Time to rethink plastic recycling

Why is only a fifth of plastic recycled? Collecting, sorting, and processing waste plastic in recycling centres can be expensive and some plastics cannot be recycled because of the hazardous chemicals used to produce them. The OECD recommends solutions and government policies to tackle this environmental and economic problem and to promote green growth and safeguard our planet. OECD is tackling today’s most challenging resource management issues by promoting the sustainable use of materials in order to reduce their negative environmental impacts, encouraging resource efficiency and the transition towards a circular economy.

ABOUT THE OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organisation established in 1960 that works collaboratively to build better policies for better lives. Our goal is to shape policies that foster prosperity, equality, opportunity and well-being for all. Together with governments, policy makers, policy shapers, and citizens, we work on establishing evidence-based international standards and finding solutions to a range of social, economic and environmental challenges.

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[florencechou]

The real solution is to reduce plastic use. Promote reusable containers.

[brynsingodia]

Thanks very much for this video - I'm using it for a school assembly :)

[ThatsfeelgbSound]

Plastic dose not have to be a problem . recycle plastic into kayaks and other flotation devices . boats affordable to American families and while children have fun on the water they learn about recycling . they can be returned and recycled again . leave something for our future besides a plastic mess . gary b *

[Nihilanth]

stop the production of plastic outright. force manufacturers to come up with an alternative. ban plastic throughout the world. harsh i know, and may be costly to manufacturers, but i dont care. environment comes before profit.

[wadekong]

Taxing it? Is it the only solution? :(

[spacecowboy]

I have a hard time giving anything informational proper credit when they can’t even spell correctly. Recycle misspelled at 1:25. Yeah yeah I hear all the groans about me pointing out an insignificant typo, but think about how many people at this company saw this video before it was posted and none of them caught it. I see this frequently in newspapers now too. We have no hope of solving complex issues like plastic recycling because we’re getting dumber and can’t even spell. Soon we’ll just be communicating with one another in a series of grunts.

[Michael-vpzt]

Here is the the best way to recycle plastics.... think about it... where did it come from? Solution put it back, bury it full stop. All this carbon some people think is so bad can be put back where it came from. There is no problem. In a hundred years with a billion tonnes we can mine it.

[HMEsinglestill]

Sorry, but like guns. Plastic won't go somewhere and can be easily manageable, and sorted if people will be more concerned and conscious about when to use them and where to keep them. Do not blame plastic for our negligence. And FYI, even paper recycling has bad impact to nature especially that the environmental cost-benefits of paper production is really poor. Imagine, a cartoon manufacturing company is producing boxes and skeletons just for the purpose of keeping the item unshakable. The company basically used trees just for this purpose? Then later on the end user will just throw it somewhere thinking that it will decompose anyway? Side note, Decomposition produces gas that is harmful to environment. Some cartons will be brought to recycling facilities, but what we do not know is good quality paper cannot be produced by using 100 per cent recyclable papers and cartons. It need combination of new trees and used papers. Other than that, recycling process needs chemical that can break the inks and other chemicals which already has been printed or combined to the papet/carton from their previous usage. You map it or not, it is obvious that demand of packaging material (regardless if it is made of plastic or paper) depends on how to consumer demands for it. And environmental effect of plastic and paper wastes are all product and by product of our improper/poor use, reuse, and storing.