Credit: Montgomery Cty Division of Solid Waste Services via Flickr
Plastic has been around for over 100 years. It’s become such a staple of our man made environment that we don’t think twice about it. Every day items from our clothing, vehicles, homes, electronics and more contain plastics. It’s an incredible product that has allowed us to produce a wide range of items. But what was once a revolutionary product promising a bright future has become a blight from an environmental perspective.
Forever plastic takes a look at the history of plastic from it humble origins the incredible range of products we see today. But the real story in the documentary is a close look at the recycling of plastics, and the challenges faced by the recycling industry. Most of us assume that everything we put in our blue boxes gets recycled and we feel better having taken one small step to being green. But as the documentary shows, recycling isn’t always that simple.
Forever Plastic interviews a commodities trader, his job is to find a market for the recycled plastics. If there is no market demand for a particular type of plastic it gets sorted out from the recycled items and often either accumulates in storage or is brought to a landfill. It was shocking to see how little of the recycled items were of no value to his firm as he had no buying market to take certain plastics. Only 1/3 of the plastics in a blue bin were re-usable in the sample shown.
For example the clear plastic egg cartons that are often assumed to be recyclable are in fact not being recycled at all. It turns out there is no market for that particular type of plastic. Which means these containers are simple shipped to a landfill in the end. Even if the manufacturer creates a product with recyclable plastic it may not be recyclable, it depends what recycling processing plants exist in your community and if there is a market for that particular plastic.
To add more confusion to the mix, it turns out what most people think is a recycling symbol on the bottom of plastic packaging does not actually indicate a product is recyclable at all. The triangular arrows present on most packages is called a mobius loop, this symbol is not owned by anyone and it’s application is not regulated in any way. In 1988 the society of the plastics industry decided to incorporate this logo in their resin identification system. The plastics industry added a number inside the arrows, but all this indicates is what resin the plastic is made out of. So when you see this logo on the bottom of a package it doesn’t necessarily guarantee recyclability, it’s actually quite meaningless except for the number inside which indicates the type of plastic it is. But the plastics industry refuses to change the misunderstood symbol.
The government of Canada has made recommendations to the plastics industry. Namely that the manufacturers clearly label the front of the product with a recycling symbol that indicates a product is truly recyclable. But these are just voluntary guidelines, manufacturers are free to choose if they want to follow the guidelines.
As it turns out recycling isn’t as simple as one might think. It involves many companies, manufactures, markets and different regulations in each municipality. The manufacturers say they have done their due diligence, and point to the recyclers, the recyclers point to the market demand, and the market points back to the governing body.
Forever plastic was a great documentary, it really showed how much work there is to do in Canada before we have a truly green recycling program. So what can consumers do? Recycling is defenitely something that should be continued, but it’s important consumers get involved. Contact your city, town or municipality. Often they have a list of acceptable products on their website or can direct you to the information elsewhere. And most of all get involved let your civic officials know you want better and more thorough recycling in your area.
