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Americans only recycle 5% of their plastic waste, according to a study published by Greenpeace USA on Monday.
The study found that despite U.S. households producing 51 million tons of plastic waste in 2021, only 2.4 million tons were recycled. However, the study notes that the issue isn’t necessarily with Americans doing their part to properly dispose of their plastic waste, but rather the material itself, which can be difficult to sort thanks to varying types with different chemical compositions, and called on companies to step up their efforts to stop the “myth” that is current plastic recycling.
“Instead of continuing on this false path, companies in the U.S. and around the world must urgently phase out single-use plastics by replacing their packaging with reuse and refill systems and offering packaging-free products,” the report states.
Speaking on ABC News’ “Start Here” Podcast, senior plastics campaigner at Greenpeace USA Lisa Ramsden said that many recycling facilities are filled with unrecyclable plastic or taken to landfills and burned, causing more pollutants, and the cost of reprocessing plastic is not economically sustainable.
“It’s often cheaper for companies to buy new plastic than it is to but recycled plastic,” she said. “So there’s not a huge market for it.”
Worldwide, only 9% of plastic waste is recycled, and 22% is mismanaged, according to a report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. The report found that most of the world’s plastic waste is either sent to landfills or incinerated, similar to the United States.
A 2020 study from Science Advances found the United States produces the majority of the world’s plastic waste and is the second largest exporter of it, and the global production and disposal of plastic is 3.4% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Globally, several companies have dedicated themselves to zero-waste initiatives and pursuing higher recycling rates. Coca-Cola, for example, has pledged to make its product packaging 100% globally recyclable by 2025 and to use 50% recycled packaging by 2030.
