According to a new report, 60% of adults across the UK, the USA, Mexico and Spain don’t know how to recycle certain types of plastic and just 34% regularly recycle.
The report, entitled ‘The State of Plastic Recycling’, was published by Hi-Cone who plans to use the data to further understand consumer attitudes towards recycling in order to help tackle the plastic waste epidemic.
According to the poll, 75% of adults across all the territories surveyed regularly recycle while at home but only 69% do so when in public, suggesting a lack of the appropriate bins or confusion over what products go in which. Interestingly, 60% admitted that they didn’t know how to recycle certain types of plastic which indicates there is confusion surrounding this eco-friendly necessity. This could be due to a lack of official and consistent guidance and education given to the public about how to recycle plastics, an issue that needs to be addressed if we’re to increase these numbers to 100%.
The study’s researchers argue that it is the responsibility of governments to lead the way on setting consistent standards and to meet the needs of the consumer, who has been calling for change for a very long time.
Sustainability director of Hi-Cone, Jennifer Parr, believes that a combination of single use packaging and lack of direction in terms of recycling has led to the plastic crisis. She said: “The waste crisis is an issue of both packaging design and a lack of recycling culture and infrastructure.
“With the help of this report, we can take a look at where the industry can better support consumers with education and resources and start to collaborate with local governments and private recycling partners to improve the recycling system.
“By working together with consumers and recycling organisations, the industry will be better able to make progress towards creating a circular economy.”
UK tops the recycling chart
Of all the territories surveyed, the UK came out on top in terms of our rates of plastic recycling. According to the report 45% of British adults recycled all of their plastic waste, followed by Spain with 38%, then America with 26% and in last place, Mexico with just 12% of adults recycling all their plastic.
As the South’s leading recycling company W&S Recycling is dedicated to doing everything we can to tackle the plastic crisis through education, continually expanding our recycling capabilities and ensuring recycling bins are readily available. To find out more about plastic recycling, please don’t hesitate to contact us today on 01202 675564.
