Recycling Realities: Which Materials Make Sense and Which Materials You Should Avoid

From a young age, we are taught to recycle, and in many ways, it is exalted as if it is a grand solution to the earth’s ever-evolving and ever more rapidly increasing trash problems. However, those lessons rarely reveal the entire story, and the promotion of “green” packaging downright distorts the facts.

Unfortunately, many of us don’t have time to wade through the muck to find out what exactly we should be doing in terms of recycling. Many of us buy greenwashed products with the honest intention (and extra financial investment) to do something positive. We think, we hope, that our effort to sort and use special bins is doing the right thing. We are doing our part.

The other part of the recycling matrix is that it puts the onus of fixing the planet on consumers rather than on industry practices and government regulations. In actuality, if products were packaged more responsibly from the start if industry practices were cleaner from the get-go, we’d be much closer to the solution.

That isn’t what happens, though. Instead, as consumers, we are forced to navigate a system that makes it extremely difficult to avoid excessive plastic packaging. We are offered a few hard-to-find alternatives to dirty products. This recycling reality has been what’s allowed the industry to continue feeding us things that we are to blame.

So, is there anything we can do?

Things That Are Recyclable

Despite the ad campaigns that say this or that is recyclable, it isn’t always the case in practical terms. Many things are technically recyclable if the correct facilities are in place, but they may not be. Furthermore, it might not be just as detrimental to the environment as making them in the first place. Here are things that are recyclable.

• Paper- Recycling paper/cardboard is a legit industry with an easy process that isn’t ridiculously energy intensive. That’s why we can find lots of paper products and boxes made from recycled materials. About 67 percent of paper and cardboard are recycled.
• Aluminum- Aluminum cans, too, are something that is readily recycled with simple processing. Lots of eco-conscious industries, such as craft beer, have clued in on this and have transitioned from glass bottles to cans.
• Glass & Metal- Glass and metal can be recycled indefinitely, making them desirable environmentally friendly materials. Unfortunately, the infrastructure for doing it reliably and efficiently is in question.

Recycling Plastic Is More or Less a Sham

Despite all the advertising and hubbub about plastic becoming a cleaner, manageable resource, the reality is startlingly different. Most plastics, regardless of whether they are in a recycling bin, are not recycled.

• PET#1 and HDPE #2 plastics have some hope of being recycled. However, according to Green Peace, only about 21 percent of them make it through the recycling process.
• Plastics #3 through #7, which claim to be recyclable, aren’t recycled. They tend to be incinerated and put into landfills. It’s not profitable or sensible to recycle them even if it is possible.
• Bioplastics are debatably worse than the petroleum-based plastics we are accustomed to. For all, they are often a blend of plants and petroleum, not pure plant-based, and regardless, bioplastics cannot be recycled and do not just decompose. Composting them takes serious machinery and appropriate facilities which aren’t available in most places.

Other Things We Can Try to Recycle

While most recycling efforts focus on the package and single-use trash we create, there is a lot to be said for trying to recycle other materials. Discarded clothing makes up a significant part of landfills, but they can be recycled into useful products. There are lots of precious metals that could be recovered, rather than mined, if we could get better at recycling electronics and appliances. The reality is that industries haven’t shifted to doing this, and governments have insisted they do.

What Can I Do About Recycling

As concerned citizens of the world, there are things we can do for the sake of being part of the solution rather than aiding the problem.

1. We can choose to buy products in materials that are more likely to be recycled than those in materials that probably won’t be.
2. We can vote, both with our dollars and our rights. We have to actively Support those industries making an honest effort. Just be cautious of greenwashing such as Coca-Cola’s PlantBottle campaign.
3. Reuse and repurpose what we can, and buy things that are meant to last rather than cheap, throwaway items. That way we won’t need to recycle as much.

Related Content:

• Breakthrough Technology Recycles Plastic Waste into Electronic Components
• 8 Ways to Repurpose Plastic Cups Before Recycling Them
• Plastic Industry Recycling Deemed a “Fraud” by Experts
• Amazon’s Recycling Claims Questioned in Recent Investigation
• 12 Ideas for Recycling, Replacing, and Reusing Furniture

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