Recycling, the solution to our landfill problems, or so we thought. “American recycling has stalled. And industry leaders warn that the situation is worse than it appears” (Davis, 2015). The problems started with having mixed recycling, an idea born in the 1990s in California, where anything recyclable goes in the bin and then somehow it is separated and reused (Davis, 2015). Unfortunately, with mixed recycling, and bigger bins, contamination has become a problem as people have started putting in as much garbage as they do recycling (Davis, 2015). This contamination has resulted in higher processing prices for recyclables, making it more cost effective to just dump the recycling in with the trash (Davis, 2015). Unfortunately, the contamination of recycling has affected more than just local recycling plants, it has affected the U.S.’s ability to export their waste to other countries as well.
China, one of the world’s largest importers of waste paper, used plastics, and scrap metal, made a decision last year to “tighten its standards for impurities in scrap bales” (Beitsch, 2019). Before the implementation of it’s new policy, China would accept bales with contamination levels between one and five percent, but now the standard is point five percent, a radical reduction (Beitsch, 2019). This change affects the cost of recycling, and this means that small towns must “scale back the types of recyclables they accept or start charging fees to cover the ballooning costs of their programs” (Beitsch, 2019). One town has had to start charging residents $50 to drop their recyclables off at the recycling center (Beitsch, 2019). This means that more plastics are put in the landfills, either because the recycling plant can not process it, or because people do not want to recycle due to the high costs.
Recycling may be less impactful on the environment, but “it is easier to adopt, and therefore is environmentally valuable” (Gifford, 2012, p. 297). This has made it an invaluable tool to help reduce our impact on the environment, but how do we fix the problems present in the recycling industry? In 1998, Schultz implemented an experimental intervention program in California to see if certain interventions would increase the amount people recycled (Gifford, 2012, p.307). Schultz discovered that people recycled more when they received individual feedback, information on one’s level of recycling compared with one’s past performance, or group feedback, information on one’s level of recycling compared to their neighborhood (Gifford, 2012, p. 307). Schultz even did a cost-benefit analysis at the end of his experimental intervention and determined that if the intervention was implemented citywide, the benefits of the program would outweigh the cost (Gifford, 2012, p. 307).
However, as Davis explains, increasing recycling is not necessarily beneficial as people are putting as much garbage as they are recyclables into the recycling bins (Davis, 2015). Maybe residents have good intensions, but a lack of education as to what is recyclable results in items such as shoes, Christmas lights, and garden hoses being put into recycling (Davis, 2015). Schultz’s experimental interventions have other applications than just increasing recycling though. Schultz based his experimental interventions on the idea of norms and highlighting the discrepancies between the norm and the actual behavior (Gifford, 2012, p. 307). A similar norm-based experimental intervention could be implemented to examine if feedback on individual performance might affect recycling behavior. If people stop putting garbage into their recycling, contamination would decrease allowing us to export our recycling to China which, in turn, would relieve the financial burden on small town recycling programs allowing them to start accepting more recyclables again.
References:
Beitsch, R. (2019, January 21). A move by China puts U.S. small-town recycling programs in the dumps. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/a-move-by-china-puts-us-small-town-recycling-programs-in-the-dumps/2019/01/18/6a043642-1825-11e9-8813-cb9dec761e73_story.html?utm_term=.4eeb7797465d
Davis, A. C. (2015, June 20). American recycling is stalling, and the big blue bin is one reason why. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/american-recycling-is-stalling-and-the-big-blue-bin-is-one-reason-why/2015/06/20/914735e4-1610-11e5-9ddc-e3353542100c_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.22a3b926740f
Gifford R. (2012). Applying Social Psychology to the Environment. In F. W. Schneider, Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (pp. 297-322). Los Angeles: Sage.
Tags: interventions, recycling, social norms, waste management
Hi !
I totally agree with you that recycling is a big problem right now in America. As far as contamination goes, yes it is a problem as well. People also when they are throwing things into the recycle bin, a lot of times they also throw things that should not be recycled. I think it has to do with a lack of care. People do what is easy for them and do not think about their consequences afterwards.
I also agree that recycling is a small thing that can really help the environment. Honestly growing up, I never really recycled. I was never sure about the positive effects of this but now that I am older and that I am learning about this it really hits me hard. As Davis said, it is not helpful if we are putting garbage with recyclables in the bins because it does not help our environment if there is garbage in there. However, I do think that if we are made aware of the consequences this may help in aiding the recycling positive outcomes.