This week’s work was quite illuminating in terms of discovering how recycling works on a practical level. However, it has many fatal flaws that prevent it from being as effective as we’d hope or assume it would be in our collective subconscious. There are plenty of examples that illustrate this point. The first is that out of the 7 major groups of plastics eligible to be labeled recyclable, there are only 2 types that are able to be widely accepted by most recyclers. Aside from this, labeling requirements are equally as light in a lot of circumstances, such as being able to deem a bottle recyclable even if the cap and outer wrapper are not fully recyclable. Lastly, the major fact is that a lot of plastic that gets recycled is ‘downcycled’ into less valuable materials that can’t be recycled again after their use, such as using it for carpet fibers. These examples are the primary reason why recycling isn’t as effective as you’d think, especially in a world where we want to believe we are using these resources forever in an infinite loop.
Some examples exist that demonstrate true recycling. Aluminum cans, paper, and cardboard have much better statistics about their recycling and downcycling rates. Much of the reason that these systems work is the profitability factor which make sense from an economic perspective (very important in the way our country functions.)
Therefore, I feel changing the language around plastic ‘recyling’ is important in order to create more awareness of the issue, leading to protests and bills being drafted that may allow the government to intervene in a way that makes properly recycling plastic, providing proper labels and urging companies to use easier to recycle materials a closer reality. We need to introduce the concept of ‘downcycling’ more, and create more awareness on a local to level to consumers. I think emerging scientific research about the dangers of plastic will be equally as helpful in an economic shift. Based on the government’s current level of interference with our lives, I feel as if it is owed to greater protect people from plastic and emerging issues surrounding wastefulness.