Environmentalists who once helped build and promote our recycling culture are now turning their backs on the process. The new claim? Recycling is not enough to help the environment. Recycling “is a job-creating, business-boosting, tax-saving success story,” said a Sierra Club representative back in 1995. These days? “Stop obsessing about recycling,” demands the Club.
The surprise about-face comes as environmentalists lobby Congress and states to ban the use of common plastic products. Recycling, they assert, cannot solve the problem.
They should keep the faith. Recycling has recently made significant technological and scientific advancements, indicating that increasing recycling rates is the most practical policy solution for reducing waste, whether that involves plastic or other materials. Frequent reports and announcements show companies and researchers are innovating and developing technologies to create a more circular economy in waste management.
Plans to build a new plastic-to-plastic recycling facility in Tennessee were recently announced. Eastman Chemical Co. has promised to recycle 250 million pounds of plastic annually by 2025. The facility will use “polyester renewal technology” to repurpose polyester materials into new products.
Large companies are making the switch to recycled plastic. Most recently, Coca-Cola announced the launch of a new bottle (and cap) made from 100% recycled material.
Common plastic bottles and household containers can be recycled into a host of products, including clothing and plastic lumber. Using recycled plastic reduces emissions and energy, even in its transportation, compared to virgin plastic.
To help recycle more material efficiently, artificial intelligence has become a prominent part of recycling infrastructure. Researchers at the University at Buffalo recently received a $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation to advance recycling sorting methods with new processing technologies.
By using artificial intelligence robots, the process of sorting different materials within recycling facilities will be expedited — allowing for more materials to be broken down properly and used in the making of new items. While this technology is continuing to improve and expand, AMP Robotics, based in Colorado, has already sold or leased out AI-powered sorting machines to more than 40 U.S. recycling facilities since 2017.
Science is also lending a hand in the advancement of plastics and recycling. New to the scene is a bacterial enzyme capable of breaking down plastic bottles in mere hours, ensuring the leftover materials are of pristine quality to be recycled into new, food-grade plastic bottles.
In January, scientists at Princeton University discovered a molecule that creates repetitive squares to become a plastic material. This unique structure allows for the molecule to be “zipped-up” to create plastic, and then, it can be “unzipped” (depolymerized) to be reused. While this development is still in the early stages, the senior author of the paper called it “one of the most important things to ever come out of my lab.”
These advancements, and more, shouldn’t be brushed aside by environmental absolutists. To be sure, there are some products that are impractical to recycle. Plastic straws, for instance, may be too small for machinery. But these prove to be the exception, not the rule.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, our overall recycling rate is currently about 32%. We have lots of room for improvement. Anyone who cares about the earth should look to increase this number, not dismiss the idea of science improving our systems.
James Bowers is the managing director of the Campaign for Recycling Awareness. Learn more at RecyclingFacts.com.
