Sustainable plastics – is recycling a real solution?

Sustainable plastic solutions attempt to solve the plastic problem with innovation. Rather than reducing plastic production and use, ‘sustainable’ bioplastics have been developed, and better waste management processes have been proposed instead.

Improved recycling collections have been suggested as a sustainable plastics solution. The more plastic that is appropriately collected, the more plastic gets recycled. However, a more complex system of collection may confuse or demotivate the public, lowering the effective collection rate. 

Even if plastic collection is improved, plastic is not always easily recyclable. ’Recyclable’ PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) plastic can’t be recycled over-and-over again. Eventually ‘virgin plastic’ (newly manufactured plastic that has never been recycled) needs to be added to maintain quality. Much of the plastic collected for recycling is downcycled into lower grade plastics, which can no longer be recycled. Some plastic can’t be recycled or it’s not economically viable to do so.

As plastic cannot be recycled into similar quality products in a circular fashion, better recycling systems alone cannot make plastic sustainable. More plastic will need to be produced and waste will become unmanageable. 

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Much of the plastic collected for recycling gets incinerated, particularly if it gets exported to other countries with less effective waste management systems. This export of recyclables and associated incineration often leads to underpaid and unsafe conditions for workers.

Recycling is an energy intensive process, leading to an increased use of non-renewable resources. ’Energy from waste’ incineration avoids this problem, but is inherently unsustainable, as waste is never fully managed, and pollution is generated.

Improved recycling processes have a role in managing waste, but it is not a fully sustainable solution to the plastic problem; the plastic crisis can’t be solved by technology and innovative waste management.

With plastic use projected to triple by 2060, the real solution to this crisis is to cut plastic production. We need a strong Global Plastics Treaty that tackles harm across the whole life cycle of plastics and drastically limits production.

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For more information contact: info@scarabtrust.org.uk

Images:

plastic waste dumping site - Image by Mohamed Abdulraheem (ST ref: 1117)

Pollution incinerator Italy - Image by Palini Claudio (ST ref: 1137)

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