Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. It's a phrase we’ve seen since we can remember, in cafeterias, on bottles, and above trashcans. That familiar recycling symbol has offered assurance, easing the guilt of throwing away a half-finished water bottle into the recycling bin. Unfortunately, that assurance has been misplaced. Recycling claims to be the easy and widespread solution to the huge amounts of plastic waste around the globe, but it often fails to follow through. Rather than resolve our global plastic pollution crisis, it has been used as a tool by large corporations to support the production of plastic, and makes the issue worse through improper and harsh treatment methods. Recycling was not designed to deal with increasing levels of waste, and ultimately fails at its mission to reduce the negative impacts of plastics. Prioritizing stopping plastic at its source through strict regulation and legislation that reduces and bans plastic is the only way we can make a real impact. We need less reliance on recycling, a system that simply doesn't work, and stronger legislation that cracks down on plastic.

Modern recycling became popular in the late 1960s as the production of plastic skyrocketed. Companies needed ways to advertise their products without the backlash associated with plastic waste. Research done by NPR shows that big plastic companies like Exxon, Chevron, Dow and DuPont were spending tens of millions of dollars a year on recycling advertisements, even after company executives were briefed on recycling's poor feasibility . By promoting their products as recyclable through the use of slogans, cycle-like symbols, and Earth Day events, plastic was presented as something that could be safely and efficiently reused. Unfortunately, plastics do not exist in a closed recycling cycle like aluminum or paper. While those materials can be reused over and over, the lifespan of reusable plastic is much shorter. According to the Plastic Pollution Coalition, plastic already contains over 1600 chemicals and is exposed to even more during recycling treatment. These chemicals are toxic, limiting its uses to lower quality products like carpets or certain clothing. Additionally, recycled plastics degrade, resulting in the spread of microplastics into our oceans, waterways, and bodies. The complexity of recycling is another huge concern. Plastic must be sorted by color and type before it can be melted down and treated. The storing, transportation, sorting, and melting of plastic can have huge energy and financial demands, draining communities of funds and releasing toxins into the environment. Finally and most shockingly, most plastics in recycling bins don’t even make it to treatment centers. Analysis done by Beyond Plastics shows that only 5% of plastics were recycled in 2021, while 43 million tons were put in landfills. The system is useless if plastic designated as recyclable ends up in landfills anyway. 

It’s clear recycling is not the solution to the mounting plastic crisis. Strong and decisive legislation is. If the US passes nationwide laws that start limiting the production of harmful plastics, we stop the cycle where it starts, preventing the extra damage caused by forcing our overflowing waste into a system that simply does not work. This legislation would serve as a standard for the whole world, promoting cleaner alternatives for plastic. According to Daily Mail, this type of strong legal action has already been proven to work in states like California, which banned all plastic bags in stores, blocking loopholes about material classification that stores had previously exploited. By forcing companies to limit and reduce their plastic production, we take the pressure off our communities and ecosystem and put it back on giant plastic companies.

While major reform is needed, recycling can be beneficial. Materials like aluminum, paper, and glass can be recycled continuously, without the degradation of the material or integration of chemicals. In addition to these materials, some say recycling plastic can be good too. Recycling gets some plastic out of landfills and oceans, even if it's not as sustainable as we would like. It’s also a way for communities and individuals to make an impact. According to the North Carolina Recycling report for 2023-2024, all 100 of its counties had recycling systems in place, and recycled more than 39 thousand tons of plastic waste. While these actions help minimize plastic waste in our communities, it fails to eliminate the root of the problem by supporting a system that paints plastic production as manageable. 

Every day we rely on recycling and wait to put pressure on large plastic corporations is another day we put pressure on our communities and environment. Recycling may make us feel better, but it only exacerbates the problem. It tricks us into using more energy and creating more pollution without any meaningful results. It's time we stop letting large corporations dictate how we deal with waste, and challenge them to find alternatives that fix the plastic crisis they are profiting from.