Trash: Recycle, Reuse, or Reduce?

 Only 9% of plastic is melted and reformed.

The rest goes into landfills or the wider environment.

Millions of Americans dutifully fill their recycling bins each week, motivated by the knowledge that they're doing something good for the environment. But the sad fact is that much of what is tossed in the recycling bin is eventually heaped into landfills.

John Stossel brought attention to the issue in a video segment shared on X to which Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk replied, “Recycling is pointless.”

While this bombshell might be jarring – especially if you’re someone who dutifully cleans their recyclables before caringly placing them in bins – Thomas Kinnaman, an environmental economist from Bucknell University, says it’s actually not as bad as you think.

As Kinnaman discovered in a 2014 study – a complete life cycle analysis of the recycling process – it doesn't make much economic or environmental sense to recycle plastic and glass in much of the developed world. Despite claims that plastics are recyclable, really only PET and HDPE (types 1 and 2 in North America) can be readily reused.

City Journal science journalist John Tierney pointed out in Stossel’s segment that the economics of recycling have only worsened over time. Both plastic and glass are fairly easy on the environment to produce, but are often very tricky, costly, and intense to recycle. When you factor in all of the water used to decontaminate plastic and glass, the immense distances traversed transporting them (usually by truck, train, or ship), and the mechanical and chemical processes utilized to transform them into new goods, it becomes clear that they are better off in a landfill.

With novel technologies, this situation could very well change, but for now, most plastics should be thrown in the trash, Kinnaman says – though he cautions that his “provocative results certainly require confirmation from future independent and objective research before broad policy goals can be adjusted.”

“Also, many of the benefits and costs associated with waste disposal and recycling vary across regions of the country and world, and thus optimal recycling rates may also vary,” he wrote.

While plastic and glass should probably be crushed and buried in a landfill, aluminum, tin, and paper – especially cardboard – should absolutely be recycled. Just make sure that they’re not overly contaminated with food waste or small bits of non-recyclable waste. Such adulteration can render them unrecyclable.

“The environmental costs to mine new alumina and bauxite to produce new aluminum from scratch are fairly substantial, so anything we can do to maximize our recycling of aluminum turns out to be a win-win. Bimetal tin cans – these are the soup cans, the vegetable cans that we buy some of our food with – those also have a very, very positive life cycle signature,” Kinnaman told Boston’s WBUR Radio.

So don’t feel bad about discarding plastics into the trash. Landfilling waste is not the evil many assume it to be. Modern landfills in the developed world are highly regulated, with sophisticated systems to protect groundwater, methods of compacting trash as tightly as possible, and even ways of siphoning off methane gas and burning it to produce electricity. Despite the myth that we’re running out of landfill space, there’s plenty of room. For the vast majority of Americans, they’ll remain out of sight and out of mind for generations. Less than 0.1% of America’s land is used to store trash. Current landfills are at just under 50% capacity – it will be decades before more need to be built.

There are two options far preferable to recycling: reducing the trash we're producing, and reusing as many goods as possible. Not only does this save money, but it is also far more friendly to the climate. Recycling only reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 2-3%, while reducing consumption can slash emissions by up to 20%.

by Ross Pomeroy at realclearpolitics.com on December 14, 2024

Examples of PET Plastics:

1. Bottles: Soda bottles, water bottles, oil bottles, and other containers for liquids.

2. Food Packaging: Containers for food, such as peanut butter jars, bakery products, and frozen foods packaging.

3. Cosmetic Containers: Jars and bottles for cosmetics, skincare products, and hair care products.

4. Industrial Applications: Strapping, film, and fibers for various industrial uses, such as manufacturing, construction, and automotive industries.

5. Textiles: Polyester fibers used in clothing, upholstery, and other textile products.

Specific Examples:

1. Patagonia and MUD Jeans use recycled PET (rPET) in their products.

2. Carpet is made from plastic fibers such as polyester.

3. Many ropes are made from PET plastic.

4. Plastic water bottles are made from PET or PETE (polyethylene terephthalate).

5. Food containers, such as oil bottles and salad dressing containers, are often made from PET.

Examples of High-density polyethylene(HDPE) Plastics:

1. Drink Bottles

2. Milk Jugs

3. Plastic Bags