Single-stream recycling, the practice of throwing all types of recyclable material into one bin, is incredibly convenient. Some studies have shown that a switch from multi- to single-stream has increased recycling in the U.S. between 30 and 50 percent. But does this user-friendly system really increase the amount of material that is re-purposed, or does it feed our landfills and leave re-processors without usable materials to re-use?
The concept of recycling as it is known today emanates from WWII campaigns to save scarce materials so they can be re-purposed by the military. By the 1960s and 70s, recycling became necessary due to the immense amount of waste that appeared as the U.S. economy boomed after the war. Curbside recycling programs appeared around the 1990s, and were successful, although the mentality of Americans began to shift as they saw recycling as a burden without any direct incentives for themselves. Recycling rates dropped or flattened even as recycling programs increased and improved.
Single-stream is the newest system implemented in the U.S. to increase recycling by reducing the amount of time the average American spends sorting their waste. New sorting facilities and high-tech machines have been developed to increase efficiency and effectiveness, and larger garbage-sized bins are provided to households to give a visual incentive to recycle. However, single-stream recycling has a 15 to 27 percent residual rate – things that are put into recycling bins but cannot be recycled- compared with 1% for multi-stream systems, and 2-3% in dual-stream systems. This contamination not only increases the amount of material that is sent to the landfill, reducing the 30-50% recycling increase by roughly half, but it also can contaminate the materials that could be recycled. Contamination of materials drastically decreases the quality of the recyclables and does not allow for as much re-processing.
http://www.container-recycling.org
“the quality of the material [that post-consumer materials processors] receive from single-stream recyclers is inferior, which forces the manufacturer to downcycle the material (i.e., use it in a cheaper product) or, even worse, send it to the landfill.”
Depending on the levels of contamination and the type of materials being recycled, the apparent benefits of single-stream recycling may decrease to zero, or possibly result in a negative impact on the recycling stream. As more studies are completed, recycling may once again require more time and effort from Americans.
So what would a decrease in convience do to the recycling rates that are already low? Thinking positively, citizens may now be so accustomed to recycling their waste that reverting back to sorting items into separate bins may not have much of an impact on the percentage of materials recycled. However, it is more likely that as recycling once again becomes more time-consuming and remains without a tangible incentive to the recycler, U.S. recycling rates will once again drop. To environmentally conscious Americans, this could be disheartening and it may force some thought into other sustainable practices like reducing single-use materials or repurposing existing products.
“Recycling is the third R, you have to reduce and reuse first.”
https://www.nytimes.com
Sources:
Albeck-Ripka, Livia. “Your Recycling Gets Recycled, Right? Maybe, or Maybe Not.” The New York Times, The New York Times Company, 29 May 2018, http://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/29/climate/recycling-landfills-plastic-papers.html.
Koerth-Baker, Maggie. “The Era Of Easy Recycling May Be Coming To An End.” FiveThirtyEight, ABC News, 10 Jan. 2019, fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-era-of-easy-recycling-may-be-coming-to-an-end/.
Morawski, Clarissa. “Understanding Economic and Environmental Impacts of Single-Stream Collection Systems.” Container Recycling, Container Recycling Institute, Dec. 2009, http://www.container-recycling.org/assets/pdfs/reports/2009-SingleStream.pdf.
“Single-Stream Recycling.” Scientific American, Springer Nature America Inc, http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/single-stream-recycling/.
Waxman, Olivia B. “America Recycles Day 2016: A Brief History of Recycling.” Time, Time, 15 Nov. 2016, time.com/4568234/history-origins-recycling/.
Data/Society/Decision-making Spring 2019 