How much plastic waste actually gets recycled globally?
This visualization shows the breakdown of annual plastic waste by disposal method. Only 9% of plastic gets recycled globally. Recycling is certainly the most environmental choice so why is this percentage so small?
The recycling process can be complicated and it's easy to misunderstand how the process works. Firstly, not all plastics that are produced can be recycled. Different additives are used in plastic packaging to make them more rigid or flexible, to add colour etc. These additives can affect the plastic's ability to be recycled. In addition to this, the type of plastics that recycling facilities can accept also vary greatly by location meaning in certain places in the world more plastic will be disposed of using alternative methods.
Contamination also plays a significant role in plastic ending up in landfills. Plastic sent for recycling can be rejected due to non-recyclable items or food waste, which makes processing unviable. There are also economic factors that often make landfilling more cost-effective than recycling, leading to further reliance on disposal methods other than recycling.
It is also worth noting that plastic can typically only be recycled once or twice before it becomes unusable so recycled plastics will still eventually end up in a landfill, incinerator, or the ocean.