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Recycling in the US (and many Western countries, for that matter) is a sham. It always was. (aus.social)

submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by ajsadauskas@aus.social to c/green@lemmy.ml

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Recycling in the US (and many Western countries, for that matter) is a sham. It always was.

In reality, most of the plastic placed in recycling bins were never turned into new products.

Now China has stopped taking that waste, the myth of near infinite consumption without the guilt of waste has been exposed for the lie that it always was.

That's not to say that we shouldn't aim for a sustainable circular economy. Of course we should.

But we'll need much bigger changes to make it happen.

"For decades, we were sending the bulk of our recycling to China—tons and tons of it, sent over on ships... But last year, the country restricted imports of certain recyclables... Waste-management companies are telling [municipalities] there is no longer a market for their recycling.

"These municipalities have two choices: pay much higher rates to get rid of recycling, or throw it all away.

"Most are choosing the latter.

"When [its kerbside recycling] program launched, Franklin [in New Hampshire] could break even on recycling by selling it for $6 a ton. Now the transfer station is charging the town $125 a ton to recycle, or $68 a ton to incinerate.

"This end of recycling comes at a time when the US is creating more waste than ever. In 2015, the most recent year for which national data are available, America generated 262.4 million tons of waste, up 4.5% from 2010 and 60% from 1985."

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/03/china-has-stopped-accepting-our-trash/584131/

#Recycling #CircularEconomy #Politics @green #ClimateChange #Environment

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[–] siobhansarelle@tech.lgbt 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

@ajsadauskas @CinciMike @Urban_Hermit @green

Some stuff:

I think all but 2 Australian states have the container deposit scheme.

The earliest was put in place in 1977.

3 common thermoplastic types are recyclable but the recycling of low-density polyethylene was discontinued in 2022 (plastic bags, 6 pack rings etc).

Littering is still prevalent.

Littering on beaches has been cut by 29 percent over a 6 year period.

In 2020, Australia recycled 16% of its plastic packaging,

Most of Australia’s waste goes to landfill. Probably all litter does.

China stopped imports leading to Australia not being able to recycle much or most of its recyclable waste.

Australia produces about 20 million tonnes of landfill waste each year for 600 official landfill sites and maybe 2,000 with unofficial sites.

75% of landfill waste goes to 38 sites.

60% of the average bin is organic waste.