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Recycling Solutions

Elizabeth Buerkle

Created on March 11, 2024

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Transcript

The Single-Use Dilemma

Is recycling really the answer?

Impacts

Discover Product Impacts

Milk

Shampoo

Eggs

Cereal

Detergent

The Boston recycling rate is ~25%.6 What does that mean for your yearly consumption?

What does this mean?

How'd We get Here?

Milk1

  • 498.95 tonnes of plastic consumed in Boston
  • 126.6 tonnes in the landfill a year

Back to List

Eggs2

  • 260.7 tonnes of plastic consumed in Boston
  • 195.5 tonnes in the landfill a year

Back to List

Shampoo3

  • 30.7 tonnes of plastic consumed in Boston
  • 23.1 tonnes in the landfill a year

Back to List

Detergent4

  • 35.2 tonnes of plastic consumed in Boston
  • 24.4 tonnes in the landfill a year

Back to List

Cereal5

  • 25.6 tonnes of plastic consumed in Boston
  • 19.2 tonnes in the landfill a year

Back to List

Put it in Perspective...

  • Combining the landfill waste from these products creates the equivalent of 2 blue whales a year

And that's just boston

Manufactured Plastic Demand7

Marketed Demand

Excess Supply

Pollution Injustice

Once disposed, environmental damage ensues, releasing greenhouse gases as they decompose and withering into microplastics consumed by animals and subsequently, us. Consumer access to alternatives is minimal and at best, disproportionate.

Producers had to find a new market, and eventually found the future of plastics was "in the trash can". Now, 40% of plastic goes in disposables.

Polystyrene and other plastics were produced as a massive scale to meet the demand of WW2 (32x bigger), but post-war industry left a gap in demand.

Next

Solution: Refill Stores

All these products and more could be purchased using bring-your-own container sales, some of which are available at a refill store here in Boston! Uvida is located in the North End and offers refills on dish and hand soap, hair care, body wash, dental care and more! Remove the stress of imperfect recyling by removing plastic from your life altogether

Visit Store

Citations

  1. M. Shahbandeh. "Fluid milk product sales in the United States in 2022, by category". Statista. (2023). https://www.statista.com/statistics/257290/us-milk-product-sales-by-category/
  2. United Egg Producers. "Utilization of U.S. Eggs" (2022) Facts and Stats. https://unitedegg.com/facts-stats/
  3. D. Petruzzi. "Hair Care Unit Sales in the United States in 2022, by category". Statista. (2023). https://www.statista.com/statistics/1441308/us-hair-care-unit-sales-by-category/
  4. M. Leverette. "Are You Using Too Much Laundry Detergent?" The Spruce. (2023) https://www.thespruce.com/how-much-detergent-per-load-2146803
  5. K. Kizer. "The 10 Largest Cereal Brands in the United States" Zippia (2023) https://www.zippia.com/advice/largest-cereal-brands/
  6. Boston Department of Environment. "Boston's First Ever Zero-Waste Plan Announced" (2019) https://www.boston.gov/news/bostons-first-ever-zero-waste-plan-announced
  7. R. Altman. "How Bad are Plastics, Really?" The Atlantic (2022) https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2022/01/plastic-history-climate-change/621033/
  8. U.S. Census Bureau. Boston, Massachusets, Population Estimates. 2022. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/bostoncitymassachusetts/PST045222
  9. National Geographic. "Blue Whale". Animals. (2022) https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/blue-whale