Recycling, one of the solutions to reduce discharges and tackle climate change, remains below 30% in countries such as Argentina, Japan, Colombia or even large generators of waste such as the United States, where barely 5% of waste is recovered. household waste.
In fact, the US is the largest contributor to land and marine pollution by plastic waste worldwide, with percentages of recycling of this material around 5% (two million tons), according to data from the Agency of Environmental Protection.
85% of the plastic waste generated in 2020 went to landfills (inside and outside the country), while 10% was incinerated.
The recycling figure for plastics contrasts with that for paper and cardboard, which amounts to 65.7% according to 2020 data from the US Paper and Forestry Association.
In New York City alone, last February, 46 tons of organic waste, 956.7 tons of metal, glass and plastic, and 1,010 tons of paper and cardboard were produced daily. The metropolis recycles around 18% of household waste and around 25% of company waste, according to data from the city’s Department of Sanitation published in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
For its part, for years, China was the world’s leading importer of waste as it was a vital center for waste processing, but since 2021 the Government made the decision to recycle only its own garbage in an effort to implement its “circular economy”. EFE
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The entrance Recycling, a pending subject was first published in The Independent.
