Why Recycling Isn’t the Answer to the Plastic Pollution Problem

Recycling is a juggernaut. It has been so ingrained as the solution to waste management that we’ve failed to recognize that it’s just not very effective. For example, in a typical recycling program, only 15% of plastic actually gets collected for recycling. After collection, about 40% of the collected amount is discarded for poor quality.

It results in actual plastic recycling rates in the range of 9%.

It matters in Minot as we implement our own curbside recycling program. It also matters globally because as a species, we’re making more and more plastic every year. And according to Kristian Syberg writing at Nature, the true solution must include efforts to reduce our usage.