Recycling Plastics--Telma N. Garcia Reyes, Philip N., Via Rose Kat Chavez
Recycling in Japan
The recycling effort in the US and Austin is undoubtedly lacking. Role model communities in Japan bring light to what recycling can be if US citizens gave a little more effort. In Japan, the first thing to notice is the absence of litter. In the US, the lack of a nearby trash can usually results in litter; however, Japanese culture has taught its people to carry small plastic bags to store any loose trash they can’t immediately throw away. Additionally, public trash cans almost always have a recycling can to compliment, and recycled items are always cleaned out before being discarded to ensure the recycling process goes smoothly. Trash is picked up daily instead of weekly in the US, and it’s separated by burnable, non-burnable, and recyclables. Trash is also put in clear bags so there isn’t confusion on what bags contain what items, and trash isn’t left out in the front of residences. Instead, there are pickup spots for each community where citizens can throw away their trash, keeping the streets clear of any trash bags. In Kamikatsu, Japan, there’s a small town that has committed to being “zero waste” by 2020, where at least 80% of recyclables are processed and no incineration is allowed. While US states are still stuck on deciding what levels of pollution are acceptable, there are towns in Japan that have local mandates to already achieve noticeable environmental/recycling change. On the political side, Japan has laws like the Home Appliance Recycling Law, promoting the recycling of useful parts in thrown away appliances like televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners. Some other Japanese recycling laws include having consumers pay a recycling fee when disposing of home appliances, retailers take back discarded appliances and pass them on to manufacturers, and manufacturers must recycle discarded appliances.
https://www.greenamerica.org/rethinking-recycling/americans-are-really-bad-recycling-only-because-were-not-trying-very-hard
The recycling effort in the US and Austin is undoubtedly lacking. Role model communities in Japan bring light to what recycling can be if US citizens gave a little more effort. In Japan, the first thing to notice is the absence of litter. In the US, the lack of a nearby trash can usually results in litter; however, Japanese culture has taught its people to carry small plastic bags to store any loose trash they can’t immediately throw away. Additionally, public trash cans almost always have a recycling can to compliment, and recycled items are always cleaned out before being discarded to ensure the recycling process goes smoothly. Trash is picked up daily instead of weekly in the US, and it’s separated by burnable, non-burnable, and recyclables. Trash is also put in clear bags so there isn’t confusion on what bags contain what items, and trash isn’t left out in the front of residences. Instead, there are pickup spots for each community where citizens can throw away their trash, keeping the streets clear of any trash bags. In Kamikatsu, Japan, there’s a small town that has committed to being “zero waste” by 2020, where at least 80% of recyclables are processed and no incineration is allowed. While US states are still stuck on deciding what levels of pollution are acceptable, there are towns in Japan that have local mandates to already achieve noticeable environmental/recycling change. On the political side, Japan has laws like the Home Appliance Recycling Law, promoting the recycling of useful parts in thrown away appliances like televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners. Some other Japanese recycling laws include having consumers pay a recycling fee when disposing of home appliances, retailers take back discarded appliances and pass them on to manufacturers, and manufacturers must recycle discarded appliances.
https://www.greenamerica.org/rethinking-recycling/americans-are-really-bad-recycling-only-because-were-not-trying-very-hard
As we mentioned in the podcast Austin is one of the few cities in Texas that is trying to do something about helping the environment. In their page you can see ways they are helping the environment. Austin is not only trying to help the environment, but they are also addressing social issues. In their page you can find resources on how to help mbithe the environment and minorities communities in Austin.
https://www.austintexas.gov/department/climate-change
If you want to learn more about the Austin plastic ban you can go read this article by the texas tribune( https://www.texastribune.org/2018/06/22/texas-supreme-court-rules-bag-bans/). They talk more in depth about why this ban on plastic bags was important. They also talked about why the ban was seen as something that was bad for people.
As for big corporate companies, ExxonMobil continues to be a thorn in the climate change movement, not just in Texas, but in the world. They create more harm than good, which does not help the plastic recycling industry at large. Especially in the wake of their announcement to build an advanced recycling center in Baytown, TX.
Additionally, the oil and gas company continues to find themselves on the wrong side of the law, in that they have been sued dozens of times throughout the years and are constantly involved in scandals. Here is an article regarding the latest of one such lawsuit. It dismantles ExxonMobil’s altruistic ways as it has come to light that they were misleading consumers on their impact on climate change. Therefore, proving that they do engage in greenwashing tactics in order to protect their capital interest and image. (https://www.reuters.com/business/exxon-must-face-massachusetts-lawsuit-alleging-climate-change-deceit-2021-06-23/)
Bibliography
City of Austin. (2020). Plastics recycling. Plastics recycling | AustinTexas.gov. Retrieved
December 10, 2021, from https://www.austintexas.gov/plastic.
ExxonMobil to build its first large-scale plastic waste advanced recycling facility. ExxonMobil.
(2021, October 11). Retrieved December 10, 2021, from https://corporate.exxonmo
bil.com/News/Newsroom/News-releases/2021/1011_ExxonMobil-to-build-its-first-large-s
cale-plastic-waste-advanced-recycling-facility.
Jaramillo, J. (2020, August 14). Is Japan's High Recycling Rate Enough? Earth Island Journal.
Retrieved December 10, 2021, from https://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/articles
/entry/japans-high-recycling-rate-plastic/.
Robbins, P. (2020). Political ecology: A Critical Introduction. Wiley-Blackwell.
Sullivan, O. (2020, August 5). Can Cities Go Zero-waste? One Japanese Town Tried. The
Revelator. https://therevelator.org/cities-zero-waste/
Wagner, T. P. (2017). Reducing single-use plastic shopping bags in the USA. Waste
Management, 70, 3–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2017.09.003
https://www.austintexas.gov/department/climate-change
If you want to learn more about the Austin plastic ban you can go read this article by the texas tribune( https://www.texastribune.org/2018/06/22/texas-supreme-court-rules-bag-bans/). They talk more in depth about why this ban on plastic bags was important. They also talked about why the ban was seen as something that was bad for people.
As for big corporate companies, ExxonMobil continues to be a thorn in the climate change movement, not just in Texas, but in the world. They create more harm than good, which does not help the plastic recycling industry at large. Especially in the wake of their announcement to build an advanced recycling center in Baytown, TX.
Additionally, the oil and gas company continues to find themselves on the wrong side of the law, in that they have been sued dozens of times throughout the years and are constantly involved in scandals. Here is an article regarding the latest of one such lawsuit. It dismantles ExxonMobil’s altruistic ways as it has come to light that they were misleading consumers on their impact on climate change. Therefore, proving that they do engage in greenwashing tactics in order to protect their capital interest and image. (https://www.reuters.com/business/exxon-must-face-massachusetts-lawsuit-alleging-climate-change-deceit-2021-06-23/)
Bibliography
City of Austin. (2020). Plastics recycling. Plastics recycling | AustinTexas.gov. Retrieved
December 10, 2021, from https://www.austintexas.gov/plastic.
ExxonMobil to build its first large-scale plastic waste advanced recycling facility. ExxonMobil.
(2021, October 11). Retrieved December 10, 2021, from https://corporate.exxonmo
bil.com/News/Newsroom/News-releases/2021/1011_ExxonMobil-to-build-its-first-large-s
cale-plastic-waste-advanced-recycling-facility.
Jaramillo, J. (2020, August 14). Is Japan's High Recycling Rate Enough? Earth Island Journal.
Retrieved December 10, 2021, from https://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/articles
/entry/japans-high-recycling-rate-plastic/.
Robbins, P. (2020). Political ecology: A Critical Introduction. Wiley-Blackwell.
Sullivan, O. (2020, August 5). Can Cities Go Zero-waste? One Japanese Town Tried. The
Revelator. https://therevelator.org/cities-zero-waste/
Wagner, T. P. (2017). Reducing single-use plastic shopping bags in the USA. Waste
Management, 70, 3–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2017.09.003