According to the data, the recycling rate of waste plastics in the United States is declining year by year. So why is recycling still being promoted as a solution to plastic pollution? When stakeholders ask companies to take action to reduce plastic pollution, companies usually issue a statement. Explain that they are committed to recycling and plan to use recyclable materials for packaging.
As we all know, the amount of plastic waste generated in the United States is increasing. Due to the Chinese ban, the amount of waste plastics that can be exported is decreasing, and the cost of plastic recycling is also increasing, because more trucks are needed to collect widely dispersed waste, and the expansion of plastic production makes The price of new plastics is relatively low.
However, the author believes that these factors violate a key premise that waste plastics will one day have enough value to drive recycling rather than deal with it.
The authors began with the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 2015 solid waste and recycling statistics released in July 2018. According to these data, the US plastics recovery rate was 9.1% in 2015. The 2015 statistics are 'one is not The welcome accident, because it shows 'the increase in the amount of plastic waste generated in the United States, and the amount of recycling is lower than the previous year'. This happened when China still imported nearly one million tons of US plastic waste.
According to US Environmental Protection Agency, US Waste Recycling Association (ISRI) statistics and industry news, the authors estimate that US plastic recycling rates will fall from 9.1% in 2015 to 4.4% in 2018. If other Asian countries follow China's import ban or The proposed amendments to the Basel Convention prohibit the United States from transporting plastic waste to these countries, and the recovery rate in 2019 may fall to 2.9%.
Although it is not possible to make accurate predictions, this is a reliable estimate based on historical data and current events. If exports increase, or better yet, the production of plastic waste is reduced, the recycling rate may be slightly higher.