It is often said that the world can get out of plastic pollution crisis. And the figures reduce the reality of that statement.
To date, less than the tenth of all the plasticvar made has been given a new lease of life. And just 1% has been recycled twice.
The rest ends in landfills and intensators. Or it contaminates land, soil, air and oceans in the environment – which picks up a garbage truck of plastic every minute.
“Something is because there is something recycled,” said Greenpeace Germany Plastic expert Moritz Jagger-Roshco said that it does not mean that it is recycled. ” “Currently, it is only to create a new plastic product, compared to collecting it and recycle it.”
Not all plastic are equal
One of the main obstacles for maximum re-mau is the plastic type. Of the thousands, some, such as cross-linked polymers, are difficult to handle.
“Recycling does not actually work in a mechanical sense rice, which you cannot divide and bring back to their original state,” said Mark Cretzbrook, head of the Institute of Plastic Engineering at the University of Statgart, Germany, said, “Recycling does not actually work in the mechanical sense rice.
But being strong, durable and heat-resistant, they are exactly the types of plastic used in aerospace, electronics and automobiles.
“Everything in transport that focuses on mild construction, depends on the thesis type of plastic,” said Createzbrook.
Hazardous chemical joints
Another major glued point is that plastic is often prepared with additives that make them more flexible, strong or cheaper to produce.
Sarah Perade, co-director of the global plastic footprint network alliance, said that the number of invented and used couples in the last decade has “increased considerably.”
“We have created almost such demons that we think completely controls in any way,” Parorard said.
The problem is as complicated as plastic theme. First, many joints are dangerous for both human health and environment and can exit during recycling or also during recycled products. And contaminated recycling currents with dangerous addicts can be flagged into toxic waste by regulatory agencies, causing more complex or illegal also to illegally illegally.
Equally, when recycled simultaneously, the adative imped the imped the imped the imped and the quality of the content can see the quality of the material, making it unattractive to the manufacturers.
Other types of plastic – such as PET and HDPE, are easy to drink and detergent bottles, respectively – they are easy to identify as materials made from. Nevertheless, they are often abandoned.
“If it is technically recycled, but there are no infrastructure in many places where this plastic is placed in the market, it will not be recycled.
Then there is overall packaging – such as chip bags or coffee pods – is made from a combination of plastic and aluminum or paper. They are almost impossible to separate, and most recycling plant cannot process the subject.
Search for solution
Experts say it is important to reconsider the way plastic is recycled and some are already looking for new ways to turn the most difficult-to-chickes in some useful.
Veena Sahjwal, a material scientist at the University of New South Wales in Australia, challenges the notion that every product should come back in the same form when recycled.
“The journey for us started at the point where we are saying, what do people mean when they say that it is not recycled? But what if we can get out of completely different products?” He said.
Sahjwal is leading the ‘microfacteries’ which replaces mixed plastic waste such as e-waste plastic-which is usually difficult to recycle high-value materials.
“We create pools of plastic filaments that are made of 100% recycled materials from all hard plastic that are all in hardware such as this printer. And thesis recycled plastic filamentary is fed in a 3D printer,” he said.
The idea is to use new materials for remanufacturing – correct at the source.
“Therefore, for example, our microfactory is located in the warehouse, where our industry partners are now originally producing plastic and thesis plastic filamentary in the warehouse in Sydney.”
For example, a piece required to fix a broken computer or printer can be made there in a 3D printer from recycled plastic.
“So, let’s not say that the problem is with raw materials. Let us talk about how we can design and re -design our manufacturing processes,” Sahajwal said.
Role of policy
The recycling alone will not cure the crisis without cuts in production, however, according to Jagger-Roshko. Therefore, policy also matters. What exactly needs, experts say, effective regulation.
And plastic footprints call from the network for global rules that apply to every country. “Even business thesis rules,” he said.
The latest round of the United Nations Plastic Treaty talks gives a historic opportunity to deal with plastic pollution and recycling issues. According to Jäger-Roschko, Greenpeace is calling for a 75% decrease in plastic production by 2040.
Nevertheless, the fossil fuel industry, which provides oil and gas from which plastic is obtained, is becoming a firm.
“Countries that produce oil are not in favor of a strong treaty because we see that with a change towards renewable energy, a lot of oil is going to decrease over time, and is a great outlet for plastic oil producing countries,” said Parade.
He is a push for policies that will hold companies accountable for packaging through their life cycle.
Finally, experts say the thesis large companies helped in creative crisis, and they have the responsibility of re -designing packaging, cutting single -use plastic and investing in real reuse systems.
Edited by: Tamsin Walker