Should you even bother recycling plastic?
This provocative headline — “Plastic Recycling Doesn’t Work and Will Never Work” — tops a new Atlantic article contending that we should give up on trying to refashion plastic waste and instead simply eschew single-use plastic, Jennifer A. Kingson writes.
Why it matters: Copious time, money and effort are spent on an exercise the authors contend is counterproductive.
- They suggest banning single-use plastic bags and boycotting products made from single-use plastic — but continuing to recycle paper, boxes, cans and glass “because that actually works.”
The problem: Plastic waste is toxic, flammable, chemically complex and impossible to sort.
- “There are thousands of different plastics, each with its own composition and characteristics,” the authors write. “They all include different chemical additives and colorants that cannot be recycled together.”
- Trying to reprocess plastic is “wasteful” and not cost effective, they argue.
- Plus: “Plastic is flammable, and the risk of fires at plastic-recycling facilities affects neighboring communities,” many of which are low-income communities of color.
The big picture, from Andrew Freedman of Axios Generate: Oil/gas/petrochemical companies are staking part of their future on churning out more plastic products, so if recycling doesn’t work, that’s a direct threat.
Of note: The authors both run anti-plastics groups: Former EPA regional administrator Judith Enck helms Beyond Plastics, while chemical engineer Jan Dell founded The Last Beach Cleanup.
What do you think? Send your opinions to whatsnext@axios.com, and we may recycle them here.
Πηγή: axios.com
