Why is plastic so hard to recycle?

Every year around the world, somewhere between 100 million tons and 300 million tons of plastic is manufactured. Virtually all of that plastic is still in this world today.

Recycling was supposed to be the answer to the ever-growing piles of plastic in our landfills. The idea was that by taking our plastic water bottles and recycling them into something else, it would reduce the amount of new plastics needed. Unfortunately, only about 10% of plastics have been recycled since the beginning of plastic production.

Here’s why recycling isn’t working, and what we can do to help.

Plastic can only be downcycled

The idea of a plastic water bottle going back to the factory to be remade into a new water bottle is inspiring, but it doesn’t work that way. Plastic can usually only be downcycled, meaning that your water bottle is more likely to be destined for a park bench, not another water bottle.

Plastic can only be recycled a few times at best until it can no longer be used to make anything with. At that point it is still the same plastic, still taking up space in a landfill and endangering wildlife.

Not all plastic is recyclable

Different plastics have different melting points. They can’t be melted together to remake something. There are many different types of plastic, and the production process can be very different. Many types of plastic simply can’t be recycled at all.

On top of this, the process for recycling different plastics can be very different or very expensive. The cost of recycling goes even higher when the plastic regularly gets contaminated with different plastics, or things like thin grocery store bags get caught in the recycling equipment and damage them.

We simply don’t have the technology to recycle plastics the way we would like to, and plastics break down over time, making it impossible to recycle forever.

How to help

Plastic is a very useful material. Its use in the medical industry is essential to keep people healthy and safe. Right now, however, plastic is being overused for nearly everything. You don’t need a material as long lived as plastic to wrap a candy bar.

The best way to help is to be vocal with companies and politicians asking for the reduction of single use plastic. By reducing the single use plastics in our life, it will open up scientists to focus on the problem of recycling or safely breaking down the plastics that remain.

You can also help by reducing plastic wherever it is convenient for you. Swapping your plastic grocery bags for a reusable tote can save thousands of plastic bags from the environment over timer. If you get a reusable water bottle for your single use plastic one, again you could potentially take thousands of plastic bottles out of use.

Scientists are working on ways to break down plastics once and for all but in the mean time we need to help by turning off the tap.