The Problem
We are doing it all wrong. The recycling that we use today is an imperfect system. Combined with the increased convenience of single-use plastics, the plastic waste produced each year has increased to 380 million tons.
People overestimate the efficiency of recycling in the United States, are uneducated on what can actually be recycled, and are unaware of the strain that it places on the countries who are tasked with reselling plastics. Most treat recycling as a get out of jail free card. When it is available, consumers increase their usage without feeling guilty because they believe that discarding it in a recycling bin will justify their wasteful actions.
In other words...
Only 30% of all plastics have ever been recycled, and in most cases, they have been downcycled to be carpets and pots that will end up in the trash anyway. Only 2 of the 7 types of plastics are commonly recycled— PET and HDPE (numbers 1 and 2 on the packaging). Most of the plastic in your recycling bin will never make it past the sorting stage before ending up in a landfill -- or worse, dumped in a natural habitat. Recycling will only work if consumers are mindful of their consumption rates and are educated on the process. It has a much greater potential than we are using it for. Plastic creates 13 billion dollars of damage to marine ecosystems annually. 8 million metric tons of plastic enters the ocean from the land each year. If things continue as is by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean. Instead of cleaning up our waterways, we need to stop it at its source and address our human behavior. Just because a company states they are using less plastic in their products does not mean it is more environmentally sustainable.
We need to stop purchasing and immediately discarding single-use products without a second thought because communities, like those in Indonesia, are at risk of being destroyed.
Why This?
Humanity continues to crumble at the hands of the Tragedy of the Commons by letting greed and selfishness take control, thus ensuring mutual defeat. Businesses and individuals should prioritize the environment over their own profit, for without it, there would be nothing to profit from.
Why Me?
I have always loved swimming in the ocean and watching the sun set over the waves whenever I went to visit my relatives in California. It devastates me that my "happy place" is being filled with plastic waste faster than it can be cleaned and I want to help stop this pollution before it is too late.
Who Is Impacted?
Developing countries are the main victims of plastic pollution, especially Indonesia. Around 3.22 million tons of plastic waste end up in the ocean around Indonesia per year. 35,000 tons of the plastic that we consume every month is imported there, most of which cannot be used and is discarded in landfills or unoccupied lands within the community.