The Plastic Problem

I looked at the container again. The sign was a little strange as it said that the plastic bottle was recyclable only if the label was removed but I could not see any label. It took me a while to see that the bottle was actually shrink-wrapped entirely in the label. It was hard to tell where the seam was to separate the label. I wonder how many people would pay attention to this when recycling. Even if they did, it would not be easy to take the label off.

Single-use plastic bags are being banned by many cities and countries around the world. But bags are only a fraction of the problem. Thin plastic film is used widely in packaging. Eliminating it is not that easy. The irony is that this plastic is actually recyclable.  There are companies actually reusing it in making sustainable products. For instance, recycled plastic film is used to manufacture long lasting composite lumber, which is used for benches, decks, and playground sets. The challenge is in collecting and sorting.

Many of us as responsible citizens take the trouble to sort the trash into different bins every week. The municipalities have spent our tax money to institute collection programs. It is indeed satisfying to see the contents of different coloured bins being picked up separately. We assume that the plastic that we diligently separated is going to be recycled. All is therefore well or will be. It therefore came as a rude shock to me to read that most of the plastic picked from the curb is not really being recycled. "Recycling plastic is practically impossible - and the problem is getting worse", according to this article.

We should have anticipated this. We use different kinds of plastics which are indicated by the resin code on the containers if you can locate the sign and read it. It is usually on the bottom and (often) in the same colour as the container. The key point is that the different kinds cannot be processed together for recycling. Can you imagine the effort required to separate the mountain of waste plastic by the resin code? The cost of this alone is prohibitive. The process of actually recycling is not cheap either. At the same time, new plastic can be manufactured at ridiculously low cost. One can understand why manufacturers sold the idea that plastics are recyclable (technically they are) so using new plastic would not appear to create a problem. 

Greenhouse gases are considered the single most important contributor to the warming trend. While debates and controversies abound regarding the causes and ways to deal with them, one can say that curbing the emission of such gases is an important step. The most visible efforts in this direction are aimed at vehicle emissions. There is an encouraging trend here as electric vehicles are becoming more popular. But the use of oil by the chemical industry shows no signs of reduction given our addiction to cheap plastics. Reducing the use of plastics is a key factor in containing global warming.

We can say that we have been living in the age of plastics for the better part of the last hundred years now. Plastics are everywhere with their use still increasing. Waste plastic is clogging waterways and contaminating the oceans or ending up in landfills. Plastics have even entered our bloodstream in the form of microplastics. Yet more new plastic is being manufactured all the time. At the same time it is hard to imagine life without plastics.

We are at a critical point in our existence. Almost every day there is some news about climate change as a result of a warming planet. Heat waves, torrential rains, and other extreme weather events are occurring more frequently and with greater intensity than before. New warnings are issued regularly with urgency by scientists about breaching the catastrophic global warming threshold.

As we observe Earth Day, I wonder if we are going to find a way out of this. The campaign to educate and inform people about the need to reuse and recycle has had a degree of success. It seems that people can be motivated by the need to preserve and conserve so that the impact of climate change can be mitigated. Corporations on the other hand are more concerned about their bottom line and need monetary incentives or punitive regulations. 

Attempts to regulate the industry have only had limited success. The political class campaigns for our votes while soliciting contributions from corporations. When it comes to legislating, their vote often lines up with the interest of the corporations. It's funny how the whole cycle works. Corporations earn money by selling to the consumer. They then contribute some of that to the politicians. Votes flow from the consumers to the politicians and then to the corporations so to speak. The vote and money cycles run counter to the consumer's interest. The consumers, being the source of  money and votes, would seem to have the power to control both the corporations and the politicians. Can we start demanding more eco-friendly products from industry (and be willing to pay for them!) while asking our representatives to prioritize our future over their re-election? Well, I can dream, can't I? 

Much of what I have mentioned is based on my experience here in the US but plastic recycling is a challenge worldwide though some countries have done better than others. But take heart - it is not all doom and gloom. Here is some news on positive trends in climate change and some more about emerging technology to limit climate change. 

Happy Earth Day!