The Symbol of Timeless Waste
by Sonam Velani and Lyn StolerLike how a diamond has come to symbolize eternal love, plastic has become the symbol of timeless waste.
The history of plastic started in the 1800s, though it first exploded in popularity as a consumer product in the 1940s, when new manufacturing techniques enabled plastics to replace materials such as metal, glass, and wood in lots of products due to its low cost, light weight, and versatility.
Plastic is everywhere, from single use packaging to your clothes (polyester, rayon & many other fibers are plastic!). Its properties, notably low cost and ease of production, have helped to bring us more affordable and convenient products – at an increasingly steep cost.
Plastic currently accounts for 3.4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and the amount of plastic waste produced annually has more than doubled since 2010, to 353 million tons. Globally, only 9% of plastic waste is successfully recycled, and the US manages around 4%.
In NYC, the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) collects 18,000 tons of single-use plastics from residential waste each year, with commercial waste adding tens of thousands more.
New Yorkers love plastic bags 🥲 (Source: Eduardo Munoz Alvarez / Getty)
In 2020, NY State’s law prohibiting the distribution of single-use plastic bags at most retail stores went into effect. In the same year, NYC expanded this state ban to more retailers and items (straws and styrofoam containers), though enforcement remains a challenge. Earlier in 2023, Mayor Adam’s signed the “Skip the Stuff’ bill, which prohibits restaurants from providing plastic utensils in take out orders unless requested by the customer.
Do you know how to recycle correctly? Try your hand with this interactive game on The New York Times.
NYC’s waste prevention policies are particularly important because both residential and commercial recycling in the city remains challenging, due to a range of logistical and economic factors. In the design and production parts of the circular economy loop, industry (e.g. Adidas’ roadmap towards being plastic free by 2024) and startups (e.g. investment trends in sustainable packaging) have a major role in realizing a low carbon future with a lot less plastic!
by Sonam Velani and Lyn Stoler