We’ve been thinking for decades that plastic recycling is something worthwhile. maybe we were wrong

Less than 10% of the plastic thrown away in the world is recycled

It’s an open secret that the plastic recycling system is broken. But gradually we are realizing the dimension of the problem.

A new report. The American organization Center for Climate Integrity (CCI) has recently published a report on plastic recycling. In it, they attack the plastics industry, which they accuse of promoting the recycling of these materials despite knowing their poor technical and economic feasibility.

A difficult task. Recycling plastic is not an easy task. In our daily life we ​​use a variety of such materials, each of which has certain functional and chemical characteristics. They all end up in the same container of packaging, but when possible it is necessary to separate each type of plastic in order to proceed to its recycling. This is not always possible.

According to Ecombes data, 708,596 tonnes of plastic packaging was recycled in Spain in 2022, although NGOs such as Greenpeace raised skepticism. According to Greenpeace, the difference between the plastic recycling rate declared by Ecobase (89.2%) and that estimated by NGOs (34.8%) is notable. It should be noted that this is still higher than the world average of 9% estimated by the OECD.

According to the report, such figures are simply a reflection of the impossibility: recycling plastic effectively is beyond our reach. Not only from an economic point of view but also from a technical point of view.

single use. However, the report highlights the allegation that, despite knowing this impossibility, the industry promoted the idea that recycling was possible and practical, paving the way for single-use plastics as we Use in factories. Packaging.

“They knew that if they focused on single-use (plastics) people would buy and buy,” he explained. Guardian Davis Allen, CCI researcher and co-author of the report.

another point of view. It won’t take long for the industry to react. “US plastics manufacturers are investing billions of dollars in better, innovative products and technologies that separate, capture and recycle greater quantities and more types of plastics,” the American Chemistry Council said in a statement.

They allege that the “incorrect report” refers to obsolete technologies and represents a misleading characterization of the industry and current capabilities for plastics recycling.

“As is typical, instead of working together toward real solutions to plastic waste, groups like CCI choose political attacks over creative solutions,” Matt Seaholm, president and CEO of the Plastics Industry Association, protested in a statement. Guardian,

we will make it? We may never achieve an efficient recycling system that we can apply to plastics in our daily lives. But perhaps one day we will be able to treat this waste so that its waste does not pollute our environment.

A big bet in this sense is the discovery of enzymes capable of decomposing plastic polymers, breaking these chains and converting them into harmless molecules. This is undoubtedly a big promise, but there is no guarantee yet that it will not turn out to be a fantasy, only time will tell.

However time is not what is left. Pollution caused by microplastics is already a reality. These wastes have appeared in the most remote places on Earth, indicating the widespread reach of these pollutants. Furthermore, we know very little about the potential health and environmental impacts of this waste.

In Xataka I’ve always been curious to know what they did with the yellow containers: so I followed one

Image | krizjon rozales