Back in elementary school, I remember singing along to the recycling mantra we all may have been indoctrinated in, "Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle." If we chanted those words, would the worlds' problems go away?
Unfortunately, "Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle" hasn't solved the world's, or especially, America's single use plastic love-hate relationship. Single use plastics are items that you use once and then throw away: to-go containers, plastic utensils, styrofoam cups, vegetable wrappings, etc.
According to the balance small business, Americans can use up to 102.1 billion plastic bags and 2.4 million tons of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastics, like water bottles.
When I say plastic, I actually mean the 7 different types of plastic. Remember the "Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle" triangle? Those triangles are printed on the bottom or side of the plastic item with a number in the middle. The number corresponds to the different types of plastic.
- Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
- High-density polyethylene (HDPE)
- Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
- Low-density polyethylene (LDPE)
- Polypropylene (PP)
- Polystyrene (PS)
- Others like acrylic and polycarbonate
Chaos occurs once the plastic item leaves our hand. That water bottle you're holding right now or the yogurt container? Those contain multiple types of plastic, typical water bottle caps are PP plastic while the bottle itself is PET plastic.
That chaos I was talking about? It happens at recycling plants when consumers throw all of their plastic together. Miller Recycling Corporation, a local recycling corporation in Massachusetts, explains the types of plastic they accept at their facilities.
PET and HDPE are the only consistent plastics that Miller Recycling will accept.
PS, PP, and LDPE plastics can sometimes be recycled depending on the specific facility.
Other plastics and PVC plastics cannot be recycled.
Oftentimes, when recycling facilities are overloaded with wrong types of plastic, they send materials to landfills. Even more so, plastics and other recyclable items do not make it to recycling facilities, instead, their final destinations are landfills, highways, and the ocean. According to a Colombia post, "In 2014, Americans discarded about 33.6 million tons of plastic, but only 9.5 percent of it was recycled."
I used to feel proud, stealing plastic waste that my family wanted to throw out and sorting it in our recycling bins. I would take used paper towels and put them into the paper bin. Or stuff plastic bags in my pockets to place into the plastic bin. Looking back, I wasn't doing any good. In fact, I was adding more stress to our local recycling facility.
You may feel good about throwing your next plastic item into the recycling bin, but be careful. Check its plastic number and contact your local recycling facility to learn about what types of plastic they accept. Furthermore, its time to stop singing "Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle." Instead, we need to stop, stop buying items that require single use plastics.
