Image of text wrapped in plastic: 5 Big Questions About Plastic Recycling

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Earth Science

5 Big Questions About Plastic Recycling

Americans produce a huge amount of plastic waste. Believe it or not, most of it doesn’t get recycled. Find out why—and how you can help.

April 10, 2023

What You Need to Know About Plastic Pollution

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1. Just how big is the plastic waste problem in the U.S.?

Enlargeable image of seagull with plastic wrapped around its head

Tom Grundy/Alamy Stock Photo

This seagull has plastic trash stuck on its head.

It’s huge! On average, each American tosses 218 pounds of plastic per year. That’s up from about 60 pounds per person in 1980. What’s more, about half the plastic produced today is single-use, meaning it’s used only once before being discarded.

Many of these plastic items never make it into recycling bins or trash cans. Instead, they end up as litter that can get carried into storm drains or rivers that flow to the ocean. Plastic debris can harm marine animals that mistake it for food.

2. How much of our plastic waste ends up getting recycled?

Enlargeable image of a person looking upset and holding two crushed plastic water bottles

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Not as much as you may think. In 2021, only 5 to 6 percent of plastic waste in the U.S. was turned into new items. That’s according to a recent report from the Last Beach Cleanup and Beyond Plastics, two environmental groups. Most of our plastic trash is sent to landfills. Experts can only guess how long that plastic will take to decompose, or break down. It may take centuries.

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3. Why doesn’t more of the plastic we throw into recycling bins actually get a new life?

For one thing, there are many different types of plastic. Think about a plastic juice bottle versus a sandwich bag. Recycling facilities must sort the plastic and recycle each kind separately, which is time-consuming and expensive. As a result, it’s often cheaper for communities to send plastic trash to landfills.

Also, many recycling facilities can’t process certain plastic items. For example, plastic wrap is too flimsy to be recycled, and grocery bags can get tangled up in the machinery.

Plus, plastic each time it’s recycled. Glass and metals can be recycled over and over. But plastic can generally be recycled only once or twice. Making products from recycled plastic is also expensive, so most companies use new plastic instead.

4. Does this mean we shouldn’t bother recycling at all?

Definitely not. But Melissa Valliant of Beyond Plastics says we need to be smart about how we recycle. Check your city’s or town’s website to find out which types of plastic are recycled in your area. For example, many communities advise residents not to put plastic bags into recycling bins. (In some areas, local stores will accept the bags for recycling.) Anything that isn’t recyclable should go in the trash.

Still, though recycling is important, Valliant says the best way to tackle our plastic problem is to use less of it.

Symbol Smarts

There are seven common types of plastic. The “chasing arrows” symbols tell you what type of plastic an item is made from. Types 1 and 2 are most likely to get recycled.

Image of a recycling symbol with text inside, "Pete"

Water and juice bottles, peanut butter jars

Image of a recycling symbol with text inside, "Hope"

Milk jugs, shampoo bottles, laundry detergent bottles

5. What’s being done to reduce the amount of plastic we use?

A lot. Each year, more cities and states pass laws to cut down on single-use plastics. For example, eight states now ban plastic grocery bags. Here are a few ways you can pitch in too.

Drink smarter: Avoid single-use plastic bottles by carrying a reusable water bottle. And opt for reusable straws, or skip the straw completely.
Choose carefully: Pick products that aren’t made of or packed in plastic whenever possible.
Speak up: Encourage your school’s principal to eliminate plastic utensils and containers in the cafeteria. You could also urge local leaders to ban single-use plastics in your area.

In addition, Valliant suggests writing to companies that use a lot of single-use plastic and asking them to switch to other materials.

“Until we stop producing so much plastic, this problem is only going to continue,” she says.