">crowd-funding</a> a permanent home for its Edinburgh amphitheater.</p><p>The Glasgow auditorium is made from about 40 pianos, including a baby grand, according to The Guardian.</p><p>The project is not yet finished, according to the <a href="https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/18600432.recycled-pianos-turn-springburn-shed-auditorium/" target="_blank">Glasgow Times</a>. The outer-shell needs weather-proofing and the seating is not done yet.</p><p>"We'll be working with a team of craftsmen through the autumn and I would hope to finish before the winter. It will be the new year 2021 that we'll probably open but that's okay," Binns told the Glasgow Times.</p>
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Li-Cycle uses a two-step process to recover more than 80% of the materials in old lithium ion batteries. Michael Movchin / Wikimedia Commons / CC by 3.0
As electric vehicles become more mainstream, the demand for lithium ion car batteries is growing. But to increase production, the industry needs more lithium, cobalt, and nickel.
<iframe style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/15116513/height/45/theme/standard/thumbnail/yes/direction/backward/" height="45" width="100%" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe>
<p>One possible source is batteries that are no longer in use.</p><p>"It's a bit of a waste to just have batteries sitting in a landfill. And there's opportunity there to reuse those materials, make them as good as new," says Kunal Phalpher of <a target="_blank" href="https://li-cycle.com/">Li-Cycle</a>.</p><p>Li-Cycle uses a two-step process to recover more than 80% of the materials in old lithium ion batteries.</p>
<p>"We take the batteries and shred them," Phalpher says. "And then phase two of the process is then to take that mixed material and separate each of the elements through chemical processing."</p><p>The approach generates less carbon pollution than mining those minerals from the ground. And it solves another problem the booming industry is grappling with: how to safely and sustainably dispose of spent batteries.</p><p>Li-Cycle has a demonstration plant in Canada, and Phalpher says it's building a new facility in Rochester, New York. Last December, the company shipped its first commercial load of recycled battery material to a customer – a critical milestone on the road to addressing this global challenge.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/07/canadian-company-recycles-minerals-from-electric-vehicle-batteries/" target="_blank">Yale Climate Connections</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Start-up ARC Marine has created a plastic-free alternative to help restore marine biodiversity. ARC Marine
By Douglas Broom
Artificial reefs play an important role in protecting offshore installations like wind farms. Unprotected, the turbine masts are exposed to tidal scouring, undermining their foundations.
<p>Engineers often use undersea concrete "mats" composed of large blocks to protect the bottom of these towers on the seabed. There are <a href="https://www.oilandgasvisionjobs.com/news-item/award-short-listing-sounds-starter-gun-on-operator-race-to-first" target="_blank">40,000 of them in the waters around the UK alone</a>.</p><p>Wind farms are an important part of our transition to a low-carbon economy. But many of the concrete defenses submerged to protect them <a href="https://www.oilandgasvisionjobs.com/news-item/award-short-listing-sounds-starter-gun-on-operator-race-to-first" target="_blank">contain plastics and are considered by environmental groups to be marine litter</a>. This often needs to be removed, recycled or disposed of.</p><p>So one start-up has developed an alternative. <a href="https://arcmarine.co.uk/" target="_blank">ARC Marine's</a> <a href="https://arcmarine.co.uk/reef-cubes/" target="_blank">reef cubes</a> are made from recycled aggregate and sand that is a byproduct of the quarrying industry. The company says this reduces carbon emissions by 90% compared to the processes used to make common types of cement.</p><p>The cubes interlock, leaving larger living spaces for fish, crabs and lobsters, and their porous surface is designed to allow marine plants to establish easily and grow. The aim is for these alternative reefs to protect vital offshore installations from storms and erosion while also encouraging marine biodiversity.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ2MTI4OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0ODE3MzE0M30.sKq7_hgxvR52i7pNcgndbao5azpyBUjrM-PcP7el0pU/img.jpg?width=980" id="625c7" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4a61b8c4884f6fdf84c19a16e180d49e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Home from home: Reef cubes encourage marine biodiversity. ARC Marine
<p>The <a href="https://arcmarine.co.uk/marine-eco-engineering-2/offshore-renewable-energy/" target="_blank">cost of removing the existing concrete mats</a> is estimated at $32 million for each gigawatt of a wind farm's output, according to ARC Marine. Reef cubes are designed to be left in place even after a farm has been decommissioned.</p><p>The company says the cubes will also help to restore marine habitats devastated by human impacts on the environment.</p><p>It's an urgent problem. <a href="https://www.un.org/en/chronicle/article/can-we-save-coral-reefs" target="_blank">Around 70% of coral reefs are under threat</a>, while <a href="https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/habitats/marine/rocky-reefs" target="_blank">rock reefs also suffer</a> from damage due to practices like trawling and dredging. The United Nations warns that <a href="http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/ioc-oceans/focus-areas/rio-20-ocean/blueprint-for-the-future-we-want/marine-biodiversity/facts-and-figures-on-marine-biodiversity/" target="_blank">half of all marine species could be on the brink of extinction by the end of this century</a>.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ2MTI5OS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxODA2OTkzMX0.Y3QEP6cKE94ovdJdOUWPuFgYyqewKNOoFgVgz1XkT7Y/img.png?width=980" id="39154" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="302e4569ed96786ef9604aeff96676df" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
<p>Tom Birbeck, CEO and founder of ARC Marine, calls the reef cubes "building blocks for the ocean" and says they were inspired by the belief that every offshore and coastal project can have a positive impact on ocean health. The company adds that it can help with meeting <a href="https://arcmarine.co.uk/arc-marine-impact/" target="_blank">five of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals</a> – primarily goal 14: conserving life below water.</p><p>"Reef cubes accelerate reef creation and help repair ecosystems that have been destroyed from centuries of bottom trawling and dredging," he says.</p><p>"The global increase in offshore wind demand provides an unprecedented opportunity to rebuild rocky reef habitats around offshore construction projects which historically have caused damage and often deploy toxic and plastic-laden materials."</p>
<p>By restoring the marine environment, the cubes can also encourage sustainable fishing and eco-tourism, he says. And if coupled with <a href="https://www.oilandgasvisionjobs.com/news-item/award-short-listing-sounds-starter-gun-on-operator-race-to-first" target="_blank">a ban on trawling in areas where they are submerged</a>, they could help fish stocks to recover.</p><p>The team behind the cubes was shortlisted for the <a href="https://arcmarine.co.uk/arc-marine-join-katapult-ocean-batch-2-2/" target="_blank">2020 Offshore Achievement Awards</a> – often dubbed "the offshore Oscars" – for their work on the project.</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/07/reef-cubes-arc-marine-biodiversity-wind-farms/" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a>.</em></p>
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By Brian J. Love and Julie Rieland
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the U.S. recycling industry. Waste sources, quantities and destinations are all in flux, and shutdowns have devastated an industry that was already struggling.
<p>
Many items designated as <a href="https://www.wastedive.com/news/byo-coffe-cup-reusables-coronavirus-covid-19-/574817/" target="_blank">reusable</a>, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/24/business/buffets-salad-bars-coronavirus-reopen-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">communal</a> or <a href="https://abc7news.com/thrift-stores-open-during-covid-goodwill-closing-bankruptcy-is/6202537/" target="_blank">secondhand</a> have been temporarily barred to minimize person-to-person exposure. This is producing higher volumes of waste.
</p>
<p>
<em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/brian-j-love-775898" target="_blank">Brian J. Love</a> is a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan. <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/julie-rieland-1109120" target="_blank">Julie Rieland</a> is a PhD Candidate in Macromolecular Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan. </em><br/>
</p><p>
<em>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</em>
</p><p>
<em><span></span>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-19-is-laying-waste-to-many-us-recycling-programs-139733" target="_blank">The Conversation</a></em><em>.</em>
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<p>Grocers, whether by <a href="https://www.mma.org/state-local-governments-reassess-plastic-bans-during-covid-outbreak/" target="_blank">state decree</a> or on their own, have brought back single-use plastic bags. Even IKEA has <a href="https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/campaigns/coronavirus-covid-19-information-page-pubc8d251f00" target="_blank">suspended use</a> of its signature yellow reusable in-store bags. Plastic industry lobbyists have also pushed to <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/04/08/plastic-bag-bans-reversed-coronavirus-reusable-bags-covid-19/2967950001/" target="_blank">eliminate plastic bag bans altogether</a>, claiming that reusable bags pose a public health risk.</p><p>As researchers interested in <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=akEkREoAAAAJ&hl=en" target="_blank">industrial ecology</a> and new schemes for <a href="https://macro.engin.umich.edu/profile/julie-rieland/" target="_blank">polymer recycling</a>, we are concerned about challenges facing the recycling sector and growing distrust of communal and secondhand goods. The trends we see in the making and consuming of single-use goods, particularly plastic, could have lasting negative effects on the <a href="https://reports.weforum.org/toward-the-circular-economy-accelerating-the-scale-up-across-global-supply-chains/from-linear-to-circular-accelerating-a-proven-concept/" target="_blank">circular economy</a>.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQzNTgzOC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1ODc3MjM0MX0.wrshXD-MrPuubmsUx5GaUTvhtreoB1M6b8b-FlBQVas/img.jpg?width=980" id="3f83f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="7f439ba6d8bae35a3b4fdd46660b1cb8" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Goodwill's Canton, Mich. site looks overwhelmed on June 16, with an oversupply of donations and little immediate chance for resale. Brian Love / CC BY-ND
Recyclers Under Pressure
<p>Since March 2020, when most shelter-in-place orders began, sanitation workers have noted massive increases in municipal garbage and recyclables. For example, in cities like Chicago, workers have seen up to <a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/coronavirus/2020/4/7/21212543/coronavirus-chicago-garbage-pickup-streets-sanitation-masks" target="_blank">50% more waste</a>.</p><p>According to the <a href="https://swana.org/" target="_blank">Solid Waste Association of North America</a>, U.S. cities saw a <a href="https://swana.org/news/swana-news/article/2020/06/17/swana-submits-statement-on-recycling-challenges-for-u.s.-senate-hearing" target="_blank">20% average increase</a> in municipal solid waste and recycling collection from March into April 2020. Increased trash can be attributed partly to spring cleaning, but most of it is due to people spending greater time at home. Restaurants struggling to survive under COVID-19 restrictions are contributing to the rise in plastic and paper waste with <a href="https://theconversation.com/using-lots-of-plastic-packaging-during-the-coronavirus-crisis-youre-not-alone-135553" target="_blank">takeout packaging</a>.</p><p>Although higher volumes of recyclables are being set on the curb, budget deficits are squeezing recycling programs. Many municipalities are struggling with <a href="https://www.ketv.com/article/omaha-mayor-health-officials-to-provide-covid-19-update-friday-afternoon/32498068#" target="_blank">multimillion-dollar shortfalls</a>. Some communities, such as Rock Springs, Wyoming, and East Peoria, Illinois, <a href="https://resource-recycling.com/recycling/2020/05/27/budget-shortfalls-threaten-local-recycling-programs/" target="_blank">have cut recycling programs</a>.</p><p>And these stresses are testing a business already faced uncertainty.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQzNTgzOS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NjU0ODEyMn0.4wsxAiiR8yd3FR88jAVs29bLSHtSYBJ5Ym9YQzd28bk/img.jpg?width=980" id="7b842" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="15566c7fafa583508c3201a23035a2de" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
While bottle deposit stations remain closed, recyclables pile up in basements and garages. David Rieland / CC BY-ND
Turmoil in Scrap Markets
<p>The global recycling economy has suffered since 2018 as first China and then other Asian nations <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-more-developing-countries-reject-plastic-waste-exports-wealthy-nations-seek-solutions-at-home-117163" target="_blank">banned imports of low-quality scrap</a> — often meaning improperly cleaned food packaging and poorly sorted recyclable materials. As in any business, the value of raw recyclables is linked to supply and demand. Without demand from nations like China, which formerly took up to 700,000 tons of U.S. scrap annually, recyclers have scrambled to stay in business.</p><p>The pandemic has boosted prices for some materials. One industry leader told us that between February and May 2020, prices doubled for recycled paper and tripled for recycled cardboard. These shifts reflect higher demand for tissue products and shipping packaging under shelter-in-place orders.</p><p>However, he also reported that prices for the most-recycled categories of reclaimed plastics — PET (#1) and PE (#2 and #4) – were at 10-year lows. An influx of cheap oil has driven the raw material cost of oil-derived virgin plastics to their lowest levels in decades, <a href="https://millerrecycling.com/oil-prices-recycling#:%7E:text=Higher%20oil%20prices%20can%20also,robust%20market%20for%20recycled%20plastic." target="_blank">outcompeting recycled feedstocks</a>.</p>Difficult Economics
<p>Ideally, revenues from recycling offset municipalities' costs for collecting and disposing of solid wastes. However, given worker safety concerns, low market prices for scrap materials, a slowed economy and cheaper alternatives for disposal, many communities and businesses across the U.S. have <a href="https://www.wastedive.com/news/recycling-mrfs-prison-labor-suspensions-coronavirus-covid-19/574301/" target="_blank">temporarily suspended</a> collection of recyclables and bottle deposits.</p><p>Meanwhile, as the commercial sector slowed, the distribution of waste generation changed. As people have spent more time producing waste at home, waste collectors implemented <a href="https://www.wastedive.com/news/coronavirus-covid-waste-recycling-safety-collection-mrf/574359/" target="_blank">new procedures</a> to protect their employees from infection.</p><p>Recycling is a very hands-on process that requires workers to manually sort out items from the collection stream that are unsuitable for mechanical processing. Workers and waste collection companies have <a href="https://www.wastedive.com/news/coronavirus-covid-waste-recycling-safety-collection-mrf/574359/" target="_blank">raised many safety questions</a> about recycling during the pandemic.</p><p>Precautions like social distancing and use of personal protective equipment have become commonplace among waste collectors and sorters, though concerns remain. Sorters are increasingly relying on automation, but implementation can be costly and takes time.</p>Collections on Pause
<p>Based on monitoring since 2017 by the trade publication <a href="https://www.wastedive.com/news/curbside-recycling-cancellation-tracker/569250/" target="_blank">Waste Dive</a>, nearly 90 curbside recycling programs had experienced or continue to experience a prolonged suspension over the past several years. About 30 of these suspensions have occurred since January 2020.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQzNTg0MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNjYzNDU3OX0.AjjbSgSf-9eZWy7Ub6yv1QoEuN7qPxlfFC-l7jqPV34/img.jpg?width=980" id="5bd4d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="7265c9984a8f5334db804bdc71500ef9" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Like many bottle deposit programs, Kroger's Ann Arbor, Mich. drop-off center shut down on March 23. Michigan bottle deposits across the state resumed on June 15, 2020 with new safety protocols. Brian Love / CC BY-ND
<p>On a broader scale, it's not clear how much more waste Americans are currently producing during shutdowns. Commercial and residential waste aren't directly comparable. For example, a granola bar wrapper thrown away at the office is tallied differently than if discarded at home.</p><p>It is also challenging to quantify the effects of the pandemic while it is still unfolding. Historically, waste output from the commercial and industrial sectors has far outweighed the municipal stream. With many offices and business closed or operating at low levels, total U.S. waste production could actually be at a record low during this time. However, data on commercial and industrial wastes are not readily available.</p><p>At the California-based <a href="https://resource-recycling.com/recycling/2020/04/28/city-data-shows-covid-19-impacts-on-recycling-tonnages/" target="_blank">Peninsula Sanitary Service</a>, which serves the Stanford University community, total tonnage was down 60% in March. The company attributes this drop to reduced commercial waste, particularly from construction. Similarly, the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, noted a <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/metro-vancouver-garbage-decrease-covdi-19-1.5544942" target="_blank">10% decrease</a> year over year of waste collection levels for April.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQzNTg0MS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MDY1MjQ4NX0.-R4MY1EZXhJ-2KFb5H0H0nDOIyBaae0yHh_Q-QZkY5E/img.png?width=980" id="6e0bd" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a3f96216a5009cd49e402dd0d45d7312" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Expected sectors of plastic waste increase due to COVID-19, based on 2018 plastic usage distribution data from PlasticsEurope and Klemes et al., 2020. Brian Love and Julie Rieland / CC BY-ND
More Plastic Trash
<p>As cities and industries reopen in the coming months, new data will show the pandemic's effects on consumer habits and waste generation. But regardless of total volume, the mix of materials in household wastes has shifted given the new ubiquity of single-use plastic containers, online shopping packaging and disposable gloves, wipes and face masks. Many of these new staples of pandemic life are made from plastics that are simply not worth recycling if there are any other disposal options.</p><p>Today Americans are trying to balance their physical well-being against ever-mounting piles of plastic waste. At a time when reducing and reusing could be dangerous, and recycling economics are unfavorable, we see a need for better options, such as more <a href="https://theconversation.com/bio-based-plastics-can-reduce-waste-but-only-if-we-invest-in-both-making-and-getting-rid-of-them-98282" target="_blank">compostable packaging</a> that is both safer and more sustainable.</p>From Your Site Articles
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Vanguard Renewables has sponsored five milk donation events, donating more than 17,000 gallons of milk to Massachusetts and Rhode Island families in need. Vanguard Renewables
By Meg Wilcox
As U.S. food assistance programs grapple with overwhelming demand during the coronavirus pandemic, some in New England are finding support from unusual partners—renewable energy companies.
<p><br/></p>
<p>Scratch the surface of these partnerships, however, and the connections begin to make sense. The renewable energy companies are already engaged with the food system, and they're joining with food relief efforts to connect more deeply with the communities where they do business at a time of crisis.</p><p>Take <a href="https://vanguardrenewables.com/" target="_blank">Vanguard Renewables</a>, which has sponsored <a href="https://neal.house.gov/press-releases/neal-assists-donation-milk-south-congregational-church-community-food-pantry" target="_blank">five milk donations events</a>, donating more than 17,000 gallons of milk to <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/05/06/metro/local-farms-donate-thousands-gallons-milk-those-need-market-dissolves/" target="_blank">Massachusetts</a> and <a href="https://vanguardrenewables.com/4300-gallons-of-milk-to-be-donated-to-providence-and-pawtucket-families-in-need-on-may-27/" target="_blank">Rhode Island</a> families in need, in partnership with <a href="https://www.dfamilk.com/" target="_blank">Dairy Farmers of America</a> (DFA), <a href="https://hood.com/" target="_blank">HP Hood</a>, <a href="https://www.supercow.com/" target="_blank">Guida's Dairy</a> and various political leaders.</p><p>Vanguard Renewables develops <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2020/06/16/climate-solutions-manure/?arc404=true" target="_blank">novel on-farm systems</a> that recycle organic food waste and manure into renewable energy that it converts to electricity or sells as gas. The company takes food waste from food manufacturers and grocery stores, and uses it to fuel its six anaerobic digester facilities in New England, which also produce organic fertilizer and bedding for animals.</p><p>When dairy's main markets shuttered in April, Vanguard Renewables Chairman and CEO John Hanselman noted a sudden large influx of raw milk coming into his company's facilities straight from farms. Hanselman, who'd never before seen that, reached out to DFA to ask, "Hey what can we do?"</p>
<p>DFA was already focusing on <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/11/business/coronavirus-destroying-food.html" target="_blank">milk dumping</a>, and through its charitable arm, <a href="https://www.dfamilk.com/our-commitment/dfa-cares" target="_blank">DFA Cares</a>, it raised the money needed to purchase milk from farmers to make the donations. Vanguard Renewables contributed $15,000, as well as time and logistical support. Hood HP and Guida's Dairy processed the milk into gallon jugs, and got it out to the points of distribution. The National Guard helped hand out the milk jugs.</p><p>"It was a hell of an effort, but it really felt good in your soul as people were pulling up and we were putting gallons of milk in their trunks," said Hanselman. "You know that so many families are just a few paychecks away from not having their nutritional needs met, and that's devastating in a country that has such abundance."</p><p><a href="https://bluewavesolar.com/" target="_blank">BlueWave Solar</a>, a <a href="https://bcorporation.net/" target="_blank">certified B Corporation</a> and developer of community solar projects, is taking a different tack to help feed families in need. It's donating a portion of the subscriptions it receives to two new community solar projects—in Hudson Valley, New York and in Massachusetts—to area food banks.</p><p><a href="https://www.seia.org/initiatives/community-solar" target="_blank">Community solar</a> provides homeowners and renters an opportunity to tap into clean energy, at a reduced rate on their monthly electric bills, without installing solar panels on their homes. BlueWave Solar's projects are typically developed on low-value land, such as along a highway, but they're also developed on farms, which helps stabilize farmers' income. Recently, the company began developing innovative <a href="https://civileats.com/2019/01/22/agrivoltaics-solar-panels-on-farms-could-be-a-win-win/" target="_blank">dual use solar farms</a> which Marsch, calls the "holy grail," because the farmer is able to continue farming the land around the solar array.</p>
<p>For each new subscriber to the community solar projects, BlueWave Solar contributes $50 to area food banks. The company has also donated more than $10,000 to four food banks since the pandemic started, according to Mike Marsch, principal, community solar at BlueWave Solar</p><p>"When COVID hit, it was such a clear need. It's such a hard-hit region, food insecurity being what it is," said Marsch. "As a company, we've supported the food bank. A lot of us have volunteered there. We thought a natural extension was to combine that with community solar."</p><p>Donating to food banks to attract new subscribers is also a creative way for the company to gin up business while sales are low—but local food banks are grateful for the support.</p><p>Paul Stermer, director at <a href="https://foodbankofhudsonvalley.org/" target="_blank">Food Bank of the Hudson Valley</a>, said he's seen roughly 50 percent more people in the area who are food insecure and need help since the pandemic struck.</p>
<p>Stermer is concerned that once the coronavirus relief programs phase out—the increased unemployment benefits, rent forgiveness, expanded SNAP, <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/3245-0407-SBA-Form-3508-PPP-Forgiveness-Application.pdf" target="_blank">Paycheck Protection Program</a>—people will struggle even more.</p><p>"Even once we get past the pandemic, … the impact of what we're seeing today is going to be with us for a while," he said.</p><p>Indeed, a <a href="https://www.feedingamerica.org/sites/default/files/2020-05/Brief_Local%20Impact_5.19.2020.pdf" target="_blank">recent analysis</a> by Feeding America found that progress made in the past decade on food insecurity will likely be wiped out by the pandemic.</p><p>Vanguard Renewables is trying to keep its effort going, said Hanselman, noting "we've got 40 million unemployed Americans and it takes a long time to get those folks back to work."</p><p>But he says, it's gotten harder now to get interest, especially now that the dairy supply chain disruption is over.</p><p><span></span>Regardless of whether the companies can maintain food relief efforts, both will continue building on-farm clean energy systems that support farmers and help make their operations more regenerative.</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/06/feeding-families-in-need-renewable-energy-companies-enter-the-mix/" target="_blank">Food Tank</a>.</em></p>
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As we continue to grapple with the issues of overfishing, plastic pollution, and climate change, there exists an opportunity to address these existential threats with new innovations. Sawitree Pamee / EyeEm
By Kaya Bulbul
The ocean is our lifeline - we rely on it for the food we eat, the air we breathe, as well as for millions for jobs worldwide.
As we continue to grapple with the issues of overfishing, plastic pollution, and climate change, there exists an opportunity to address these existential threats with new innovations, many of which unidentified or insufficiently supported.
<p><span></span><a href="https://www.weforum.org/uplink" target="_blank">UpLink</a> is a response to this demand; a new digital platform to surface the best ideas and solutions for pressing issues and connect them to the world's decision makers.</p><p>The UpLink platform brings together key stakeholders who are championing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): change-makers, social innovators, thematic experts, investors and technology titans.</p><p>The UpLink platform was launched with the <a href="https://uplink.weforum.org/uplink/s/topic/0TO2o000000VefpGAC/ocean" target="_blank">Ocean Solutions Sprint</a>, which has sourced over 50 entrepreneurial solutions from more than 15 countries which respond to the most pressing challenges facing the ocean today and speed up progress being made towards <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg14" target="_blank">SDG-14: Life Below Water</a>.</p><p>The sprint culminated at the World Economic Forum's <a href="https://www.weforum.org/events/virtual-ocean-dialogues-2020/" target="_blank">Virtual Ocean Dialogues</a>, where six finalists presented their ideas to a panel of experts and judges from across the industry.</p>
<iframe src="https://livestream.com/accounts/1909571/events/9146673/videos/206855962/player?mute=false&width=640&height=360" width="100%" height="480" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e3e028fc3bb47f2a1bba1a20b830e724"></iframe>
<p>"We need to get these problems in front of more people so they can pool together their intellect and their heart and add it to this explosive renaissance of ocean problem solving," said Douglas McCauley, Director of the Benioff Ocean Initiative and one of the sprint panelists.</p><p>"We know that just as diversity in a natural system like a coral reef makes it more resilient, more powerful, it makes our problem solving more powerful. I'm excited to have an open platform in UpLink, without any barriers for people to put that diversity together for ocean problem solving."</p>
<p>The three winning innovations helping to save our ocean are:</p><p><a href="https://uplink.weforum.org/uplink/s/uplink-contribution/a012o00001G7khBAAR/cubex-global-marketplace-for-25-billion-revenue-recovery-in-ocean-freight" target="_blank">Cubex Global</a> (Ocean Innovation Award)</p><p>Cubex aims to reduce global shipping emissions by buying and selling unused container space on existing cargo ship routes.<br></p><p>Over 100 million shipping containers are 50% empty while traveling from port to port - a massively wasteful practice that produces 280 million tons of carbon emissions and costs $25 billion USD every year.</p><p>While many traditional companies use phones, fax and email to fill up their containers, Cubex uses a real-time, blockchain-enabled online marketplace which optimizes empty cargo space and can potentially reduce emissions from shipping vessels by up to 20%. Anyone using the platform can buy or sell cubic meters of space on any container going to any destination.</p>
<p><a href="https://uplink.weforum.org/uplink/s/uplink-contribution/a012o00001G7hJOAAZ/recyglo" target="_blank">Recyglo</a> (Action on Ocean Plastic Award)</p><p>Founded in Myanmar in 2017, Recyglo works closely with businesses in the country and surrounding areas on waste management requirements, connecting with logistics and recycling facilities around the world to process waste materials in a safe, non-hazardous manner.<br></p><p>With <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/06/90-of-plastic-polluting-our-oceans-comes-from-just-10-rivers/" target="_blank">8 of the 10 rivers with the most plastic pollution in the world located in Asia,</a> a solution to this problem is desperately needed in the region.</p><p>"The current waste management in Myanmar is fragmented, inefficient and problematic," co-founder and CEO Shwe Yamin Oo has said. As well as helping companies organize their recycling habits and disposing of their waste, Recyglo also provides data analytics on the amounts of waste recycled and the impact on carbon footprint.</p><p>The company is currently managing 500 tons of waste and saving 1470 tons of CO2 every month, and has educated 800,000 people on the merits of proper recycling.</p>
<p><a href="https://uplink.weforum.org/uplink/s/uplink-contribution/a012o00001G7jlbAAB/oceanium-food-and-nutrition-products-from-sustainably-farmed-seaweed" target="_blank">Oceanium</a> (People's Choice Award)</p><p>Oceanium is developing food products and packaging material made from sustainably farmed seaweed.</p><p>What sounds like a simple solution to solving ocean plastic pollution has a raft of environmental benefits. Seaweed farming does not require cleared land which means that deforestation is not necessary. It also sequesters carbon dioxide and nitrogen from the ocean, which reduces atmospheric carbon and ocean acidification, and requires no fertilizer or pesticide to grow.</p><p>Meanwhile, seaweed farms protect the seabed from commercial fishing and create a marine sanctuary for sea life. The company hopes its bio-packaging will replace harmful plastic products. For every ton of plastic replaced by bio-packaging, approximately 1.9 tons of carbon dioxide is prevented from entering the atmosphere.</p><p>Oceanium also believes that seaweed farming could create jobs in coastal communities and developing countries, and could be used to feed livestock and help to end global food insecurity.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/06/3-innovations-that-are-leading-the-fight-to-save-our-ocean/" target="_blank">World Economic Forum.</a></em></p>From Your Site Articles
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The Upcycled Food Association announced on May 19 that they define upcycled foods as ones that "use ingredients that otherwise would not have gone to human consumption, are procured and produced using verifiable supply chains, and have a positive impact on the environment." Minerva Studio / Getty Images
By Jared Kaufman
Upcycled food is now an officially defined term, which advocates say will encourage broader consumer and industry support for products that help reduce food waste. Upcycling—transforming ingredients that would have been wasted into edible food products—has been gaining ground in alternative food movements for several years but had never been officially defined.
<p><br/></p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.upcycledfood.org/" target="_blank">Upcycled Food Association</a> announced on May 19 that they define upcycled foods as ones that "use ingredients that otherwise would not have gone to human consumption, are procured and produced using verifiable supply chains, and have a positive impact on the environment."</p><p>The definition was drafted by a working group convened by the Upcycled Food Association, which included representatives from Harvard University, Drexel University, <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/" target="_blank">Natural Resources Defense Council</a>, <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/initiatives/food-waste" target="_blank">World Wildlife Fund</a>, and <a href="https://www.refed.com/" target="_blank">ReFED</a>, a nonprofit that analyzes solutions to food waste. The Upcycled Food Association is a member-based industry non-profit that aims to boost the profile of upcycled foods. The association's working group hopes that such a definition will make it easier for food companies to show how their products contribute to food waste reduction.</p><p>The definition is "putting some teeth into a trend that is doing the right thing for our food supply, our environment, consumers, and businesses," Jonathan Deutsch, a professor at Drexel University and the director of the Drexel Food Lab, says in a statement.</p>
<p>Standardizing the term is also a first step toward legislation that supports upcycling, according to Emily Broad Leib, a Harvard University law professor and the director of Harvard's Food Law and Policy Clinic. "Further research can be done to identify and leverage policy incentives to support upcycled foods as a model to reduce food waste and support a more sustainable food system," she says in a statement.</p><p>Upcycling has emerged in recent years as a way for food producers to add value to byproducts or surplus ingredients that might otherwise have been wasted. Already, food companies such as <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/01/philabundances-abundantly-good-cheese-benefiting-dairy-farmers-hungry-families/" target="_blank">Philabundance</a> and <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2018/10/treasure8s-inventions-aim-to-change-the-idea-of-food-waste/" target="_blank">Treasure8</a> are repurposing safely edible ingredients, like excess milk or "ugly" vegetables, into nutritious cheeses and chips.</p><p>"We can take these very large waste streams and we can upcycle them into safe, tasty, healthy products and ingredients that can work at large scale distribution," Treasure8 co-founder Timothy Childs told Food Tank in 2018.</p>
<p>Food waste is a significant plague on both the food system and the climate. The <a href="https://www.usda.gov/foodwaste/faqs" target="_blank">U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates</a> that between 30–40 percent of the food supply is lost or wasted—about 133 billion pounds a year. The impact is magnified by the water, energy, and land resources that went into producing food that was never consumed. Project Drawdown, an organization that advocates cutting greenhouse gas emissions, <a href="https://drawdown.org/drawdown-framework/drawdown-review-2020" target="_blank">has identified reducing food waste</a> as the No. 1 solution to keep warming below 2ºC.</p><p>And research shows that consumers not only understand the term "upcycled" as a distinct category, but also see added value in it. According to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/cb.1689?systemMessage=Wiley+Online+Library+usage+report+download+page+will+be+unavailable+on+Friday+24th+November+2017+at+21%3A00+EST+%2F+02.00+GMT+%2F+10%3A00+SGT+%28Saturday+25th+Nov+for+SGT" target="_blank">a benchmark study conducted by Deutsch's team at Drexel University</a> in 2017, customers surveyed viewed "value-added surplus foods" as being significantly different from conventional products and preferred the term "upcycled" over eight alternatives. The results suggest that many customers might find the benefit of upcycled food to be on par with organic certification, meaning they assign value to—and may be willing to pay more for—truly sustainable upcycled products.</p>
<p>The Upcycled Food Association hopes to use the new definition as a way to signal to consumers that food waste reduction claims on products are consistent and verifiable. To follow up on the definition, Upcycled Food Association COO Ben Gray says the association is planning to launch a product certification program for upcycled foods later this year.</p><p>"We want to give people the ability to participate in the solution every time they visit a grocery store," Gray says in a statement. "We envision a future in which many products in every aisle and around the perimeter proudly display the upcycled certification, giving consumers the opportunity to vote to reduce food waste with their dollars."</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/05/upcycled-food-is-officially-defined-with-a-goal-of-paving-the-way-for-industry-food-waste-reduction/" target="_blank">Food Tank</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Only the paper part of a drink carton would be recycled — everything else, including the plastic coating or layer or aluminum foil, would be incinerated as residual waste. tavan amonratanasareegul / Getty Images
By Jeannette Cwienk
When it comes to recycling and recyclability, very little, it seems is straightforward — even something as seemingly simple as orange juice can present a conundrum. In Germany, many smaller shops sell drinks in cartons or plastic bottles, both of which will end up in the yellow recycling bin. But how do their recycling credentials stack up?
<p>"As far as recyclability is concerned, the plastic bottle is probably slightly better because it is likely only made from one plastic, and so is easier to recycle than a multilayer material like a beverage carton," says Rolf Buschmann, waste and resource expert with the German environmental organization BUND, who worked on the group's 2019 Plastic Atlas.</p><p>He explains that only the paper part of the drink carton would be recycled <em>—</em> everything else, including the plastic coating or layer or aluminum foil, would be incinerated as residual waste.</p>
More and More Multilayer Packaging
<p>How easy is it to recognize multilayer packaging? With drink cartons, it's usually obvious that they're made from a combination of different materials, but with other products, such as candy wrappers, it's a different story.</p><p>Such packaging can be made from a complex mix of up to 10 different films of plastic, which as Joachim Christiani, managing director of German recycling institute cyclos-HTP, explains, is <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/germany-produces-record-amount-of-packaging-waste/a-51293541" target="_blank">invisible to consumers</a>.</p><p>"In recent years there's been a trend toward so-called multilayer packaging, which is extremely light and thin. It saves material as well as CO2 emissions during transport, but can't be recycled," Christiani says.</p><p>Because it is not possible to melt the different plastics together, or — at least for now — to separate the individual films from one another at recycling plants.</p>Lack of Recycled Plastic
<p>A 2017 cyclos-HTP study into the recyclability of conventional packaging waste concluded that a third of it was not recyclable, and only 40% of the remaining two-thirds was made into plastic recyclate. The rest was used as fuel <em>—</em> in other words it was incinerated.</p><p>"There was no economic or political pressure to recycle more than this amount," Christiani says. "The prescribed recycling quotas were met, and there were not nearly enough recycling plants."</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzMxNjYwMy9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MTQ4MzI5M30.HL0sO8u-CFQf1FvXt4uVkyWtp5iseVH4FmaVYGkfNEY/img.png?width=980" id="b5980" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0967b762faff5003e7a353180d4ad95e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" /><p>Another 2017 study by the chemical and waste disposal industry also shows that to date, Germany has not made much use of recycled plastic. According to the findings, plastic recyclate accounted for only 12% of the total amount of plastic processed in Germany <em>—</em> just under 1.8 million tons. The share of new plastic, on the other hand, was more than 12 million tons.</p>
Room for Greenwashing
<p>According to a 2018 survey by Germany's vzbv consumer protection association, most consumers would like to see more plastic recycling, especially when it comes to packaging.</p><p>Although some products come in packaging that is advertised as being "made from recycled material," Elke Salzmann, a resource protection officer with vzbv, says that can be misleading.</p><p>"It says nothing about how much recycled material the packaging actually contains," according to Salzmann. "And it also doesn't mean that the recycled plastic comes from collected plastic waste. It could just as well come from plastic leftovers created during the production of primary plastic."</p><p>The term "ocean plastic," which some textile and shoe manufacturers use to advertise the recycled plastic in their product lines, can also be misleading, Salzmann says.</p><p><span></span>"Plastic waste from the ocean is in much too bad a state to be recycled. Instead, they use plastic waste from beaches or riverbanks."</p>Laws Against Plastic
<p>Images of garbage choking our waters and <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/eurythenes-plasticus-a-deep-sea-crustacean-full-of-plastic/a-52663559" target="_blank">killing marine wildlife</a> have played a key role in giving plastic a negative reputation among the public, and politicians have started to act.</p><p>Many countries worldwide have introduced bans on single-use items, and in Germany, a 2019 packaging law stipulates a plastics recycling quota of 90% from 2022, up from 36%. That said, the quota only refers to how much material has to be fed into the recycling system, not how much ultimately needs to be recycled.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzMxNjYxNC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMzE4OTE0M30.8xGfBu2brG_AIp45i_q_LxZZu0nMvlFGAEWGL93Hv6M/img.png?width=980" id="79d47" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6bc3d22db4f442dacf798ac32ccc7671" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" /><p>This may be addressed in future European Union legislation. As part of its "<a href="https://www.dw.com/en/will-trains-play-a-key-role-in-the-european-green-deal/a-52263495" target="_blank">Green Deal</a>," the European Commission <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/eu-commission-aims-to-clamp-down-on-waste-with-new-law/a-52720804" target="_blank">is aiming to move toward a circular economy</a>, and has announced an action plan to conserve resources and prevent waste.</p><p>The Commission is also being advised by the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC) on how to establish new rules around the use of recycled materials.</p><p>The recommendations range from landfill and export bans on plastic waste and tax rebates for recycled products, to the introduction of a plastics tax and a legal minimum quota of recycled content in packaging.</p>
Rethinking the Whole System
<p>Although plastic is a very useful material, at the end of its life it causes many problems, EASAC environmental program director Michael Norton tells DW, adding that we have to rethink the whole system and completely change the way we use plastic.</p><p>Joachim Christiani says the packaging industry is starting to catch on. Around 70% of recycled mass can currently be generated from packaging, but that figure is expected to rise in the future.</p><p>"95% is quite feasible," says the engineer, adding that sorting facilities are currently undergoing improvements, while packaging design is also changing.</p>Clear Plastics Are Easiest to Recycle
<p>As things stand, PET bottles are easiest to recycle because they're not mixed with other materials. New bottles can therefore easily be made from the old ones and the recycling rate is high. But the color of the bottle can pose a problem.</p><p>Because plastic is sorted by type rather than color, if different colors of plastic are mixed, the resulting recyclate cannot be used for light-colored packaging, which many manufacturers want. The upshot is the introduction of new plastic instead.</p><p>Consumer and environmental associations have long called for recyclability, greater sorting purity and better sorting facilities, but their most important demand remains waste avoidance through reusable systems.</p><p>"Why melt down disposable bottles to make new disposable bottles when you can refill them up to 20 times?" Buschmann asks.</p>From Your Site Articles
- EU Parliament Bans Plastics Responsible for 70% of Ocean Trash ... ›
- EU Moves to Ban Most Plastics By 2020 - EcoWatch ›
- EU Agrees to Slash Single-Use Plastics to Halt Marine Pollution ... ›
- What Happens to Recycled Plastic? Researchers Lift the Lid ›
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