Most recently, China implemented tighter regulations on the import of foreign plastic, resulting in a 92% drop in US plastic waste exports to China. Countries in Asia which receive disproportionate amounts of the world’s plastic waste are beginning to implement policies limiting or completely banning plastic waste imports as they too can no longer handle the millions of tons of plastic being shipped from around the world. However, this strategy of displacing our own waste problems on other countries is not a sustainable one. In an article published for The Guardian, John Hocevar, Oceans campaign director for Greenpeace USA, blamed recycling companies looking to dodge responsibility for plastic waste management by shipping the majority to developing companies with looser standards and regulations. So why does the US continue to overwhelm these countries with millions of tons of plastic waste every year? These countries, such as China, India, Malaysia and Indonesia lack the infrastructure and regulation to effectively and sustainably sort, process, and recycle plastic waste into new materials. Data taken from the US Census Bureau shows that 78% of those exports were sent to countries with poor waste management. Out of Sight Out of MindĪccording to the Plastic Pollution Coalition, the US exported 1.07 million tons of plastic waste in 2018, about one third of its recycling. So if our plastic waste is not being processed in local recycling facilities, where is it ending up? That’s where waste exporting comes in. Unfortunately, for a significant majority of the United States’ plastic waste, that is not the reality.
In a perfect world, every time we put a takeout container or a coffee cup in the recycling bin, these single-use plastics will be neatly sorted, recycled, and made into useful new plastics.
0 kommentar(er)
