The “chasing arrows” symbol, created in 1970 by a college student inspired by the burgeoning environmental movement, has been stamped indiscriminately on plastic bottles, clamshell takeout containers, chip bags and more for decades. The majority of the items emblazoned with the mark have been virtually impossible to recycle for most people. California lawmakers say they want to end the charade: Under what’s known as the Truth in Recycling law, plastics cannot use the symbol if they aren’t collected by curbside programs serving 60 percent of Californians and sorted by facilities serving 60 percent of the state’s recycling programs (with some additional requirements). If the law goes into effect as scheduled on Oct. 4, more than half of the types of plastic packaging and products sold in the state can no longer carry the chasing arrows logo. That will affect plastic films, foam, PVC and mixed plastics. California is one of many states rewriting the rules for recycling to shift the burden onto manufacturers, rather than the public. It’s a good moment to rethink how you recycle plastic waste in your home and community — and push for what matters most.
Food and packaging groups have sued the state of California, calling the law a form of censorship whose vague restrictions violate the First Amendment and due process rights. “The law is already chilling speech and increasing costs as companies alter or remove recycling labels to avoid liability,” a coalition of packaging manufacturers, restaurants, dairy farmers and others argued in a March statement. Advocates of the law counter that corporations deliberately misled the public by turning the recycling symbol into a marketing device that masks the fact that only a small fraction of plastic packaging is ultimately recycled. “It doesn’t mean anything,” said Saabira Chaudhuri, a former Wall Street Journal reporter and author of the book, “Consumed: How Big Brands Got Us Hooked on Plastic.” “If you go back to the inception of [the symbol], it was never intended for consumers. … It was supposed to help recyclers sort plastics, including the nonrecyclable ones.” This fight over chasing arrows isn’t just about truth in advertising. California’s new law is the latest front in the U.S. battle to answer the question: Does plastic have to be recycled — or merely recyclable in theory?
If plastic packaging is to be recycled, then we’ll need massive new infrastructure and changes to our supply chains. If it’s mostly trash — less than 10 percent of all plastic waste has been recycled so far — then the tsunami of plastic engulfing society has nowhere to go but our bodies, the biosphere and landfill or incineration. Here’s what California’s case means for the future plastic and what you should throw in your blue recycling bin in the meantime. What else should I write about recycling? Email me climatecoach@washpost.com. I read all your emails.
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