Do you diligently separate your trash? Plastic, paper and aluminum in one container? Food remnants in another container? Grass and plant items in another? We've been told that we are helping the environment by separating everything, so that the items can be sent to the proper place for recycling. Well, folks, it really doesn't work that way.
Here are some numbers that may surprise you. 9% of plastic is actually being recycled. 85% of single use plastics in California do not get recycled. They end up in the landfill. 10% of the global plastic production are thermoset plastics, which when exposed to heat, instead of melting, are combusting, making them impossible to recycle.
Contamination can prevent large batches of material from being recycled. China used to take our waste, but not so any more due in part to the trade war. China said most of the plastic was garbage and too dirty to recycle. Countries like Vietnam, Turkey, Malaysia and Senegal still take our waste.
Municipalities are forced to deal with their own trash instead of exporting it. Fact is, much of this plastic is completely unrecyclable. The class of plastic that people have traditionally been told to put in the recycle bin, clamshell style food packaging, cold drink cups and black plastic trays are not saleable. Nobody wants to buy mixed plastic.
Are you shocked by this? I'm not. Just disappointed that the government is trying to make us feel like we are making a difference and helping the climate, when in fact, in reality all the trash is dumped in the landfill. This is an oversimplification because there is some recycling going on, but not to the extent that we are led to believe. What can we do about this? I have no idea.
No comments:
Post a Comment