RecyclenEN
Recycling is not the solution!
Over the last few hours, a few several articles have popped up regarding the effectivity of recycling plastic which is, to say the least, disappointing.
The PlasticHeroes project, however good the intention behind it, does not perform according to expectations. Statistics from 2013 show that from the minimum (!) to be collected amount of 268kton, only 50kton was actually collected, a mere 19%! Then from this collected amount, only 24kton (48%) was of good enough quality to be processed to plastic recyclates. The reason why such a small amount can be processes for new plastic products is that the overall quality of the material is bad, making the majority of the output unsellable and is stored or is given, with additional money on top, to the so-called recovery of waste material.
France should be considered an example to other countries as they recently passed a law that prohibits the use of plastic disposables by 2020. Complaints and protests are pouring in, obviously from the side you’d expect them to come from and this forces the mastic magnates to show their hand. This should over the course of time add to the public opinion and knowledge of the plastic industry and what its effect is on our planet.