Why Isn’t Recycling Easier?

Because we were doing it wrong. Now we have to contend with increasing costs, changing rules and regulations in addition to the confusion on what can be recycled. Let’s take a look at why and where we can go.

Back in the 1990’s during my formative teen years, it seemed like saving the planet was a do or die.  We were told that the Amazon, the lungs of the earth, was being cut down at an alarming rate to make room for cattle and farmland.  The ozone layer  was disappearing due to chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other ozone depleting substances. Landfills were reaching capacity. The urgency felt very real.  We were doing irreparable harm to the planet and we needed to act and fast.

Lots of headway was made that decade. CFCs were banned. We planted more trees to help stem the effects of pollution and to try to make up for what was lost in the Amazon. At the grocery store just about anything you could think had a save the rainforest version (remember Ben and Jerry’s Rainforest Crunch?) that would send some amount of the proceeds to help stall the slash and burn. This was also the time when curbside recycling really started to take off. 

Like a lot of folks at the time, I was all in for this effort.  Only one earth, right?  I remember being super psyched that we got our little blue recycle bin to recycle our paper.  I also remember being happy with the progression of going to two bins, one for paper and one for all the other typical recyclables.  And then twenty years later, I remember being super super psyched as a busy professional with a young family, that we could put all our recyclables in one 64 gallon toter.  Talk about making things easy!  Maybe too easy.

A Bottleneck

Single stream recycling is the best in terms of convenience and it seemed to have pulled recycling numbers up. According to the EPA , since the the first start ups of modern recycling in the 1960’s when about 6% of  municipal solid waste was recycled, the U.S. increased its recycling percentage to 35% in 2017.  Not bad!  While some areas have elected to still do self sorting at public collections sites, and others have dual stream recycling (where paper items are separated from the other recyclables), single stream has been a more popular choice because of ease of use.  

However, the U.S.’s recycling rates stagnated toward the end of the last decade.  Why is that?  Well, part of the reason is the “National Sword.”  In January of 2018, China adopted a policy restricting most recyclable imports.  For decades China had been taking the recycling of many developed nations. They had cheap labor to sort through material and places to dump what they couldn’t turn into raw material, but the excess was building up. In truth, they weren’t always getting top quality recycling. It’s no wonder China and other countries started to say “no” to what was being sent their way.  In addition to becoming cost prohibitive, it was causing more pollution than it was worth. 

We had become spoiled.  It was easy enough putting everything in one bin, but we lost track of what was good recycling. Almost everything had the “chasing arrows” on it.  “Does it have the symbol on it?”,”Yep.”, “Throw it in the recycling bin.”  China seemed to be okay taking it for so long.  If we weren’t doing it correctly, someone would tell us, right?  Well, they finally did. 

Now, we can’t recycle as much as we did.  China won’t take recycling now unless it’s top notch, and there really isn’t anywhere else for it to go. The U.S. doesn’t have an infrastructure for it (yet) and as a result we can only recycle the basics. Even at that, for things to get better or easier, we have to get better. As consumers, it’s time to step up. There are only a few obstacles or so, but we can do it ;-).

Let’s Get Better

I hate to say it, but it isn’t going to get easier.  Or at least we have to work at it for a while before it is “easy” the way it seemed to be before.   Here’s what we can do:

Also, know that chasing arrows doesn’t always mean you can recycle.  Many plastics with the numbers 1-7 in the chasing arrows look like they can be recycled, but with the exception of 1, the lack of equipment and/or the circumstances may not allow for the recycling of the other plastics. For more information on the numbers and what they represent, click here.

Lastly, make sure your items are clear of food and aren’t wet when you put them in the bin. Both will spoil the quality of the material.

Check with your municipality, recycler or at least your state.  Part of the reason it is so hard to recycle correctly is that changes from area to area.  The best way to be sure is to check in with whoever is in charge of your recycling.  Here are a few sites that might help.  As I come across more I will try to add them below:

2. Better labels.   We need to expect more of our labels. It is not always clear what is recyclable, but the manufactures have the ability to let us know the material types and how to recycle on the label.  how2recycle.com has developed a fairly user friendly label (below) that some manufactures are using.  If you like it and agree it should be used widely, try sending an email to the manufactures of the items you like asking them to adopt this type of labeling.

3. Products that can be recycled. We can demand more of our products. Have you ever gone to recycle a package and realized that you couldn’t.  Or, have you ever opened a package and thought, “Why is there so much packaging?” Contact the company and ask if they can change. Even though plastic is cheap, a company might consider changing to a better plastic or another material over losing customers.  It is possible they may not do what you ask,  but if you don’t ask they definitely won’t. 

4. Get involved.  When the recycling program or provider is picked for your town, be there to voice your opinion.  Convenience and money will likely take priority over environmental morality, but it doesn’t hurt to try to mix all three. For some communities, a central recycling center that members bring their already sorted items is ideal.  For others, dual stream will be more help with the sorting and the budget.  For others, the convenience of single stream works because of the number of people participating brings the costs down. 

And maybe….

5. Regulation and Government Involvement…?  I am on the fence for this, but there is an argument for it.  The thinking is that in the U.S (among others), many manufacturers are choosing products that are effective as possible with the lowest price point, regardless of what the cost is to the consumer post-purchase.  When it comes to the end of a product’s life cycle, the consumers are paying the bill for the disposal or recycling of these items, even though they didn’t have a say in how or why they where chosen.  The argument is that manufactures should pay for the full life cycle, meaning they take care of the cost of disposal, repurpose, reuse or recycle of the product once the consumer is done.  This should promote more environmentally friendly solutions. Germany and several other European Countries have been doing this for years.  Maine is moving in that direction.

We live in a capitalistic society, and it seems like the government shouldn’t be that hands-on at this level. But when consumers are trying to be responsible and can’t, maybe it’s time for someone to step in (or for a few companies to take advantage of this void – people want to be environmentally responsible products). Food for thought.

For those of you who don’t have residential recycling, whether curbside or drop off, I hope things turn around! Recycling opportunities won’t improve unless it becomes profitable. The better we get at recycling, the more likely there will be a profit.  With profit, more outreach.  Where there’s will and money, there’ a way.  

It’s worth noting, am not always the best recycler. I try, but it’s hard! But, I’ll keep trying, learning and sharing. Keep checking back for more information:-).

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post on social media or below.  Good luck with your recycling!