Materials and Waste

Against Recycling

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Against Recycling

Earlier this month, the New York Times posted a video op-ed correctly debunking “The Great Recycling Con.” According to the Times, the plastics industry has sold generations of consumers a lie about just how much of the waste they produce could be recycled in order to create the false possibility of eco-friendly, guilt-free consumption.

It comes painfully close, but misses the full story. The true “Great Recycling Con” runs far deeper than lies about which products can and cannot be recycled; it is an ongoing political battle waged by waste-generating corporations against the public to evade regulation, shift responsibility for environmental destruction onto consumers, and protect the ecocidal and highly profitable business model that lies at the heart of industrial capitalism.

Recycling of Polypropylene (PP)

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Recycling of Polypropylene (PP)

While PP is easily among the most popular plastic packaging materials in the world, only around 1% is recycled, which means most PP is headed for the landfill. These decompose slowly over 20-30 years. This raises severe environmental issues, quite apart from toxic additives in PP such as lead and cadmium. Incineration may release dioxins and vinyl chloride, both of which are poisonous.

To determine how recyclable polypropylene is, companies have undertaken ‘life cycle’ studies that look at the plastic from the raw material production to the final stages of waste management to assess the sustainability of the product. The general consensus from these studies is that PP has considerable potential as a sustainable product. 

Lies, Damned Lies, and Recycling | Matthew King

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Lies, Damned Lies, and Recycling | Matthew King

Tierney’s critique persuasively calls out the hypocrisy in how recycling has been sold to the public, the ways the liberal conscience falls prey to feel-good distractions, which are at best ineffectual and at worst counterproductive, even harmful. But then he sprints away from the problem, taking comfort in another false savior: the landfill. The article is a stunning time capsule of “end of history” optimism, channelled through a defense of modern garbage systems. 

The Era Of Easy Recycling May Be Coming To An End | FiveThirtyEight

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The Era Of Easy Recycling May Be Coming To An End | FiveThirtyEight

Americans love convenient recycling, but convenient recycling increasingly does not love us. Waste experts call the system of dumping all the recyclables into one bin “single-stream recycling.” It’s popular. But the cost-benefit math of it has changed. The benefit — more participation and thus more material put forward for recycling — may have been overtaken by the cost — unrecyclable recyclables. On average, about 25 percent of the stuff we try to recycle is too contaminated to go anywhere but the landfill, according to the National Waste and Recycling Association, a trade group. Just a decade ago, the contamination rate was closer to 7 percent, according to the association. And that problem has only compounded in the last year, as China stopped importing “dirty” recyclable material that, in many cases, has found no other buyer.

Why It’s Probably Better for the Planet to Throw Plastic in the Trash | RealClearScience

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Why It’s Probably Better for the Planet to Throw Plastic in the Trash | RealClearScience

While plastic and glass should probably be crushed and buried in a landfill, aluminum, tin, and paper – especially cardboard – should absolutely be recycled.

"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 WBUR.

The present situation should also serve as a reminder that there are two options far preferable to recycling: reducing the trash we're producing, and re-using as many goods as possible.

I think that makes sense. I'd add that organics recycling - composting for fertilizer and more efforts to reduce food waste are important with continuing to phase out the most toxic plastics - things with chlorinated compounds like PVC and BPA. It's fascinating to read about the chemistry of materials and waste, learn about various chemicals and hazards. 

And honestly when I own land, the bulk of my burnable trash will get burnt - but that will be small compared to many households - probably less than a partially filled empty feed bag every two or three weeks. Paper can also be used for bedding in the barnyard and fire starters, plastic bottles for feed scoops, buckets for hauling feed. Cans definitely will get recycled at the scrap yard and non reusable glass avoided. But first and foremost waste reduction has to be the priority. 

Post No. 195212

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I am glad that I fixed my microspikes again… 👣

As the rubber has broke and chains 🔗 have come apart over the years I’ve bent chains and replaced missing people with wire from broken USB cables and other parts. People are too quick to throw away perfectly good things, stuff that may be pretty but can be repaired to be perfectly functional again!