Plastic Green Economy : Part I Recycle
Malina Gallmeyer, Helene Thibieroz, We Grow Green Tech
You just blinked. And chances are you just blinked again… And again… And again. Everytime you blink about 1520 pounds of plastic trickles into the ocean [1,2]. Just as blinks add up over time to absorb 10% of our waking hours, so does the amount of plastic dumped in the ocean to reach the horrifying 8 million tons of plastic per year [2,3]. This enormous number has even larger consequences as it kills over 1 million marine animals annually and leeches organic pollutants into the environment [4]. Since animals ingest an increasing amount of plastic, the toxins associated with plastic are now in the food chain and pose potential risk to human health. In recent times, the plastic risk to humans has become even greater as plastics break down and become microplastics, entering the human body with unknown consequences [5]. The plastic problem has grown uncontrollably over the past years and will prove to be more and more destructive to the health of people and the planet, if solutions do not develop and become adopted into society [6]. Recycling, upcycling and plastic alternatives are the future of plastic, and within those fields there are extremely innovative and feasible solutions forming to give hope to all people and potentially eliminate the harmful plastic pollutants that have taken over. This is the first of a series of related articles that will discuss recycling and several of its issues, solutions and economics.
Recycling
Most people understand what recycling is and why it is important; however, many people do not grasp the extreme difficulties the recycling industry faces and why it is only a temporary solution.
One of the first problems the recycling infrastructure faces is poor sorting. There are seven categories of plastics commonly used, but only 2 of the 7 types are readily recyclable [7]. People, mainly Americans, often do not understand the difference between what is and what is not recyclable, and so they often put too many different items in the recycling bin. In the past this was not an issue since much of the recycling the US produced was shipped and sold to China [8]. However, now that China no longer accepts waste from other countries, the recycling system in America has to face the consequences of a society that never learned the proper recycling techniques. The result of the faulty sorting is clogging of machines and other equipment within the recycling centers, as well as the contamination and devaluing of the recyclable plastics and the material produced from them. This sorting problem not only exists within the public, but also in the recycling centers themselves. The workers at recycling plants that have to sort are typically under-trained, so they do not sort in the best and most accurate way [9].
The recycling system also faces some economic issues. The recycling process is extensive and, therefore, expensive. While recycled plastic might be better for the environment, it constantly struggles to prove to be a viable option for profit margins. In coming years, virgin plastic is expected to become even cheaper than it is now, and that is going to cause further stress on the recycled plastic industry [10]. Many companies have committed to using recycled plastics, but whether or not they remain with that promise despite the slight economic losses will remain to be seen.
One other main struggle facing the recycling industry is the degradation of the plastic used. The unfortunate fact is that plastic has very limited capability to be reused. Most plastic can only be reprocessed once before it loses the ability to be recycled [12]. Unlike glass and aluminum, plastic has minimal recycling capacity and cannot close the loop within producing. Each time that plastic is melted down, it degrades in quality and becomes less useful. Yet, recycling is still extremely important and a valuable resource in the fight for a greener world since it helps to reduce the amount of plastic that needs to be produced annually.
Despite the multitude of issues that plague the plastic recycling industry, it is vital to the efforts to a greener and cleaner world. Since the 1950s and the dawn of plastic, 8.3 billion tons of plastic have been produced [13,17]. The vast majority of that ends up in landfills. Recycling is essential to the future as it will slow the amount of plastic that enters landfills and give professionals and scientists the time to develop a solution to the extreme waste problem throughout the world.
Although recycling does face some economic challenges, as it gains popularity, it is scheduled to become a more viable option in coming years. In 2018, the compound annual growth rate (CARG) of the recycled plastic industry was expected to increase 6.6% from 2019 to 2027. [14]. It is often assumed that plastic recycling is not feasible or economically beneficial, but a study performed by Mckinsey explains that if current recycling methods were applied to just 50% of plastic worldwide that the plastics and petrochemical sectors could experience margins up to US$60 billion [15]. Despite the current dip in the recycling industry due to the global pandemic, it is expected that after the COVID-19 crisis slows and slowly subsides, the recycling market will experience rapid growth [16].
In addition to positive economic projections, there are several innovations taking place in the industry that could address several of the issues that exist for the recycling field. The company CleanRobotics is seeking to attack the sorting problem at the source with their TrashBot. Their technology uses AI, computer vision and cloud knowledge to sort waste 3x more accurately than humans [18]. This technology can nearly eliminate contamination in recycling making the materials that are recycled higher in value and more useful. Another start-up tackling sorting, as well as consumer motivation to recycle is Cycle Technology Inc. This company has developed an app that economically incentivizes recycling, even allowing users to put funds toward sustainability projects. The app works with reverse vending machines that sort the recycling as it enters [19]. These solutions target the source of many issues within the recycling process: the public. With the help of innovations like those mentioned above, recycling can become more efficient and be more useful to producers.
Although recycling faces many obstacles, it is the path that will eventually lead people to a more sustainable future, and it increasingly becomes a topic of discussion for both the public and businesses. The world needs recycling as people work to find a more permanent and efficient solution to the plastic problem that the entire world faces. Without recycling and the new innovations within the field, the world may never make it to a secure and sustainable future.
References
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