We've all done it at some point or another: you're not quite sure if the plastic container your lunch came in is recyclable, but you toss it in the plastics bin—spinach leaves still stuck inside—and forget about it. Surely it'll end up in the right place, right?
This phenomenon has a catchy epithet: wishcycling, or the habit of tossing materials into the recycling bin, whether they're recyclable or not, and hoping it ends up in the right place.
Unfortunately, as the name suggests, this isn't the case.
The way waste management works is each municipality has their own collection and sorting measures; so even if you're used to being able to throw glass, plastic, and paper into the recycling bin, whether or not the local waste management can sort and sell those materials depends on the city or county.
Once the bin contents reach the waste management center, they're put onto a conveyor and separated into groups with like-materials destined to be recycled, or with other items that are destined for the landfill: materials that the municipality doesn't have the ability to recycle, plastic bags that tie up the machinery, dirty containers like peanut butter jars or greasy pizza boxes, and materials that couldn't be recycled in the first place.
If you've ever toured a recycling center, you’re likely familiar with this process and can list many examples of obvious wishcycled items, like aluminum lawn chairs, umbrellas, or other mixed material items, along with confusing items like paper coffee cups and compostable plastics. Although it would be nice if all of these items could be recycled at your local recycling center, the reality is, these facilities are only able to process and sort certain types of materials. Even if it seems a portion of a product could be recycled (like the aluminum from a lawn chair), or that items will be cleaned, the recycling facility likely does not have the resources to disassemble or clean these materials, so they are destined for the landfill.
The reason lies in the next step of the waste management process: third-parties purchase the recycled materials to process and turn into new materials. If the third-party is purchasing #1 PET recycled plastic, they would expect all the materials to be #1 PET. Anything else, like a #7 “other plastic,” including compostable PLA-based plastics, are considered contaminants and would degrade the future material. Similarly, #1 PET containers with food inside would also contaminate a future product. In order to support the recycling market, recycling centers must limit contamination in the recycled materials they’re trying to sell.
So the issue of wishcycling occurs when consumers think putting goods in the recycling bin is recycling, when the truth is that unless it's bought and processed into new products by third parties, it's the same as putting glass, plastic, and paper straight into the landfill bin. If buyers aren't available to buy and process the materials, “recycling” stops there with waste sitting in warehouses or shipped to other countries with less ability to manufacture the goods.
And the fact that recycling ending up in the landfill or waiting in warehouses is a reality. As Christopher Joyce reported on March 13, 2019 for NPR's All Things Considered 1, 70 percent—or around 7 million tons—of the world's plastic waste was bought by China. For the U.S. alone, 700,000 tons were exported to China in 2016. By 2018, only 1 percent of that 700,000 tons were exported.
But American recycling isn't without hope.
Consumers can do their part by using the “reduce, reuse, recycle” mantra: reduce purchases of items that aren’t recyclable, reuse what they can, and only then, recycle. Other steps to take include researching what local recycling centers are able to take, cleaning products before recycling (like lunch containers and peanut butter jars), and properly disposing of waste. For the Allsteel headquarters, the sustainability team works on educating employees and doing spot-checks on what has been thrown into the bin whenever possible.
This Earth Day, if each of us commits to using only what we need and disposing of things properly, keeping our recycling programs working correctly won't be just a wish.