Is Plastic Recycling the Original Greenwashing Campaign?

Hello, hello, Seasider. Let me ask you something: Do you think your plastic waste is getting recycled? 

As it turns out, plastic recycling is more like Gatsby's parties. A whole lotta glitz and glamour, but at the end of the day, it’s just a facade.

As plastic became more common in the early 90s, recycling gained traction.

The plastic industry saw recycling as a distraction from the impact of single-use plastic, using it to improve the public perception of its products.

The goal of ‘plastic recycling’ was not environmental conservation but rather to make consumers feel better about using plastic products.

 🤯 A pitiful 9% of all plastic waste ever generated has been recycled.

So, you’re probably wondering what to do with the plastics invading your home.  

And as tempting as it may be to ‘recycle’ the plastics in your household, please don’t— Unless you can answer these questions: 

1️⃣ Does my city recycle plastics? Waste management systems vary from city to city.

2️⃣ If so, which categories? Those little numbers at the bottom or back of your products (1-7)? They tell you if they can be recycled or not.

But let’s get into it, yeah? In this issue, you’ll get:

🌊 How to repurpose your current plastics
🌊 Reduce plastics at home; start in your kitchen
🌊 The seven plastic categories you should know

— Camila Hernandez

REPURPOSE PLASTICS
The other day, I wrote that researchers believe people ingest roughly 53,864 plastic particles yearly from seafood — that’s the size of ~17 credit cards🤌 

Tips for Repurposing Current Plastics in Your Home

1. Storage use! Give them a good clean and use them for storage. Use small bags to store nails and screws loose in your toolbox, containers to store cords, etc.
   

2. Get creative. Art projects, signs, wall art. YouTube has a ton of easy tutorials with all sorts of purposeful uses, including decorative ones.
   

3. Donate the material. Precious Plastic Universe is a fantastic resource to find a local upcycling facility that will give plastic a new life.
   

4. Terracycle Zero Waste Box. A good option for households, schools, businesses, manufacturing facilities, and events looking to recycle more and keep trash out of landfills.

It won’t be a linear and perfect journey, but all you can do is try!

The most important thing to avoid is simply throwing the plastic away. Instead, consider extending the lifespan of your plastic materials.

THE KITCHEN
What better place to start than where we make the most waste?

Here’s your 3-step plan of action:

📝 AUDIT
Do not go out there buying all the alternatives before you audit what you have. You will feel overwhelmed and defeat the purpose of this adventure. Outline:

• How much trash do you produce weekly?

• What category does most of your waste fall under?

  • Food packaging

  • Food scraps

  • Take-out

  • Other

🧽 USE IT
Until it drops. Until it wears out or it’s finished. As long as it doesn’t compromise your health. Use those sponges that dish soap, but donate the dishwasher detergent.

• Plastic is bound to be in your home. Not all plastic is ‘bad’. It can be used creatively to reduce waste.

• Living low-tox means making better, more conscious choices going forward.

🛒 THEN SHOP
Only when you’ve used all your other products. If you’re getting started, consider these:

• Trash bags

  • Low waste or not, you’re still going to make some sort of waste

    • UNNI compostable bags are leakproof and don’t give you any unwanted smells (Note: a few other compostable bags do).
      

• Wood cutting boards

  • Bambu offers sustainably harvested bamboo cutting boards with no chemical-based finishes or seals.

  • TeakHaus offers a variation of teak wood cutting boards. Moisture resistance. Knife-friendly, easy to maintain, and long-lasting. No chemical-based finishes or seals.
    

• Biodegradable soap

  • Blueland is a good option for dishwasher detergent.
    

• Plastic wrap alternatives

  • Albegoo wraps or Bee’s Wax wraps are good alternatives.

  • Stasher storage bags are great for storing liquids (like soup!).

  • W&P Porter zip bags have more flexibility for on-the-go.

💡A LITTLE HERE, A LITTLE THERE
Make tweaks over time. Change and habit require prioritizing and commitment.

• As you start to live more mindfully about the plastic in your home, you’ll realize the things you’ll need to swap out, and this is the time to make that investment or get creative with items you already own.
  

• You might think that going ‘eco’ is expensive, but that’s only a short-term vision. The long-term goal is to use what you have, care for all your items, and buy only when necessary.

💪 You got this. Why rush something you want to last forever, right?

Remember, change starts at home 🌊 Your actions to reduce plastic waste at home positively impact your health and our environment.

Still Curious? Similar Reads

THE SEVEN
The different numbers on plastic products indicate their type and whether or not you can recycle them at your local facility.

😏 If these numbers were lottery-winning numbers, would you pay attention to them? Bet you would!

But even without the jackpot, you're still winning in your health and the health of our environment.

You must check with your local facility guidelines and cross reference with this chart.

THE ART OF NOTICING
Check out this coastal photo of the day.

Tag your photos on Instagram or Threads @cozycoastalofficial for a spotlight.