Despite Amazon's assurances that its plastic packaging is recyclable through store drop-off programs, a new investigation suggests most of it ends up in landfills or incinerators.
Joseph Winters reports for Grist.
In short:
- An investigation by Environment America and U.S. PIRG found that a small fraction of Amazon's plastic packaging reaches recycling facilities, with most being disposed of in landfills or incinerated.
- Trackers placed in Amazon packaging destined for recycling revealed that only four out of 93 bundles made it to material recovery facilities, with some ending up overseas or in companies that downcycle the plastic.
- The findings challenge the effectiveness of store drop-off recycling programs and suggest that they may serve more to alleviate consumer guilt than to solve the plastic pollution crisis.
Key quote:
"The store drop-off system is really not working, and plastic film is not recyclable."
— Jenn Engstrom, state director of U.S. PIRG’s California chapter.
Why this matters:
At the heart of the issue is the stark reality that only a small fraction of plastic waste is actually recycled, a problem exacerbated by the sheer volume of plastic produced annually and the technical difficulties associated with recycling certain types of plastics.
However, sometimes plastic recycling is so much worse than just letting trash be trash.
