The Reality of Recycling Plastic

Less than a tenth of our global plastic waste is recycled. The rest ends up in incinerators, landfills and our oceans. Knowing the identity of the plastic you use is key to making sure that more of what is used is successfully recycled

Awareness of the importance of knowing and categorising our plastic waste – as well as how to recycle – is still low amongst many Asians. I cringe each time I see people throw plastic straws, bags or food containers into the bin. Do we realise that our mindless consumption and insouciant disposal habits have already created massive environmental problems beyond our ability to cope? More than 90 percent of all the plastic waste we create is not recycled. China is the biggest importer of the world’s plastic waste, importing 45 percent of all plastic waste (106 million metric tonnes) since 1992. In 2016 alone, half of all plastic waste meant for recycling was exported by 123 countries, and China imported two-thirds of it (10,225 million metric tonnes) from 43 of them.

It is hard not to question whether the plastic waste we make the effort to place in recycling bins really gets recycled. Much uncertainty over what we would do with our plastic waste has arisen with China’s decision to stop importing plastic waste from the beginning of 2018 – which could displace as much as 111 million metric tonnes of plastic waste by 2030, according to a study published in

Science Advances. Nowhere is the need for action greater than in Asia, where chronic problems of overconsumption and inadequate waste management are severe. And we need to act now.