C+S 2021 students are blogging about topics that interest them for Applications in Climate and Society, a core spring class.
Many years ago, when I was in high school, my heart was shocked by the image of a sea turtle’s body entangled in a plastic ring. At that moment, I realized that much of the garbage we make every day flows into the ocean. According to the Ocean Conservancy, marine animals think of plastic as food, and over 60 percent of all seabirds and 100 percent of sea turtle species are found to contain plastic. However, they have as equal a right to have a clean and safe life as we do.
According to research, 29 million metric tons of plastic waste will flow into the ocean over the next 20 years, a significant increase from the current 11 million metric tons, if the world does not act. There are three main sources of ocean plastic: recyclable plastic goes directly to landfills and gets lost along the way, litter, and plastic goes down the drain.
Putting plastic in its right place is one of the most effective solutions to address the problem. Another option is to switch from single-use plastics we throw away to reusable and recyclable plastics. Doing so could reduce plastic waste by 80% over the next 20 years.
The amount of wasted plastic isn’t evenly distributed, and some countries do a far better job than others. For plastic recycling, Germany recycles 48.8 percent of plastics, but the U.S. only recycles 8 percent. There are a number of policies that help make Germany’s program more successful. Germany offers many different kinds of recycling trash bins. The country has six different, color-coded bins: black for general waste, blue for paper, yellow for plastic, white for clear glass, green for colored glass, and brown for composting. However, most communities in the U.S. only supply a trash bin and a recycling bin. Many waste companies only offer trash, recyclables, and yard waste carts for single-family residential customers to collect their waste. This can greatly reduce the plastic recycling rate. German citizens are also more aware of recycling than American citizens, and have a strong culture around recycling.
Other research shows why Americans are less likely to recycle. Thirty-nine percent of people think that they lack convenient access, 35 percent think that they do not have space for extra bins, 29 percent people do not have time to sort garbage, 22 percent people do not have enough recycling information, and 21 percent do not want to do garbage recycling. According to these data, Americans have shown a substantial lack of attention to recycling. If the U.S. and even every country can turn recycling into a pastime Germany, then our waste management and plastic recycling can make tremendous progress.
