Plastic Waste Management: Facts and Fictions

Plastic is everywhere, and it's almost impossible to avoid. From cellophane wrapping to the accessories in our cars, nearly every aspect of our lives contains something made of plastic. Unfortunately, this wonder-material wreaks havoc on the environment when it sits in a landfill. While some companies have begun to recycle it, the same qualities that make plastic so appealing — its light weight, cheap cost and durability — make it a challenge to do so.

Contrary to widespread advertisements, the physical act of recycling a plastic product isn't as easy as it seems. Unlike metal and paper, which are of relatively uniform composition, plastic comes in many varieties, and they cannot be recycled together. Plastics are composed of certain types of resins and fibers — that's what that number inside the triangle of arrows indicates. Different plastics require different processes to be recycled. Some are easier than others. Water bottles and milk cartons (numbers 1 and 2) can be easily melted down, but others, like plastic pipes, cling wrap or food storage containers, require special chemicals and equipment that most recycling centers don't have.

Because plastic is so cheap to produce, recycling it has to be cheap as well — no company will recycle something if it can't make a profit. For number 1 and 2 plastics, this balance is manageable, because these plastics can be recycled at a low cost and in high volume with relatively inexpensive chemicals and equipment. These plastics can also be used for a wide variety of products once they are broken down, so they have a wider application with a bigger profit margin. However, harder plastics require much more energy and expensive materials to recycle, and they cannot be reused in as many lucrative ways. As such, most recycling companies cannot make a significant profit, so they do not try to recycle these more difficult plastics.

Unfortunately, many people harbor misconceptions about recycling, and some plastic companies even actively attempt to disseminate misinformation. One of the primary misplaced beliefs is that because we recycle plastic, it's perfectly environmentally friendly to continue buying and using it. As a result, most people will actually buy more of it. In actuality, though, most plastic waste is either not recycled at all or recycled into a product that itself cannot be recycled. Thus, rather than reducing the use of plastic, consumption actually increases, and recycling only delays the plastic's entrance into a landfill.

Because it is difficult to turn recycled plastics into new products as cheaply or effectively as it is to make them with virgin plastics, and because many people feel that they're safe buying plastic because it will simply be recycled, the consumption of plastics and the production of virgin plastics has not subsided. There has been no decrease in plastic objects entering landfills, and even more new plastic objects are being created. Yet in order for plastic waste management to be truly effective, less virgin plastic must be produced. The methods of recycling all plastic products must also be improved to make recycled plastic more versatile and cost effective, and consumers must be educated about what happens to their plastic so that they stop purchasing as many plastic products.