Recycling — How to Think About Cleaning Up a Big Mess

It wasn’t all that long ago that we didn’t buy things packaged in plastic containers. What we bought came in various formats of cardboard and wax pap Today, our recycling reality is mostly predicated on how to think about cleaning up a big mess.

A quick glance into our trash bin today shows the non-recyclable modern truth: cardboard galore, foam trays from the grocery for fruits and vegetables, plastic containers for cereal, cheese, milk, yogurt, and frozen foods. Purchases from health and beauty aisle are a massive landfill filler, with few peers when it comes to plastic tubes of toothpaste, soap, and shampoo. Batteries in bulk plastic, light bulbs in volume packaging, and surely even Mr. Whipple must be looking down and frowning on Charmin packaged in triple-wrapped plastic from Costco.

Many recycling plants are now temporarily shuttered during the pandemic in order to protect the safety of employees. And some of those facilities will never reopen. But that aside, one thing is for certain: consumer plastic use will continue to increase. Whether you consider the economic or environmental perspective, the recycling world is a mess right now. The industry has been tanking since 2018, when China stopped accepting our plastics and paper to recycle because we shipped it contaminated with too much garbage. Now, we have little demand for recycling materials and way too much supply. In fact, America is the world leader in per capita solid waste production.

But there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon, in the form of a bill in New York State that would make manufacturers pony up the cash necessary to right the reeling ship that is the recycling business. The bill, which appears to have a chance of passing, creates something called “Extended Producer Responsibility” (EPR), a policy approach in which packaging producers are mandated to fund and manage the end-of-life stage for the items they put on the market. This is not a new concept, EPR programs have been in place in Europe and Canada for years.

After gauging the environmental impact of packaging materials, EPR would require manufacturers to pay weighted amounts that cities can use to offset recycling expenses. If this proposal were to become law, a manufacturer would perhaps be, as an example, much less likely to use a metalized plastic label on a recyclable cosmetics bottle that would then render it nonrecyclable because of the financial ramifications. An egg manufacturer opting for plastic packaging at the plant would be required to absorb the higher disposal costs associated with that packaging option. This bill and others of its nature serve to incentivize organizations to go greener in their packaging selections by way of lower fees related to end-of-life stage for items they bring to market.

Rather than fighting the proposed EPR bill, certain businesses have already decided that this step is not only the right thing to do, but it’s also ‘on brand’ in terms of the message they want to send to consumers. Nespresso, for instance, which has positioned the brand as a premium coffee maker, recently reached out to Sims Recycling, whose facilities process most of New York City’s recyclables. Nespresso volunteered to pay for the equipment Sims would need to extract aluminum from its coffee pods, and then arranged with the NYC Department of Sanitation for the pods to be included in curbside pickup. Nespresso volunteered to be on the cutting edge of this recycling effort, and the marketing opportunities for just doing the right thing are enormous. Are your wheels turning, thinking of some of your clients who could leverage this concept for their branding? I know mine certainly were.

There may even be some movement in the right direction among packaging trade organizations. AMERIPEN, an industry group that has traditionally opposed mandated producer funding of recycling, may be ready to support this legislation. “There’s been greater commitment within the industry to say, ‘We don’t want recycling to go away because the municipality is trying to make a decision between providing, say, PPE to firefighters or continuing recycling,'” said Andy Hackman, principal lobbyist at Serlin Haley LLP, a public affairs firm that represents AMERIPEN. “AMERIPEN members want to continue to see materials moving into recycling.” The bill could become law as early as this Spring, and New York State could set a great example.

But what can you do to help clean up the mess yourself right now? For one thing, stop engaging in the process of wish-cycling. Wish-cycling is the practice of throwing questionable items in the recycling bin, hoping they can be recycled, but without any real idea as to whether that’s actually the case. Wish-cycling means consumers err on the side of tossing something in the recycling bin and letting the folks on the other end — at the recycling facility — figure it out. Don’t make your recycling plan “better safe than sorry” and leave it to consumers to figure out the nuances of what’s truly recyclable and what’s not. According to WasteAdvantage magazine, “better safe than sorry” has been the wish-cycling mantra in America since the green movement gained ground in the 1970s. From plastic bags, to greasy pizza boxes and old bits of electrical cord, I know we’ve all considered trying one time or another to recycle trash instead of taking the risk it would end up in a landfill. It’s a nice thought, but it’s causing increasing damage to city recycling systems. Stop wish-cycling, and let your representatives know you support Extended Producer Responsibility and manufacturers stepping up and taking responsibility for their packaging choices. It’s a great idea for all of us.

Jeff Jacobs has been an expert in building brands and brand stewardship for 40 years, working in commercial television, Hollywood film and home video, publishing, and promotional brand merchandise. He’s a staunch advocate of consumer product safety and has a deep passion and belief regarding the issues surrounding compliance and corporate social responsibility. He retired as executive director of Quality Certification Alliance, the only non-profit dedicated to helping suppliers provide safe and compliant promotional products. Before that, he was director of brand merchandise for Michelin. Connect with Jeff on LinkedIn or Instagram, or read his latest musings on food, travel and social media on his personal blog jeffreypjacobs.com. Email jacobs.jeffreyp@gmail.com.