Plastic is part of our daily lives. It has been since the early 20th century. It packages our goods, it’s in our phones, our appliances, our tools…it’s literally everywhere (including our bodies). Over the past decade or so, the environmentalism spotlight has shown brightly upon the plastics industry, as scientists gained a better understanding of the many consequences of a plastic society. The term microplastics (tiny, often microscopic fragments of plastic) has even become a part of most peoples’ vocabularies.
By now, we are all well-aware that we need to reduce the amount of plastic pollution in our world. But, not to worry, for we have our robust and efficient plastic recycling system! Simply look for the triangle with the number in it, and you can throw the item into the recycling knowing that it will be reused in the creation of new products.
Just kidding…the sad truth is that less than 10% of all plastics are actually reused. The fact that a plastic item has a triangle and number on it DOES NOT mean that it will be reused to create a new item. Today we will learn where that system came from and what those numbers mean.
What is plastic?
Plastic is not a single thing—it’s more like an umbrella term. A material is considered a synthetic plastic if it’s comprised of synthetic polymers, which are large complex molecules, and can be molded to a desired shape. Polymers are formed when four or more monomers (a certain type of molecule) bond via a chemical reaction. Some common synthetic monomer compounds are ethylene, propylene, vinyl chloride, and styrene.
The vast majority of synthetic plastics are made from hydrocarbons, which come from fossil fuels such as crude oil and natural gas. Once the fossil fuels are extracted from the earth, they are refined into products like ethane, propane, and butane. Following refinement, these products are broken down, making their molecular structure simpler. For example, this process turns propane into propylene, one of the plastic building blocks.
Plastic manufacturers then use chemical reactions, or polymerization, to combine these monomers and other additives, thus creating polymer resin (almost like a plastic liquid). The freshly made plastic resin is cooled and ground into small beads which are then shipped to their customers, who simply melt the beads and shape them into their desired product.
What do the numbers in the triangle mean?
Most plastic products you use have a small triangle containing a number between 1 and 7. This system is called the Resin Identification Code (RIC), and it indicates which synthetic polymer was used to create the product you’re holding. Here’s a chart that breaks down each number within the system:
As you can see from the chart, simply having the ‘recycling symbol’ does not mean that a product will be recycled. Generally speaking, the lower the number, the more easily recycled the product is. However, even if an item is considered easier to recycle, it doesn’t mean that it will end up being recycled.
In order for a plastic product to be reused, there needs to be a lot of infrastructure in place. Firstly, there must be a recycling collector (usually a municipal utility company). Secondly, there has to be a recycling cleaning and sorting facility. Finally, and arguably most importantly, there needs to be a customer willing to buy the sorted recycling and repurpose it. In many parts of the U.S., one or all of these parts of the recycling process are not present. This means that you could go to the trouble of cleaning and recycling your plastic bottles and packaging only for it to end up in a land fill. It’s a real bummer.
So why is plastic so hard to recycle? On top of the lack of infrastructure that I just mentioned, there are a few other reasons why recycling plastic is a tricky process:
It’s hard to sort – As you saw in the chart, there are lots of different types of plastic. These different varieties cannot be melted down together because the chemical structures are not compatible. This means that sorting facilities need to identify and separate each type. For sorting metals, you can use magnets, for sorting glass, you can use color, but for plastic, there is no easy way to separate by type.
It can deteriorate after initial use – Many types of plastic contain additives that give them their desired qualities. However, these additives begin to deteriorate if you try to melt them down and repurpose them after their initial use. This means that if you try to reuse the polymer compound, the plastic will lose its structure and, in some cases, become toxic.
The alternative is cheaper – With the high costs of sorting and repurposing plastic products, it’s usually cheaper for product manufacturers to simply buy new plastic.
Where did this numbering system come from?
Now that we know that this ‘recycling symbol’ does not necessarily mean that products are easily recyclable, where do you suppose it came from? Was it initiated by the EPA? Or perhaps by an environmental preservation group?
Nope!
As it turns out, the plastic industry has been in the hotseat before. Back in the 1970s, Americans were becoming concerned about the increasing amount of plastic that was littering the country. In response to growing pressure from the public and from government officials, the plastic industry launched a massive marketing campaign to alleviate Americans’ concerns about plastic pollution. What was the message of that campaign? Recycling! There were widespread advertisements throughout the 80s and 90s that highlighted the potential for reusing plastic products through recycling. All people had to do was recycle their plastic materials and, like magic, they would be used to create something new!
As part of this effort to sway opinions on plastic, producers lobbied the government to implement the RIC system that we still use today. Plastic producers claim that this numbering system was meant to help recycling facilities sort the plastics (which it might), but the effect was that Americans would see that little triangle on products and assume that it was going to actually be recycled. People started to worry less about plastic pollution thanks to this clever new system—which helped keep plastic demand high.
According to an NPR and PBS investigation, as early as the 1970s executives at plastic manufacturing companies knew that plastic recycling was NOT going to work due to its high costs and chemical limitations. They proceeded with their recycling marketing campaign anyway.
The state of plastic recycling today
Plastic production continues to grow with each new year, almost doubling every decade. The United Nations Environment Programme says that last year, humans produced about 430 million tons of plastic (which exceeds the total weight of all humans). And according to a Greenpeace report, as the world’s supply of plastic grows, the proportion that gets reused is declining.
Data from the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) indicates that about 9% of total plastic gets recycled. Almost 20% is burned, and half of all plastic goes into landfills. The rest just ends up somewhere in the environment.
Due to its chemical makeup, plastic that ends up in landfills or in nature will not fully breakdown for decades or even centuries, meaning that it will just continue to pile up. We know that this has consequences for wildlife, as we’ve all seen the images of birds, turtles, and fish suffering from an environment filled with plastic. However, plastic also hurts humans. Scientists have found microplastics in the food we eat and in our drinking water. Due to their microscopic size, once they are ingested, they can reach most of our internal organs. While we don’t yet have definitive links between microplastics and specific ailments, preliminary research shows concerning health impacts. Not to mention, many plastic production facilities have been associated with detrimental effects on the health of nearby residents.
Don’t forget that the manufacturing of plastic products also contributes to greenhouse gas emissions since nearly all synthetic plastic is made from fossil fuels.
What can we do?
After learning all this, you may be thinking “should I just stop recycling plastic if it’s just going to end up in a landfill?” It’s an understandable reaction, but the answer is no. Despite the many inefficiencies of our plastic recycling system, some plastic DOES end up being reused, albeit only a small fraction. Plus, there are many companies and governments around the world looking for innovative ways to either reuse or sustainably dispose of plastic products. For example, scientists have identified a couple different organisms that are able to consume and break down certain plastics.
These continuing efforts to solve the plastic problem mean that it’s important for us to continue recycling as best we can, because if we just start throwing it all away, it will be much harder to implement new plastic disposal solutions. Not to mention the fact that it took decades for Americans to get into the habit of recycling in the first place, so having people stop and then relearn that practice years later would be a nightmare.
So, aside from continuing to recycle, what else can we do about our plastic problem?
Do your research – Every jurisdiction has different plastic recycling policies depending on the local recycling infrastructure. You can visit your city or local waste management provider’s website to learn which types of plastics they are able to recycle and how you can sort or clean it to make it easier for them.
Use reusable products – This is the most effective way to address the problem because as long as we continue to buy disposable plastic products, companies will continue to make them. Using reusable items like fabric grocery bags, durable water bottles, and metal or bamboo straws will significantly decrease your consumption of plastic.
Buy alternative disposable products – While the best thing to do is not purchase single use items at all, sometimes the need does arise for the use disposable items (cups, plates, food packaging, etc.). In these cases, you can look for plastic alternatives such as paper or compostable products. Be careful though, as some companies make their products look environmentally friendly, but they are still plastic. One tip is to look for the word “compostable” to know whether a product is actually biodegradable.
It's not fair that the responsibility of reducing plastic waste should be on us instead of the producers themselves, but history would suggest that our government won’t crackdown very hard on the plastic industries. Therefore, it is up to us to use our individual choices and wallets to let the plastic industry know that changes must be made to keep our society clean and healthy. With the prevalence of plastic in our lives, it is extremely difficult to avoid it completely, but every plastic product we don’t buy makes a difference.
LAST WEEK’S QUIZ
You got it this week! Broken pottery fixing was not a known historical use of ear wax, but the rest were— even the lip balm (ewww)!
"Polymers are formed when four or more monomers (a certain type of molecule) bond via a chemical reaction"
If only I read this article sooner. Just finished my chemistry test and it was the polymerization questions that took me aback. Never been a fan of organic chemistry, but had my teacher taught her lessons with as much passion and interest as this article, I would be the first person in class :)