Should Plastic Producers Pay for Recycling?

We're in a plastic crisis.

But who's responsible for this mess?
And how can we turn it around?

Let me toss a few facts at you.

More than half the plastic ever produced
was created in the last decade.

And only about 9% of the plastic ever made
has been recycled.

But before you go blaming
your lazy neighbor

for that dismal recycling rate,

maybe we should take a step back

and see how we got here
in the first place.

And to answer that question.

We've got to go way way back
to where the plastic began.

No, no, no... not that far back.

Right, that's good.

These are fracking wells,

which is where a lot
of the plastic (bleep)

you see lying around
in the environment starts.

Over the last decade,

governments handed out
billions of dollars in tax subsidies

and gutted environmental rules

to encourage oil
and natural gas development.

That created a lot
of new cheap oil and gas

that companies like Dow and Exxon
also turned into plastic.

In other words, lots of cheap oil and gas
means lots of cheap plastic.

In fact, plastic is now the fastest
growing source of greenhouse gases

like CO2 and methane.

Huge consumer goods companies

then turn all that cheap plastic
into packaging or products

that often get used just once
and then can't or won't get recycled.

And with no laws

holding producers responsible
for the plastic waste they create,

guess who picks up the bill
for all that junk?

That's right, us. The taxpayers!

The companies who make
and use single-use plastics

want. you to believe that recycling
will take care of all of it.

But it turns out it's often more expensive
to recycle something

that it is just to create new plastic.

Some cities and towns

are even considering ditching
their recycling programs altogether.

Take Maine, for example.

Mainers want to do the right thing,

but products continue to be packaged
in wasteful ways

and towns are struggling
with what to do with them

when they get to the dump.

You see, when the people
who create plastic packaging

aren't responsible for managing and paying
for their waste, bad things happen.

Like really bad things.

That's why many are starting to rethink
packaging and the way waste is handled.

One way to do that

is through a system called
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).

You might also call it polluter pays
or 'a great idea'.

EPR for packaging
puts companies on the hook

by making them accountable
for the stuff they put on our shelves.

Like paying more
for non-recyclable materials.

While the US doesn't require manufacturers
to help manage their packaging waste,

many other places do,

including several Canadian provinces
and all countries in the EU.

Some of these laws
have been in place for 30 years

and many of these places now see
recycling rates of up to 80%.

And, better yet,

when the companies become responsible
for their waste, the real magic happens.

They realize that it's actually cheaper
to reduce their packaging

than to pay to clean it up.

That's the beauty of extending
the responsibility to the real polluters.

It can help reduce plastic waste
on the front end,

improve recycling by creating
a cleaner waste stream,

and, oh yeah,

tackle this thing called
climate change too.

Coupled with other ways
to reduce unnecessary plastics,

like bag and foam bans,

performing recycling
through EPR for packaging

is what the world needs.

What's your take on EPR?
Tell us in the comments below.

Thanks for watching.

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