Recycling, defined by Google as “the action or process of converting waste into reusable material,” is, in theory, great for the environment. Unfortunately, only 9% of the items sent to recycling centers are actually recycled. Here’s why.

When most people think of recycling, they most likely envision bundles of paper and plastic being sent to a recycling plant; a quick and painless process.

Sophomore Veronica Tan thinks, “You put [recyclables] into a machine and it becomes, like, a cube or something.”

 Similarly, Junior Hannah Hung thought “the act of recycling itself [was] a fast process, like collecting cans and plastics to just bring them to a recycling center.”

 Sadly, their conclusions are far from the truth. Society has created false realities when it comes to what recycling looks like. In the form of advertisements, large, plastic-using corporations, such as Coca-Cola or McDonalds, have convinced many that recycling is an easy and mindless process. They have successfully tricked consumers into feeling better about their environmental impacts, thus buying more products.

In reality, only a minuscule portion of the items we throw into recycling bins actually complete the recycling process. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, in 2017, only 8.4% of plastic in the U.S. was actually recycled. The process is long and tedious, made up of many rounds of manual sorting. Out of seven types of plastic, five of them are rarely recycled because of unrealistic requirements. Those deemed not reusable are then sent to the landfills. Furthermore, plastic can only be recycled up to nine times, so even those that do make it through will eventually end up as trash that will not decay for hundreds of years. 

How can there be such harsh realities for items marked as recyclable? In short, the icons found on many labels are regulated by the Federal Trade Commission. These labelings have rules and exceptions that make packaging very deceiving. For example, a plastic bottle can have a recycling symbol on it even if the cap is not recyclable. Even worse, if a consumer were to buy a soda and not rinse out leftover residue before recycling, the bottle would not be recycled. Many other confusing and contradicting rules can be found when doing some deep diving into the recycling regulations, making it extremely difficult as a consumer to know the fate of your waste.

Other unfortunate facts about recycling lie in its history. The U.S. has created so much waste that systems were installed, sending a third of its waste to other countries, such as China, the Philippines, and Malaysia. But, in 2017, these countries put a stop to this arrangement. This caused many U.S. cities to end all recycling programs. Recycling may not be the answer to our planet’s problems, but eliminating the option altogether opens gates to even more issues.

Although recycling may appear to be a flawless production, it has many deceiving exceptions. Nevertheless, recycling remains a more sustainable option than sending waste directly to the landfill. The key to creating a better ecological footprint is to reduce waste overall. By purchasing less, you will throw away less. After cutting down consumption, it’s okay to throw your recyclables into the recycling bins. Just be aware that there is a lot more to the process than it seems!