Staub, Colin. “EPA: U.S. Plastics Recycling Rate Declines.” Plastics Recycling Update, Resource Recycling, 1 Aug. 2018, https://resource-recycling.com/plastics/2018/08/01/epa-u-s-plastics-recycling-rate-declines/.

 

In this article titled “ EPA: U.S. plastics recycling rate declines” by Colin Staub discusses how the recycling rate in the US has changed. According to the EPA in 2014 to 2015 the recycling rate fell, while the production rates increased. The rate of plastic recycling fell from 9.5 percent to 9.1 percent  and also fell in weight from 3.17 million tons to 3.14 million tons. Out of the 34.5 million tons of plastic waste the US generated in 2015, 26 million tons were put in a landfill, and 5.4 tons were burned. Slightly less was put into landfill, but that only means that the US ended up burning more plastic as a result. Plastics also weren’t the only materials that are being recycled less, aluminum, and textiles among other things also saw a drop in recycling rates. At a time when the US is continuing to produce more and more it is quite concerning to see the recycling rate go down.

 

I was surprised a bit by this article. I thought that it was only logical that as time progressed, our systems to recycle plastics would improve and our recycling rates would rise. It is counter intuitive that they would have fallen when we are producing more waste than ever. This article is specifically talking about rates falling in 2014 to 2015, however that trend has sadly continued and we are now at a recycling rate of only 9 percent. We are also producing more waste than we did in 2015. I think that we need to find a way to amend our recycling program so that all plastic than can be recycled is. I also think that we need to find alternatives to plastics instead of relying on recycling. Bio plastics that are made out of organic materials and can be composted have been around for a long time and I think it is time that they are more heavily used. Plastic needs to be phased out, and we need to stop using recycling as a crutch to make it feel like we are doing the right thing when in reality, much less is being done.