False promise of disposable plastic recycling obscures firms’ role in global waste

crisis
The evidence shows most of the plastic waste exported by rich nations to Asian
countries is not recyclable and ends up polluting the environment
Recycling alone will not solve the plastic pollution crisis as the real solution
lies further upstream in reducing the amount of plastics being produced
Von Hernandez and Marcy Trent Long
Published: 6:45am, 18 Mar, 2021

[1] March 18 is Global Recycling Day. Can we really celebrate it here in Asia, or
is it time to reckon with the myth that disposable plastic can be recycled?
[2] Before the advent of plastic packaging, neighbourhood variety stores throughout
Asia provided goods in small portions for customers who brought in their own
reusable containers. Now, those traditional stores are filled with products in
plastic packaging, including multilayer packaging, small sachets and single-use
pouches that are not recyclable.
[3] In urban centres, these traditional stores have been replaced by convenience
stores that promote quick and easy takeaway goodies with a handy rubbish bin at the
front door for the waste. 
[4] Most urban centres in Asia can ill-afford waste management and recycling
systems that tackle single-use packaging. The situation is worse for the region’s
island nations and rural communities that lack even proper waste collection.

[5] For them, this plastic waste deluge in the past few decades has put their
countries in the global spotlight of blame for the 8 million tonnes of plastic
going into the ocean every year. Yet, is this ocean plastic crisis really their
fault? 

[6] With global plastic recycling rates hovering at less than 20 per cent and many
places, including Hong Kong, challenged with the logistics of recycling, the
dependence on the false claim that plastic recycling works needs to be made more
transparent. Even the younger generation  in Hong Kong does not believe it can
work.

[7] The truth is that fewer than one of every 10 products made with plastic
packaging has been recycled since the advent of plastics production in the 1950s.
And the rest? In Hong Kong, disposable plastics have ended up in landfills.
[8] For much of Asia, they have landed in open dumpsites, polluting incinerators,
and contaminated rivers and oceans. This track record of plastic recycling failure
does not inspire confidence in the promises many companies continue to make to
improve recycling.
[9] Even the most industrialised countries with advanced waste management systems
have failed to properly collect and recycle disposable plastics. This is why
they shipped their waste  to Asia for sorting, cleaning and processing and counted
it as “recycled” in their home country.

[10] The evidence, however, shows most of the plastic waste being exported by rich
nations to Asian countries is simply not recyclable. This exported plastic waste
has fouled the environment and polluted the poorer communities which accepted
them. 

[11] Take Hong Kong for example. In 2020, nine out of 10 plastic recyclers closed
because so much of the collected disposable plastic was contaminated by food waste
and the recyclers could not compete with virgin plastic prices.
[12] Despite the collapse of the recycling sector in many parts of the world, in
part because of plastics overproduction, the plastics industry is still intent on
expanding production in the coming years. Meanwhile, it is still promoting the
mantra of recycling as the solution to plastic pollution.
[13] Estimates suggest the cumulative plastic production in 2050 will be 34 billion
tonnes, four times that of 2017. Virgin plastic production is not going away any
time soon. 
[14] The only plastic recycling that is happening in Asia at scale is PET or HDPE
recycling in major urban areas. That is the plastic used for most beverage bottles
and consumer care products such as hand soap. This is because many consumer brand
companies chose PET as their packaging of choice.
[15] It is lightweight with low transport costs, easily modified for consumer
marketing purposes and incredibly cheap. Still, most recycling operations in the
region are actually just “downcycling”.
[16] The recycled plastic is converted into another product whose quality is
inferior to the original material. Little actual recycling takes place because of
the challenges of food contamination in waste collection systems and varying
packaging standards used by manufacturers.
[17] For the past three years, the global movement Break Free from Plastic has
completed a brand audit of the top global plastic polluters. Seven of the audit’s
top polluters – The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo, Nestlé, Unilever, Mondelez
International, Mars, Inc and Colgate-Palmolive – have joined the Ellen MacArthur
Foundation’s New Plastics Economy Global Commitment. They have established the goal
that their plastic packaging will contain 50 per cent recycled content by 2030.

[18] But according to a recent foundation report, the signatories only reduced
their virgin plastic intake by 0.1 per cent from 2018 to 2019. Without concrete
improvements, these commitments amount to greenwashing by the companies for the
sake of brand image.
[19] It is clear that recycling alone will not be enough to solve the plastic
pollution crisis. The real solution lies further upstream in reducing the amount of
plastics being produced. This would be good for climate change as the feedstock for
plastic is fossil fuels.
[20] It might also compel consumer goods companies to reduce their plastic
footprint and invest in alternative reuse or refill systems to deliver their
products to the consumer.
[21] According to a recent McKinsey report on sustainability in packaging in Asia,
more than 65 per cent of consumers in Indonesia, India and China surveyed said they
were willing to pay for more for sustainable packaging. In India, respondents
indicated they perceived paper and glass packaging as more sustainable.
[22] Isn’t it time global brands consider that maybe the sustainable packaging
consumers really want is refillable and reusable containers? Then we might have
more to celebrate on the next Global Recycling Day.