Reduce, Reuse, and Replace | Plant Switch

Reducing and reusing are undoubtedly the best ways to combat plastic pollution. However, the single-use market is not going away anytime soon. We definitely ... Skiptocontent Reduce,reuse,recycle.We’veallseenthetaglinesomewhere.It’stherallyingcryofmanypeopleinthesustainabilitymovement.Butisitaccurate?Noonecanarguethatreducingandreusingarethebestsolutions,butwhataboutrecycling?Unfortunately,recyclinginAmericaiscompletelybrokenandineffective. InarecentScientificAmericanarticletheyarguedthat“recyclingplasticistosavingtheEarthwhathammeringanailistohaltingafallingskyscraper.”Butwhy?Let’sbreaktheproblemdownintothreecategories: Whytherateofrecyclingissolow Whythere’ssolittledemandforit Whyithasbeenpushedasasolutiontopollution RecyclingRates AccordingtotheEPA,only8%ofplasticwasteinAmericain2017wasrecycled.Thisiscausedbyalackofinfrastructure,highwastecontaminationrates,andthefactthatplasticjustdoesn’trecyclewell.Americadoesn’thaveafederalrecyclingprogram,sotheresponsibilityofrecyclingfallsoneachmunicipality.Someoftheseactuallydoaprettygoodjob,SanFranciscokeepsaround80%ofitswasteoutoflandfills.However,thesearehugeoutliers.Forexample,inCleveland,thecityspends$14milliondollarsayeartocollectrecycling.Residentsseparatewasteintorecyclingbins,recyclingtruckscomeandpickupthewaste,andthengodropitstraightinthelandfill.It’smindboggling,butit’strue,andClevelandismoreofthenormacrossthecountrythanSanFransisco.RepublicServices,oneofthelargestgarbagehaulersinthecountryservingover2,800communities,saysthatone-thirdofthewastecollectedbytheirrecyclingtrucksnevergetsrecycled. Anotherreasonrecyclingratesaresolowisthatahugeportionofrecycledwasteiscontaminated.Itisestimatedthataquarterofallrecycledwasteiscontaminatedandgetsdivertedtoalandfill.Iwasdefinitelyguiltyofthisuntilrecently,IwouldlookatsomethingIwasthrowingawayandthink,ehthislookskindaplastic,I’llthrowthisintherecycling.Unfortunately,thatwellintentioneddecisionsometimeshurtsmorethanithelps.Inordertoeffectivelyrecycle,recyclersmusthaveaclean,freeoffoodwaste,plasticitemthatismadefromatypeofplasticthattheyaccept.Notallplasticisrecyclable,anditvariesbyfacilitywhichplasticstheywillaccept.Plasticbagscan’tevenberecycledatall.Ifyouhaveanyfoodresidueonanitem,it’scontaminatedandgoesstraighttothelandfill. Sowhatabouttheplasticthatactuallyisrecycled?Unlikeotherwastesuchasglass,metal,andpaperthatcanberecycledoverandover,plasticcanonlyberecycledonceortwice,anditlosesitsstructuralintegritysomuchthatonlyafractionoftheoriginalmaterialisusable,andalmostneverinthesameapplicationitwasoriginallymadefor.Itisjustnotamaterialthatwasmadetoberecycled,andthereissomuchplasticouttherethatyoucouldneverrecycleenoughforittomatter. DemandIssue Recyclingcostsmoney,andalotofit.Inordertopayforit,youhavetosellenoughoftherecycledmaterialtocoveryourcosts.Sowhobuysit?Fordecades,itwasChina,butthewastewesentthemwassocontaminated(30%contaminationrates)thattheybannedmostplasticimportfromtheUSin2018.Insteadofaddressingcontamination,wejustwenttoothercountrieslikeVietnam,Malaysia,andThailand.Theycaughtonprettyquick,andinstitutedbansonimportedplasticwasteaswell.NowweshiptoothersmallerSoutheasternAsiacountries,butatafractionofwhatweusedto,andwestillhaven’tfixedcontaminationasaround45%ofthewastewesendthemendsupintheirlandfillsinoceans.Municipalitieswentfrommakingmoneyontheirrecyclingtopayingupto7timesmoretogetitremovedthantheyweremakinginthefirstplace.Compoundingtheissueisthefactthatvirginplasticislessexpensiveandhigherqualitythanrecycledplastic,offeringnoincentivetomanufacturerstouserecycledmaterial. WhyIsThisStillPushedasaSolution? Plasticmanufacturers,obviously.Theyknowthatmostconsumersatthispointareeco-conscious,andiftheycanconvincethepopulationthatrecyclingissolvingthepollutionproblem,theycancontinuetomakeplastic.Thisactuallygoesback60years.VermontpassedtheBeverageContainerLawin1953outlawingthesaleofbeveragesinnon-refillablecontainers.Shortlythereafter,thebigbeveragecompanieslikeCoca-ColaandAnheuser-Buschfoundedanon-profitcalledMakeAmericaBeautiful.Theycreatedcampaignslike“IWanttoBeRecycled”andinventedtheterm“litterbug”toshifttheblameofplasticwasteontoconsumerswhodon’trecyclecorrectly.Theyconvincedthepublicthattheproblemwasalackofconsumersrecyclingandnottheactualproducersoftheplastic.TheyshotdowntheVermontbillandotherlegislationthatwouldincreaseproducerresponsibilityforwastemanagement. Thinkaboutit,whydoyougetfinedhundredsofdollarsorevenfacejailtimeforlittering,butmassivecorporationsproducingmillionsoftonsofplasticeveryyearhavealmostnoresponsibility? SoWhatDoWeDo? Reducingandreusingareundoubtedlythebestwaystocombatplasticpollution.However,thesingle-usemarketisnotgoingawayanytimesoon.Wedefinitelyneedtoincreaserecyclinginfrastructureandeducateourpopulationonhowtoproperlyrecycle.ButIthinkthereisanotherbettersolution:Replacement.Technologyisnowmakingitpossibletocreatesingle-useproductsoutofplantmaterialthatcandegradenaturally.Granted,thedegradationprofilesvarywidelybyproduct,andthereisnostandardizationformeasuringtheminAmerica(I’llbetalkingaboutthisnextweek).However,astechnologycontinuestoimprove,Icanseeafuturewhereallsingle-useplasticisreplacedwithplant-based,naturallydegradablesingle-useproducts.Reducingandreusingarestillthebestoptions,buttheywillonlygosofar.Ithinktheperfectcomplementtothetwoinordertofullysolvetheproblemistoreplaceplasticwithplants. Reduce,Reuse,Replace.   Sources:   ScientificAmerican PewResearch ColumbiaUniversity Reader’sDigest Rubicon Fox TheGuardian EnvironmentalProtectionAgency Postnavigation ←PreviousPostNextPost→ SearchforArticleorTopic SupplyChainIssues?Here’sHowDomesticProductionHelps PFAS:WhatTheyAre&HowtoRemoveThem HempPlastic:5AdvantagesforBio-DegradableProducts HowHempPlasticisMade[Beginner’sGuide] 10BestWaystoBoostSustainabilityinRestaurants whoweare shopforhome shopforbusiness AgaveStraws AgaveCutlery ourblog contact login whoweare shopforhome shopforbusiness AgaveStraws AgaveCutlery ourblog contact login ShoppingCart ScrolltoTop