5 REASONS WHY RECYCLING IS DOOMED IN THE U.S.

When it comes to recycling, there are shades of gray within other shades of gray. It can be difficult to know and understand all the different types of recyclable and non-recyclable materials. The truth is, that most of our consumer products end up in landfills. Yes, you heard that right! Despite the colorful recycling bins and our best efforts, the majority of beauty product packaging (sustainable or not) is destined for the dump. In this article, we’ll uncover the five (5) reasons behind this unfortunate reality and explore what we can do to make a change.

But first, let’s talk about landfills…

Simply put, a landfill is a giant pit where all of your garbage goes to die, or in the case of plastic-made garbage, lives on for at least 30 – 450 years before fully decomposing. It’s a sad state of affairs, only made worse by misleading recycle labels, human error, and over-consumption of everyday goods.

So how and why does, this happen?

Well for starters, it usually begins with the ubiquitous consumer packaging in all forms. Whether the packaging is made of paper, aluminum, or plastic, it’s most likely landfill-bound. With plastic being the dominant type for consumer packaging, this material does the most harm while slowly decomposing in landfills, and as such it will be our topic of focus in this article.

Ever noticed those tiny recycling symbols on your beauty products? Don’t be fooled; not all plastic materials are the same. Different types of plastics require specific recycling conditions, and many are simply not designed to be recycled at all. The harsh reality is that most of these materials are destined for landfills, recycled or not.

Not all plastic materials are the same:

Different Plastic Material Types: There are seven types of plastic. Each type of plastic has its recycling requirements. For instance, PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) found in water bottles is widely recycled and needs to be heated at temperatures up to 255°C or 491°F to fully break down the long-chain polymers, but PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) used in some cosmetic containers needs to be heated up to 105°C or 221°F to be recycled. As a general rule, packaging made of PVC (3) is rarely recycled due to its toxic properties and should be avoided wherever possible as this plastic is known to leach toxic chemicals such as bisphenol A (BPA), phthalates, lead, and dioxins into the products they contain especially when exposed to direct light and high temperatures for long periods. Just FYI…

Co-Mingled Plastic Materials Within Product Packaging: Many beauty products combine different types of plastics and other materials, making recycling even more complicated. For example, a lotion bottle might be made of PET plastic, but the pump could be made of PP (Polypropylene), and the labels could be another type of plastic or even paper. This was the case for the skincare products that we sold under our old moniker ONYX STUDIOS, INC. from 2017 – 2021. The bottles were made of acrylic plastic (7), a widely recycled plastic but it was nearly impossible to separate from the aluminum-plated, PP vacuum pump that was glued to the bottle from the inside. It was an absolute nightmare for our customers to properly recycle. We’ve since corrected the error of our ways with the SĒID™ film, a plant-based skincare product stored in 100% paper-based packaging. Packaging made with plant-based materials like ours makes the recycling process so much easier. Disposal for the SĒID™ film involves only one step: Simply toss the box in the paper recycling bin…

Image: ONYX STUDIOS, INC. Discontinued Skincare Products

Specific Recycling Conditions Required to Process and Recycle Plastic Materials: Some plastics need to be cleaned thoroughly before recycling, and others require specific temperatures, equipment, and an oxygen-free environment to be processed. These material-specific recycling requirements make it difficult for most recycling centers to be adequately equipped to handle all seven variations of plastic.

This is where recycle-friendly skincare comes in. It’s so important to choose products designed for easy recycling and stored in sustainable packaging. Our SEID™ film products, for example, eliminate the need for complicated sorting and resource-intensive cleaning. Making the right choice when it comes to sustainable products is one of the best ways in which you can make a significant difference.

Recycling rules in the U.S. are as varied as the country itself. There’s no universal standard, which means what’s recyclable in one state might be trash in another.

No two recycling centers are the same:

Recycling requirements vary by state, county, and city: The biggest issue for recycling is the lack of a standardized system in our country. This leads to a lot of confusion. For instance, what’s accepted in California might not be accepted in Texas. Some states have robust recycling programs, while others are still developing their systems.

Not all recycling centers process the same types of “recyclable” materials: This inconsistency further complicates things. For example, some centers might accept plastic bags, while others don’t because they can clog sorting machinery. And some recycling centers accept only one type of material like glass or paper. This can be extremely frustrating to the consumer who wants to recycle consistently.

Inequitable Recycling Center Access-

Not everyone has access to sanitation pick-up for recycled materials: Many rural areas and lower-income communities lack access to recycling programs altogether. In some states like Alaska, residents must drive miles to reach a recycling center as there is no curbside recycling offered in their area; to that end, they must hope and pray that the recycling center accepts their type of waste upon arrival.

Costs – Who’s going to pay for that?: Another issue that leads to inequitable recycling is funding. Funding for recycling programs often comes from local governments, which means that communities with less financial resources might have limited or no recycling services.

Let’s face it, life is busy, and recycling can be a hassle. Cleaning, separating, and sorting product packaging is a time-consuming process that many people simply don’t have time for.

Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That:

The process of cleaning, separating, and sorting product packaging: Recycling is a labor and resource-intensive task, especially if done right. For example, cleaning bottles and jars uses water, a precious resource that can be used for more important needs, like cooking or keeping your body hydrated. It’s hard to pin down how much water is used to clean each item given the packaging’s varying sizes, but it’s safe to say that even one cup of water is too much given just how important water is. And that’s just one component. The time it takes to properly recycle your waste can add up to hours per month, with no guarantee your efforts will be successful.

Label removal: Removing labels and adhesives can be challenging because they often leave residues that need to be completely scraped off. These sticky residues can contaminate the recycling process and lead to entire batches being discarded if not entirely removed. Not to mention that the adhesive itself can be made of plastics like acrylic and silicones adding to the total amount of plastic used in your product’s packaging. No bueno.

Your Neighbors and Sanitation Workers:

The perils of community recycling bins: This is a big issue as misuse and contamination are common when using community recycling bins. Imagine a community recycling bin where one person intentionally or unintentionally, throws in a greasy pizza box, contaminating an entire batch of recyclables. It makes us cringe just thinking about it. But it’s a common occurrence and it’s happening somewhere, right now in the U.S.

Sanitation worker errors: Mistakes during collection can render entire batches unrecyclable, too. This was the case for our founder, Chandra Davis back in 2019. Heading to the trash bins of her apartment building, she caught a sanitation worker emptying the recycling bin in the back of his dump truck marked for regular waste. Shocked, and subsequently annoyed, she immediately understood that all it takes is one careless act from another to ruin an entire batch of recyclable waste.

This event sparked her idea for a eco-friendly skincare solution that would help to mitigate these common recycling issues. Thus, the SĒID™ film products were born. It’s a liquid-free skincare product stored in paper-based packaging. So, whether successfully recycled or landfill-bound, the SĒID™ film product’s packaging is easy to recycle and significantly less harmful to the environment.

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We use a staggering number of plastic-packaged products in our daily routines, from shampoo bottles to moisturizer jars. Unfortunately, the rate at which we consume these products far outpaces our ability to effectively recycle them. Especially now, when countries like China which have historically accepted and processed U.S. recycled waste, have banned these foreign materials to help reduce pollution.

To put things into perspective, here are a quick few stats on recycling and plastic-packaged products in your home/beauty routine:

• As of 2022, the average number of plastic bottles used each year is 156. That breaks down to about 13 bottles per month, per household.
• According to the EPA, the recycling rate for plastics was just 8.7% in 2018.
• On average plastics take hundreds of years to biodegrade. A single plastic bottle can take up to 450 years to fully decompose in a landfill.

As much as we’d like to believe that plastic recycling is the answer to all things harmful waste, the practicality of recycled plastics makes this solution nothing more than a clever magic trick of smoke and mirrors:

• Recycling plastic can be difficult because plastic has thousands of polymers and chemicals making up one product. This complexity makes effective recycling nearly impossible. For instance, when different types of plastics are melted together during the recycling process, they tend to phase-separate, like oil and water, and set in layers. The resulting material is structurally weaker and has limited secondary or tertiary consumer uses.
• And, the economics of recycling are not favorable. Producing new plastic is often more cost-effective than recycling existing plastic due to the low cost of raw materials like petroleum. Not to mention the ease of packaging customization. Virgin plastic is easier to manipulate than recycled plastics as the polymers are stronger and can withstand various shapes and conditions based on the requirements of the packaging.

If you’re looking for an effective way to increase your chances of successful recycling, choose skincare products that are packaged in paper or even aluminum. These materials have a much higher success rate of recycling and can be recycled multiple times for various uses while still holding their structural strength. Products like the recycle-friendly SĒID™ film products use 60% post-consumer recycled paper in their primary packaging, giving paper waste a second useful life.

The plastics industry was valued at $712 billion in 2023 and continues to grow, expected to reach $1,050 billion by 2033. That means the industry will be churning out new products faster than we can recycle the old ones. Meanwhile, many brands that rely on plastic materials may continue to engage in greenwashing practices, making misleading claims about the recycled content of their packaging. We went into detail about these greenwashing practices here…

Growth in the Plastics Industry:

The Politics of Recycling: Recycling is often sold as an easy solution, but the reality is much more complex. The plastic industry promotes recycling to shift the responsibility of waste management from producers to consumers, a classic greenwashing tactic. Adding insult to environmental injury, the plastic industry has historically withheld the facts about plastic recycling and the processes of effectively managing this waste from the public for years.

Lack of brand accountability:

And here’s another observation: If the rate of recycling is on average 9%, then how are all these brands claiming up to 50% recycled waste in their product packaging? It simply doesn’t add up. It doesn’t take a genius to know what’s happening. Brands are using a small percentage of recycled content in their packaging and then market it as a significant contribution to sustainability.

It’s a slap in the face to every consumer who tries to live and consume products sustainably.

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Not all hope is lost. There are still some brands that give a damn. We can make a difference by supporting companies that prioritize sustainable packaging and by being mindful consumers. By choosing products with minimal packaging, refilling and reusing containers, and supporting legislation that holds companies accountable, we can help reduce the amount of plastic waste that ends up in landfills.

The SĒID™ film product is a perfect example of recycle-friendly skincare. With its innovative design, sustainable materials, and ease of use, it represents a revolution in how we approach skincare and environmental responsibility.

Check out the SĒID™ film products in action:

We hope you’ll join our movement of sharing the beauty of sustainable skincare.

An AI-assisted article*