Advocacy Groups’ Assertion that Recycling Plastic Is Good For the Environment is Contradicted by Numerous Studies
The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) and other environmental advocacy groups urge recycling “is essential to tackle plastic waste and pollution,” and affirm plastic recycling has created 200,000 jobs and can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 70%. In fact, APR supports “legislation to ban postconsumer plastic bottles from being landfilled,” primarily citing economic concerns, including the under-utilization of current recycling plants and opportunity for further infrastructure development.
However, numerous studies have demonstrated plastic recycling can have greater environmental harms as compared to disposing of such waste in a landfill. Not only are these plastic recycling facilities expensive to maintain, but they actually create more pollution in the process. To date, not a singular recycling facility has met the threshold of 30% established by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to achieve recycled plastic.
So while the newest United Nations Environment Program report might advocate for the development of plastic recycling plants to tackle the consequences of climate change, they ultimately exacerbate the environmental issues they seek to mitigate by affirming a narrative of “green” practices rather than actually being “green.” Since recycled plastics stand a greater chance of polluting the ocean, throwing away plastic may be a better temporary solution to a complex waste issue, rendering calls for banning plastic landfill disposal potentially bad for the environment.
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