There are a lot of misconceptions around recycling and its potential as a sustainable solution to the huge amounts of waste we generate as a society.
In 2021, Ireland generated 1.2 million tonnes of packaging waste according to the EPA and only 58% is recycled. It also states that recycling is increasing 3 times slower than packaging waste, meaning recycling is struggling to keep up with the waste we create. Packaging waste has increased 25% since 2016… but is recycling even the solution ?
Sadly it isn’t, and recycling can sometimes even be part of the problem.
The recycling bin has become a collective way of consuming while removing the guilt. There is a notion that packaging or buying consumable products is ok if the plastic,wrapping or even clothes can be “recycled”. But that is not the case, as the reality of recycling requires a very energy-intensive process that is quite limited:
Most plastics actually cannot be recycled. Only about 20% of what we put in bins could be recycled, and only with the appropriate facilities, which we don’t necessarily have locally.
There is no obligation to actually “recycle” anything from the recycle bin into new products. Around 70% of all plastic packaging in 2020 was burnt. Some are sent abroad and burnt in energy plants. You can see the boats leaving from Cork harbour with the recycling items… that will go to energy-producing incinerators.
Plastic packaging generates plastic microbeads that detach from the products, such as cosmetic bottles, and ends up in the ocean. We know this leads to terrible consequences, including both endangering wildlife and humans through accidental consumption.
Even what does get recycled still consumes a lot of energy, including via transport to and from the recycling plant, and during the remanufacturing (which consumes water, electricity… again more resources).
Finally, most plastics can only be recycled a few times, so it is still a finite waste. And again, each time a plastic is recycled, it reconsumes energy for transport and production.
You can see how certain brands or companies use this idea of recycling as a sales argument, when it is really just green washing to justify the use of single use plastic or extra packaging.
The only way forward is to remove all useless packaging and fill our recycling bins with the smallest possible amount.
On the other hand, composting is a very useful way of closing the loop on waste creation and making positive use of our scraps (both food and some “brown” scraps). More on this in our articles about composting here.
Sources:
EPA website (link: https://www.epa.ie/our-services/monitoring–assessment/waste/national-waste-statistics/packaging/)
Euronews article, 2018 ‘Why recycling is not the answer for fighting the plastic pollution problem’ (link: https://www.euronews.com/2018/04/19/why-recycling-is-not-the-answer-for-fighting-the-plastic-pollution-problem)
The Journal, December 2022 ‘Soft plastic is being collected but almost all burned in Irish Kilns or recycled abroad’ (link: https://www.thejournal.ie/waste-away-5953722-Dec2022/)
Tripe + Drisheen article by Ellie O’Byrne ‘Where do the contents of Cork’s wheelie bins end up?’, December 2021 (link: https://tripeanddrisheen.substack.com/p/where-do-the-contents-of-corks-wheelie)
World Economic Forum, February 2022 ‘Plastic pollution: Why we urgently need a comprehensive global treaty’ (link: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/02/global-treaty-plastic-pollution/)
Header picture: Picture by Jordan Beltran (Unsplash)
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