The recycling rates in the US have been decreasing since 2015. However, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently announced a new national recycling policy, which is a roadmap for the US to acquire a goal of recycling at least half of its municipal waste by the end of the decade. That’s a steep rise!
The agency eventually wants to work towards a circular economy. The inefficiency of America’s recycling system was exposed after China stopped accepting their recyclable garbage in 2018, including post-consumer plastic, which consequently increased the waste ending in the landfills.
Image: The Verge
The sequence of steps announced by EPA is just a beginning toward recycling. The first job would be to collect the recyclable materials. Moreover, EPA wishes to open markets for recycled materials for more companies to make recyclable products as the lack of federal recycling policy has elevated the problem of landfill waste in the US even further.
The agency claims that its recycling plans will link the connection between waste, environmental injustice and the climate crisis. The cases of plastic pollution are rising day by day. For years, plastic industries have been selling items in the name of recyclability but it is not true. In fact, recycled plastic is usually merged with the new plastic that eventually gives rise to its demand and increases the problem.
EPA is trying its best to make sustainable and achievable policies to accomplish a circular economy. Only a systematic process can halt the production, usage and cleansing process of the non-degradable material. The only possible way of stopping plastic pollution is to put an end to its production as reusing is not enough to minimize the plastic waste from the planet.
Via: The Verge