How we recycle isn’t helping the environment

(Credit: Vasiliy Ptitsyn/Shutterstock)

The effects of recycling seems to be over exaggerated due to the fact that not many are aware that improper recycling harms the environment than it does good. Tragically, improper recycling is done by many, whether intentionally due to situational circumstances or because they are unaware of proper practices. For your understanding, improper recycling is defined to be recycling strategies that makes it harder for recyclable materials to be recycled, or harms the environment more than intended. This article will go over some of the major improper recycling methods that we need to be aware of, so that we can assure that we take full responsibility for our future – a responsibility that everyone must hold.

One thing that we do that represents improper recycling the most is how we dispose of our plastic bags. Interestingly, it has been found that many people put plastic bags in the plastic section, or one of the recycle bins. However, these plastic bags, even if they are stated to be biodegradable, cannot be recycled in this manner. This is because, firstly, biodegradable plastic bags need to be in a condition where they can be broken down by bacteria – hence “bio”-degradable. This condition is only met if the plastic bags are in landfill, but the bags will never be able to reach landfill if it is put in the ‘plastic’ section.

Ironically even if they are thrown away properly, green consumer advocate Debra Lynn Dadd states that contemporary landfill cannot degrade materials “because they are compacted so tightly, [they] do not let much air in”.  The severity of the issue can be further implied as she was able to find “25-year old hotdogs”, as well as “50-year-old newspapers” in the landfill that were still readable. This is what we define as situational improper recycling, where we are not able to recycle efficiently even when putting in our efforts to do so, because the circumstances does not support it. This calls for attention by the government, or any other institutes to devise a new method into reinforcing biodegradation in landfills. However, the general public is not demanding, or aware of this fact because they are negligent towards it.

Furthermore, Items that are in the plastic section is moved to a recycling center, where workers sort items accordingly. One would assume that machinery would be involved, as the daily trash production globally is immensely high – and yes, machinery are involved. However, when plastic bags are in the recycle bin, the “soft plastics clog up the machinery”, meaning that you could break the recycling center. When plastic bags enter the recycling center, Mike Tunney, area recycling director for Waste Management states that it “contaminates their recycling streams, [slows down] their systems, drives up [the] cost [of the process], and hurts the quality of the materials”. Specifically, Tunney informs us that the plastic would plug the gaps of the machine, and that more than five hours are spent removing these materials from the machine. Plastic bags, therefore, should either be “reused”, returned to retailers, and most importantly, thrown into “regular trash”.

• Figure 1. News that outlines how improper recycling practices of plastic bags do more harm than good to the environment

Another issue that needs to be outlined is that people are simply, not recycling properly. Mark Badger, the executive vice-president of Canada Fibers state that “almost one in three pounds of what goes in a blue box shouldn’t be there”. This, contaminates the existing recyclable materials from being recyclable to non-recyclable, as it is stated that even a few spoonful of peanut butter can contaminate a tonne of paper. Furthermore, China, the world’s biggest importer of recyclable material, started banning imports of paper with more than 0.5 percent contamination, making contamination an even more significant problem. This meant that these paper, had to be in almost perfect condition. Any small deformities, such as a stain on paper has now made it become utter trash. To add insult to injury, it has been found that “North American cities are struggling to meet” the standard of the 0.5 percent contamination, serving as a further implication of how poorly we are recycling.

• Figure 2. This outlines the contamination rate of recyclable material that is caused by improper recycling practices all across Canada. Statistics are shown to be from April 2018. Further implies, that most of North America isn’t passing the threshold to pass paper material over to China.

So, what can we do? First, it is clearly evident that we must be careful of how we dispose of our plastic bags, or any other items. Never assume that something should go in a blue bin, even if it has the recycling symbol. This is because depending on your region, it may not be recyclable, like how a “coffee cup lid [is] not recyclable in Toronto”. Search up what is recyclable to be able to identify what materials go in what, and plastic bags should go into the regular trashcan. There are many more things that you can do to properly recycle – and there are many more improper recycling practices that are continued today, that you may not have known. There are simply too much to cover in one article. So, do the research – bear the responsibilities that we must take in order to protect our world, for today – and for tomorrow.

Written by – Isaiah Youm