The Media Pivots Away From ‘Recycling is Dying’ Message

07 May 2019 5:36 PM | Jen Dabbs (Administrator)

Recent article from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance referencing our colleagues from The Recycling Partnership and a statement from SERDC Executive Director, Will Sagar.

After months of articles and broadcasts telling Americans that recycling is dying, that the recycling fad is passing, a new message is emerging. Recycling is not dying although it has been severely challenged by both China’s import restrictions and a pervasive single stream system that is no longer sustainable.

The Recycling Partnership, comprised of leading national brand name companies is reassuring the country that recycling is here to stay in its Earth Day messaging:

"Many of the opponents of recycling like to focus solely on the economics of collection and sortation. In doing this, they fail to account for the environmental and societal benefits of recycling that are crucial to our planet’s survival."

A CityLab article concludes: In any case, there are strategies that local programs can use, either separately or in combination, to find their way back to health and continue recycling waste. China’s policy change may not represent the much-feared “end of recycling” in the U.S. so much as an inflection point.

Will Sagar, executive director of the Southeast Recycling Development Council, issued the following corrective statement declaring, “Recycling is troubled, but not dead”.

Recent articles in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, accurately point out that there are problems in recycling programs, but any inference taken that discounts the value of recycling to our economy is in error.

Read More

Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software