Picture this. You’re at the park, standing in front of three bins labeled as follows: Trash, Recycle, and Compost.
You’re holding a paper napkin. It feels like paper, so you might want to throw it in the recycling bin. But wait. It has food stains on it, so it actually goes in the compost. Easy enough, right?
You’re also holding a container that used to contain your lunch. It feels like plastic, so you consider recycling it. But aren’t there plastics that can’t be recycled? You check the underneath of the container for any sign, and there’s a triangle. But what does that number in the middle of the triangle mean? Wait, and do you need to wash the container before recycling it? But there’s no sink nearby! In a fit of frustration, you throw the container away.
I consider myself an optimist. I like to see the good in things. But how can the government expect people to sort their trash properly when they’ve turned it into a complex puzzle?
According to The Recycling Partnership, only 50% of recyclable material is actually recycled.
This suggests that while even elementary schoolers understand the basics of sorting trash, many people do not truly grasp the nuances.
For example, the number within the triangle on the bottom of plastic objects can determine whether the object is recyclable.
According to Rethink Waste, plastics labeled with numbers one and two are the only easily recyclable plastics. Numbers three through seven, on the other hand, are challenging to recycle and often get sent to the landfill.
Yet all types of plastics are labeled with the triangle we have grown to associate with recycling! With this type of confusion, it’s no wonder that 25% of waste thrown in the recycling bin is not actually recyclable.
This mistake isn’t easily forgivable, however. According to Recology, when recycling or compost is contaminated with the wrong type of waste, the whole container can get sent to the landfill, including items that are actually recyclable or compostable.
To make matters worse, the reason many types of items aren’t recyclable is due to the varying circumstances of the recycling facilities, which differ from city to city.
For example, many recycling facilities can’t sort out contaminated bins as mentioned before because sorting would become more expensive.
Mountain View, California, even created a Dirty Dozen list for items people confuse with recyclables.
Black plastic isn’t recyclable by most facilities because the sorting machines often fail to detect it. They also don’t mix well with other types of plastics when they’re all melted down.
Other items that aren’t recyclable at many facilities include coffee cups, plastic bags, frozen food boxes, and the plastic clamshells used to hold strawberries.
The fact that this list needed to be created is evidence that the government needs to clarify and standardize its recycling system.
However, I digress. There are some things that our government is doing right.
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, recycling and composting rates have increased from about 6% in 1960 to 32.1% in 2018. In addition, landfill decreased from 94% of waste generated to 50%.
However, there’s still considerable room for improvement.
The government needs to make it clearer to people whether their trash is meant for decomposing, recycling, or the landfill. Even if it takes a giant “RECYCLE ME!” on the packaging.
If sorting trash were as easy as it sounds, protecting the environment would be so much easier.
