Hello! Today I want to talk about recycling. In the UK, we generated 22.9 million tonnes of waste in 2016, so what happens to it? I often hear people say that they recycle plastic, so they aren’t part of the waste problem facing our planet. However, only 9% of the plastic produced in the world gets recycled (Science advances, 2017). So, what actually happens to our plastic recycling?
We started making plastic in the 1950’s, but as our demand for this convenient material has grown, our waste system hasn’t caught up, which results in an overflow of plastic (and other waste too). This overflow ends up in our oceans, which means that as the plastic breaks down, it ends up in fish, so the plastic gradually makes it back up the food chain to our plates. Most plastic can be recycled but isn’t because the process is expensive and complicated, and the product that you end up with is of a lower quality than what you put in. Recycling is a money making business, and therefore if no one buys the recycling, then it doesn’t get recycled. Before January 2018, China imported and processed half of the world’s plastic, but now China is more specific about what they will take – quite rightly, they don’t want to be the world’s bin. A lot of plastic is now incinerated overseas in countries like Malaysia, Turkey, Poland, Indonesia and the Netherlands. It is estimated that by 2050 (if we keep going at the same rate), then 20 billion tons of plastic will end up in landfill.
Recycling is definitely better than just sending it to landfill, of course, but it’s worth thinking about what you’re buying in the first place that could be package free. At the moment, this is pretty difficult, because there aren’t as many choices available in supermarkets. However, it would be good if we come out of this with more awareness about our waste, where it goes and how to reduce it. Next time I’ll be talking about some of the plastic free items that I use on the daily – until then, stay safe and stay inside.
Sources:
National Geographic: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/07/plastic-produced-recycling-waste-ocean-trash-debris-environment/
National Geographic: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2018/10/5-recycling-myths-busted-plastic/
BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-49827945
The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/17/plastic-recycling-myth-what-really-happens-your-rubbish
Economist: https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2018/03/06/only-9-of-the-worlds-plastic-is-recycled
I want you to stop recycling: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Yp1KKWpPpU
Waste Makes Waste 