Are Your Online Purchases Literally Killing Us All?

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My name is Ethan Hu, I am an eighth-grader at BWYA (Beijing World Youth Academy). I enjoy playing soccer and clarinet. I am very passionate about learning more about our environment. I attend a club at school called Waste Magician, in which we made a composite from the leftovers from the dining hall.

Today, Ethan would like to share an important message with us.

Unless you have been living under a rock, you're probably aware of the recent efforts of countries and organizations to change the state of environmental issues.

If you look at the 17 Sustainable Development Goals advocated by the United Nations, it can be argued that half of the 17 goals are, in some way, associated with environmental issues. Phrases such as regulating emissions and renewable energy probably jump out to you instantly. These phrases are used so often that they have become some of the clichés of the 21st century – in a good way of course. Often the solution to tackling climate change that gets the most publicity is using electric vehicles (or other vehicles utilizing renewable energy) and taking more public transportation. While it's important to look at climate change on a macro scale, it's also crucial to remember that micro actions yield macro results.

When someone says the word “recycling,” the first things that probably come to mind are plastic bottles and cardboard boxes. You are right to think this. Plastic, cardboard, and paper are some of the most used and recycled materials. If you look at paper alone, 66 percent of the paper generated in 2017 was recycled. Plastic, on the other hand, is an odd one. Unlike cardboard and paper, plastic is a synthetic material, and all plastics have a different compound structure, which means they require different recycling processes.

The plastic used to make plastic bottles is recyclable, but what about polystyrene, which is used to make Styrofoam boxes?

Though the valiant effort of all countries and organizations to impose regulations and advocate for recycling is to be commended, something seems to be left out. If you or your family have ever had some delicious and fresh fish delivered to your door, you have probably noticed the lightweight white containers used. These are most probably Styrofoam boxes. They are light, cheap, and they do a great job maintaining the internal temperature to keep the food inside fresh.

During the Covid lockdowns in Beijing last year, many people purchased food online, which generated a lot of wasted Styrofoam boxes. As delivery businesses are advancing by leaps and bounds, Styrofoam products are dumped all over the globe. Unlike paper, which biodegrades completely in less than five months, or tin cans in less than 100 years, Styrofoam lasts 500 years physically, but chemically it lasts forever.

So, can Styrofoam be recycled? The answer is yes and no.

The reason plastic bottles are recycled all the time isn’t just because of what is scientifically true about the material, but it is also because of the fact that there is a market for it. People use countless plastic bottles every day, and of course there will be demands for technologies to make recycling bottles more effective.

You may argue that we produce and use countless Styrofoam objects too, so there must be a market for it. The problem with Styrofoam recycling is its “yield” and the profits involved. Styrofoam’s advantage of being lightweight is negative in terms of recycling because the material is 90 percent air. When it’s compressed and broken into smaller pieces, it is very inefficient to do so. Additionally, unlike cardboard boxes that can be folded, Styrofoam boxes are bulky and strong. They take up too much space to transport, and subsequently this becomes a reason for them not being recycled.

I recently interviewed two “waste dealers” close to my residential area to understand more about why recycling middlemen who buy recyclables and sell them to the recycling station don't even consider this “untouched money-making method.” Both dealers claim that transporting and dealing with Styrofoam is just unprofitable. A mid-sized truck can carry at most 200-300 kilograms of Styrofoam, and the profit is not comparable to the profit from cardboard and plastic bottles. This has resulted in kilotons of Styrofoam being littered around and dumped into landfills. Based on statistics, 30 percent of the current waste in landfills around the globe is Styrofoam!

However, it is impossible to provide any unrealistic solutions to this problem, such as completely abandoning the use of Styrofoam. Reducing the use of the material is currently the most realistic solution. Delivery companies can choose cold boxes that can be dropped off and reused instead of Styrofoam boxes.

Locally, restaurants can choose biodegradable paper plates and utensils, or, even better, reusable ones, instead of Styrofoam ones that can pose health issues. Even though reducing the usage is the better solution currently, recycling Styrofoam is not a complete fairytale. With efforts from all sides, reusing Styrofoam is possible and it can also be transformed into other goods.

You can do your part as well, by suppressing your craving to tear open the Styrofoam box and keeping it intact for the deliveryman to pick up and reuse.

Images: Ethan Hu, Pexels

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