A growing desire to create a more sustainable world has led to some interesting ideas. Sustainability, as a concept, makes a lot of sense. Striving to achieve a more sustainable world could even be considered a noble cause. But utopian sustainability is not possible. No amount of recycling and circular economy implementation can change the realities of waste.
The entire concept of sustainability is born of the fact that human beings produce waste. In fact, all living creatures do. It is true that we should do everything within our power to reduce waste as much as possible. But to expect that all waste can be eliminated is to deny reality.
Likewise, efforts to improve recycling and build a circular economy are good. Reusing more instead of throwing things away is worthwhile. It has value. Yet recycling can never be 100% effective. The circular economy will never be a 100% closed-loop enterprise. Waste will always be a part of human activity.
We Should Recycle What We Can
I am by no means a sustainability evangelist. I do not value the environment over everything else. I do not think turning back the clock on progress is necessary to preserve the planet. However, I do believe that we should recycle what we can.
Waste, by its very definition, is undesirable. We cannot help but generate at least some of it. But when we have the opportunity to effectively recycle something, it doesn’t make sense to not do so. One of the best examples of this is PET plastic. It is one of the most widely used and recycled plastics in the world.
Recycled Over and Over Again
Seraphim Plastics, based in Tennessee, is just one of many companies that successfully recycle PET at a profit. PET’s biggest advantage is that it can be recycled almost indefinitely. As long as PET materials are cleaned, decontaminated, and kept separate from other types of plastic, it can be recycled time and again.
That being the case, it makes no sense to throw PET into the trash. It takes very little effort to clean water bottles and food containers. It takes very little effort to keep PET plastic separate from other types of plastic. We could recycle a lot more PET than we currently do if we just put our minds to it.
Not All Plastics Are So Easily Recycled
The other side of the coin is that not all plastics are so easily recycled. In addition, some types of plastics are limited in the number of times they can be recycled and still have value. It is why manufacturers who purchase plastic regrind from Seraphim Plastics often mix it with virgin plastic.
Above and beyond plastic are materials like glass and paper. We’ve been largely successful with recycling both for decades. No problems there. But we also make an effort to recycle computer equipment, batteries, motor oil, and more. There is value in doing so, but maybe not as much as we think.
We should recycle lithium-ion batteries in order to reduce the need for virgin lithium. But the harder we push for electric vehicles and better electronics, the more lithium we need. In the end, we cannot recycle enough to completely eliminate lithium mining. So the circular economy for lithium will not ever be truly closed.
We should do our best to reduce waste and make better use of natural resources. But we also cannot deny the reality of the world in which we live. Waste will always exist. And no matter how much we recycle and reuse, a truly circular economy is not possible.
