Plastic products cost us, even after we’re done with them — That’s because municipal recycling is paid with taxpayer money. But could the companies that made these products be responsible for paying for them?

Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall.

Here in the US, after we buy something, it’s up to us to make sure the packaging ends up in the right recycling bin or trash can.

On top of that— we pay for that recycling and trash pick-up— through our taxes. Is there another way to share the responsibility for our waste?

Will Malloy and Isha Thakkar from our Possibly team are here to tell us about another option.

Will Malloy: Hi Megan!

Isha Thakkar: Hi!

Megan Hall: So, how are we going to share this responsibility for our trash and recycling?

Will Malloy: Well, there’s an idea out there that the companies that make a product should be responsible for that product for its entire life.

Isha Thakkar: Including after we’re done with it — like making sure products and their packages are properly disposed of and recycled when possible.

Will Malloy: The technical term for this is “extended producer responsibility.”

Megan Hall: Why should my trash be a company’s responsibility?

Will Malloy: We talked to plastic pollution researcher and policy expert Dr. Sherri Mason, to understand this idea. She told us to imagine you’ve bought a bottle of shampoo–

Sherri Mason: You wanted the shampoo, not the bottle that it came in, but you got that bottle, usually plastic, as a consequence of wanting the product.

Will Malloy: Buying the shampoo means you have to buy the bottle, too — so you’re also paying for the cost of producing that bottle and shipping it to the store where you bought it.

Isha Thakkar: And once you’re done with the shampoo…

Sherri Mason: Now you also have to pay to get rid of the bottle? The recycling infrastructure of the United States uses taxpayer money. It is taxpayer funded. So we are funding the waste that is associated with the plastics industry.

Will Malloy: She says, one of the problems with this system is that it doesn’t give companies any incentive to cut back on wasteful packaging or make sure products are recycled properly.

Isha Thakkar: They’re not paying for it, so it’s not really their problem.

Megan Hall: I get the idea, but how does that actually work in practice?

Isha Thakkar: Extended producer responsibility is really a policy strategy — and it’s gaining popularity across Europe and in Canada.

Will Malloy: When it comes to packaging, it’s not super widespread here in the United States as of now, But seven states have laws on the books and a number of others are considering legislation in 2026.

Isha Thakkar: These types of laws can work in two different ways.

Will Malloy: One approach is to charge companies fees or fines when they make plastic products.

 Isha Thakkar: That money can be used to pay for and expand municipal recycling programs.

Megan Hall: What’s the other way?

Will Malloy: Other laws influence the materials companies can use to make their products.

Isha Thakkar: Maybe they have to use recycled materials, or make sure their materials are recyclable.

Will Malloy: A bill being considered in New York would require producers to gradually reduce the amount of single-use plastic packaging they use by 30%.

Megan Hall: Do these laws affect all products?

Isha Thakkar: No. As of now, they focus on things like packaging, paper products, or beverage containers — the kinds of things that can be reasonably made out of 100% recyclable material.

Will Malloy: Sherri says, it makes sense to push companies to make the switch.

Sherri Mason: You shouldn’t have to pay for the disposal of this plastic item that you never really wanted to begin with, and you already paid. And so that should really be on the onus of the corporations that are manufacturing and putting this plastic into your life.

Isha Thakkar: Extended producer responsibility shifts the pressure onto those companies to either cut back on unnecessary waste or pay the price for dealing with that waste once you’re done with it.

Will Malloy: These kinds of laws are definitely complex, but they do work in other countries. And it’s a new way of thinking about how to slow down the flow of plastic in our lives.

Megan Hall: Got it. Thanks for looking into this!

That’s it for today. You can find more information, or ask a question about the way your choices affect our planet, at askpossibly.org. You can also subscribe to Possibly wherever you get your podcasts or follow us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Bluesky at  “askpossibly”

Possibly is a co-production of Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society, Ocean State Media, and WBRU.

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Hospitals have to use a lot of single-use plastics to deliver care for patients. In today’s episode, we look at how one is cutting down through their medical plastics recycling initiative.

Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall.

If you’ve ever been to a hospital, you know how much plastic there is all around. From syringes, IV bags, catheters, test kits, gloves, scalpels, the list goes on. But, there’s some good news. Some hospitals are now finding innovative ways to reduce the amount of plastic that ends up in the trash.

We had Hamid Torabzadeh and Charlie Adams from our Possibly Team look into this.

Hamid Torabzadeh: Hi, Megan!

Charlie Adams: Hello!

Megan Hall: So when you’re at the hospital, you might see a lot of plastic getting thrown out, but how big of a problem is this?

Hamid Torabzadeh: In the U.S., health care facilities create about 14,000 tons of garbage every day.

Charlie Adams: That’s almost 2% of all municipal waste.

Hamid Torabzadeh: And about one quarter of that is plastic.

Megan Hall: That’s a lot!

Charlie Adams: It is! So to try to reduce this waste, the folks at the University of Michigan Health started a program to recycle more of these plastics.

Hamid Torabzadeh: And specifically, they zeroed in on waste in the operating room – one of the biggest sources of plastic.

Charlie Adams: To learn more, we talked with Christopher Victory, the Health Sustainability Consultant at U of M Health.

Hamid Torabzadeh: He says his first step was to get buy-in from the frontline healthcare workers in the operating room:

Christopher Victory: They’re there with their number one priority is to, in a sense, perform miracles inside operating rooms. We don’t want to make this hard to do. So it needs to be seamless and easy.

Charlie Adams: To do that, the U of M team developed a simple recycling system.

Hamid Torabzadeh: It turned a container that used to be used for garbage into one for all commingled recyclables.

Megan Hall: What are commingled recyclables?

Hamid Torabzadeh: Commingled simply means different types of plastics can all go into one bin while in the operating room.

Charlie Adams: They are then separated and sorted by the recycling facility based on how they can be recycled.

Hamid Torabzadeh: This makes it super simple for healthcare workers so they can focus on patient care.

Megan Hall: Great! And what exactly can be recycled?

Charlie Adams: Good question. U of M mainly recycles soft medical plastics that are used to package supplies.

Hamid Torabzadeh: That includes the so-called “blue wrap” commonly used to package surgical tools like scalpels after they’ve been sterilized.

Charlie Adams: Healthcare providers can also recycle rigid plastics like those kidney-shaped containers used to collect supplies during surgeries. That is, as long as they aren’t contaminated.

Megan Hall: Is there any risk of contamination with these plastics?

Hamid Torabzadeh: No. Christopher explains why:

Christopher Victory: We’re collecting this pre-case. So before there’s a patient wheeled in here, all these supplies are opened up and getting ready for the case. So it’s really easy to kind of collect those in a sterile environment, and we don’t have to worry about blood or bodily fluids contaminating this material.

Megan Hall: Got it. And has the program made an impact yet?

Hamid Torabzadeh: In just a six-month pilot at two hospitals, healthcare workers collected and recycled over 2.5 tons of plastic material.

Charlie Adams: And Christopher says that number has grown to 11 tons since the pilot ended.

Megan Hall: How does that compare to the amount of trash they usually throw out?

Hamid Torabzadeh: We couldn’t get that number from the hospital, so it’s tough to say how much of an impact it’s having.

Charlie Adams: But either way, that’s a lot of plastic that would have ended up in the landfill before this program.

Megan Hall: So why can’t all hospitals do this?

Hamid Torabzadeh: You read my mind! Christopher has some thoughts:

Christopher Victory: It’s very difficult to do recycling in a healthcare environment.  We’re highly regulated. Space constraints. Of course, patient care is number one.

Charlie Adams: But with creativity and collaboration, he says others can follow their lead.

Hamid Torabzadeh: His advice – learn about what other medical centers are doing, find trusted recycling partners, and get buy-in from frontline healthcare teams.

Megan Hall: Got it! Thanks, Hamid and Charlie!

That’s it for today. You can find more information, or ask a question about the way your choices affect our planet, at askpossibly.org. You can also subscribe to Possibly wherever you get your podcasts or follow us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, or Bluesky at  “askpossibly”

Possibly is a co-production of Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society, Brown’s Climate Solutions Initiative, and The Public’s Radio.

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Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems, like the future of our planet, and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall. 

Today’s question comes from a listener here in Rhode Island. They’ve been following local efforts to pass a bottle bill- that’s where you get money back when you return your bottles and cans. They’re wondering, do these programs really work? 

We had Juliana Merullo and Will Malloy from our Possibly team look into this question! 

Juliana Merullo: Hiya Megan! 

Will Malloy: Hey there! 

Megan Hall: So, tell me more about these “bottle bills” How do they work? 

Juliana Merullo: Bottle bills create what’s known as “Deposit recycling programs”. Right now they exist in 10 states across the US. 

Will Malloy: Each state has a slightly different version, but it’s basically a law that establishes a deposit system for drink containers made of aluminum, plastic, or glass. 

Juliana Merullo: When you buy one of these drinks in a store, the price includes a small deposit charge, anywhere from 5 to 15 cents. Then when you bring empty containers back to a store or return center for recycling, you get that deposit back! 

Megan Hall: This sounds like a pretty good way to encourage people to recycle. Does it work? 

Juliana Merullo: Good question! To find out, we spoke with Caroline Cecot. She’s a law professor at George Mason University who’s published studies looking into how effective these bills really are. She says, 

Caroline Cecot: Studies show that bottle bills are an effective way to increase recycling of covered materials, and even sometimes uncovered materials.

Megan Hall: Uncovered materials?

Juliana Merullo: That means even products like paper that aren’t part of the deposit program get recycled more too!

Megan Hall: How big of a difference do these bills make?

Will Malloy:  Well, recycling rates for glass bottles are more than 20% higher in states that have bottle bills versus states that don’t.

Megan Hall: Ok, but how do we know it’s actually the bottle bills that make the difference? 

Juliana Merullo: We asked Caroline the same thing. 

Caroline Cecot: One study that I like looked at those people who moved from a state without a bottle bill into a state that actually has a bottle bill, and that study found that their recycling increased by 41%, which is a big effect if you think about it. And this suggests that the law is what makes a difference.

Will Malloy: Another example comes from Oregon and Connecticut, which both had bottle bills, but expanded them in 2009 to include plastic water bottles. 

Juliana Merullo: Researchers compared plastic bottle recycling rates before and after the law was changed, and found that there was a 15% increase in recycling once that small incentive was in place. 

Will Malloy: And it turns out there are other benefits to these programs beyond just recycling rates! 

Juliana Merullo: When you bring your containers to a redemption center, you feed them into a machine one by one. But they can get rejected if they’re dirty or not totally empty.

Will Malloy: This means that these recyclables are often cleaner than the same containers in curbside pickup, making them more likely to actually be recycled! 

Juliana Merullo: These bills have also been found to reduce litter! Anyone can turn in containers to get the deposit back, even if they didn’t buy it in the first place. When I was a kid growing up in Massachusetts, I used to pick up cans and bottles on the side of the road to turn in for pocket money! 

Megan Hall: So why don’t all states have these programs? 

Will Malloy: Some people argue that curbside recycling programs are much more convenient for people, and therefore make it more likely that people will actually recycle at all! 

Megan Hall: Is that true?

Will Malloy: Well, curbside recycling accepts more than just drink containers, and the two programs don’t have to be mutually exclusive! 

Juliana Merullo: But the beverage industry is the loudest critic of bottle bills. They have outspent supporters of these programs 30 to 1 when these laws are brought to state or federal lawmakers. 

Will Malloy: They argue that increasing the price of the bottles and cans with the deposit will reduce sales, and that it unfairly targets people who might not have the time or resources to bring the containers back for recycling. 

Juliana Merullo: But one study found that when you compared New England states with and without bottle bills, there was no difference in drink prices.  

Will Malloy: Caroline did say it’s important for policy-makers to consider the impacts of the deposit on lower income individuals.

Juliana Merullo: But this can be addressed with education and by increasing the number of return centers.

Megan Hall: Ok, so overall it seems like these bottle bills are actually a pretty effective way to boost recycling and reduce litter! 

Will Malloy: Definitely!

Megan Hall: That’s it for today. For more information, to find out more about the way your choices affect our planet, go to thepublicsradio.org/possibly. 

You can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook or X at  “askpossibly”

Possibly is a co-production of The Public’s Radio and Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society, and Brown Climate Solutions Initiative. 

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Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall. 

Today, we’re talking about textiles. In the past, we’ve covered how to give you gently used clothes a second life. But what about that ripped sweatshirt or pillowcase you accidentally bleached? We’re wondering – is it possible to recycle damaged clothes or fabrics?

We had Fatima Husain and Ashley Junger from our Possibly Team look into this. Welcome, Fatima and Ashley! 

Fatima Husain: Hi, Megan! 

Ashley Junger: Hello! 

Megan Hall: So, Fatima: what can we do with these clothing items that are a little worse-for-wear? 

Fatima Husain: Great question. If you can’t find ways to repurpose those fabrics at home, you don’t necessarily have to throw them into the trash.

Ashley Junger: In 2018, over 11 million tons of textiles, including damaged fabrics, made their way into US landfills – that’s nearly 8% of all municipal solid waste in the country- the kind of everyday trash you throw into the trashcan at home or work.

Fatima Husain: That waste has an impact. In addition to filling landfills, the breakdown of natural fiber-based fabrics such as cotton or wool can contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. When fabric is made from plastic fibers like polyester or nylon, they can break down into tiny pieces of plastic. 

Ashley Junger: Textile recycling, on the other hand, keeps fabrics out of the dump. And in some places, it’s practically required – in 2022, Massachusetts made it illegal to throw out most textiles in landfills. 

Megan Hall: Got it. So how does textile recycling work? 

Fatima Husain: Here’s the gist: certain charities^,, thrift stores, or for-profit companies collect these textiles and then the fabrics get sorted into grades with different destinations. 

Ashley Junger: Fabrics that aren’t nice enough to sell might get exported and processed into wiping cloths, building insulation, or recycled back into fiber for other uses. 

Fatima Husain: And once old textiles are no longer usable or recyclable, they may eventually get burned, or sent to the landfill.

Ashley Junger: Essentially, recycling textiles keeps them out of the waste stream longer. But the process for recycling them isn’t always transparent or air-tight, so fabrics at every stage of the process could still end up in a landfill. 

Fatima Husain: That means, there still isn’t a perfect system for used textiles.

Ashley Junger: So if this is a topic that really matters to you, it’s best to start from the beginning: Buy clothes and fabrics that last, take care of them, and repair them instead of giving them away. 

Megan Hall: But when I do have fabrics to recycle, what are my options like? 

Ashley Junger: To learn more, we spoke with— 

Jennifer McAuslin: I’m Jennifer McAuslin. I am the director of Donation Center Operations at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Rhode Island.

Fatima Husain: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Rhode Island has been collecting reusable clothing for decades, but they also take damaged textiles. 

Jennifer McAuslin: We can take items that are ripped, stained, torn, mismatched, you know, give us your mismatched socks, give us you know, top half to your pajama set. As long as they’re clean and odorless, we can absolutely take them. 

Ashley Junger: The money they earn from these textiles helps fund their local mentorship programs and nonprofit partners. Jennifer says that over 95% of the donations they collect, including damaged fabrics, can be recycled or resold one way or another. 

Fatima Husain: In 2023, that meant the organization diverted nearly 2 thousand tons of cloth from the Rhode Island Central Landfill. 

Megan Hall: Wow – 2 thousand tons! That’s a lot.

Ashley Junger: It is, but there’s still room for improvement.  

Megan Hall: But what if I live somewhere else and I can’t donate to Big Brothers Big Sisters? 

Ashley Junger: They’re just one organization that does this. A lot of nonprofits that collect used clothes also recycle textiles too. 

Fatima Husain: And if you don’t have local non-profits or charitable organizations that accept damaged fabric,  just search online. There’s a growing number of companies that have drop-off bins or mail-in programs. 

Megan Hall: Got it! That’s it for today. For more information, or to ask a question about the way your choices affect our planet, go to thepublicsradio.org/possibly. Or subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.

You can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook or X at “ask possibly” 

Possibly is a co-production of Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society, Brown’s Climate Solutions Initiative, and the Public’s Radio.

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This story originally aired in December 2022

Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall. 

Today, we have a question from a listener named Susan. She wants to know about gift wrapping: 

“Is it better for the environment to wrap Christmas gifts in fabric you can use over again rather than paper?”

We had Harrison Katz and Juliana Merullo from our Possibly team look into this question. 

Harrison Katz: Hi, Megan!

Juliana Merullo: Hey there! 

Megan Hall: So, should I be stocking up on paper or fabric this holiday season? 

Harrison Katz: Well, wrapping paper is definitely the more popular choice. An estimated 4.6 million pounds of wrapping paper is produced in the U.S. each year.

Megan Hall: Woah! That’s a lot more than I thought. But most of it is recycled, right?

Juliana Merullo: Actually, about half of it ends up in landfills. While paper in general is very recyclable, wrapping paper is often an exception. Many wrapping papers have metallic finishes, glitters, or ribbons. Those are not recyclable.

Harrison Katz: In fact, putting too much of that metallic wrapping paper in the recycling bin can contaminate an entire truckload of recycling, which means everything in that load has to be thrown away.

Megan Hall: What’s the environmental impact of just normal paper without metallics or glitters? 

Juliana Merullo: Normally, making a pound of wrapping paper emits about 3 and a half pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. 

Harrison Katz: Recycling a sheet of paper saves about 60 percent of those emissions. That’s good, but still not 100 percent. 

Megan Hall: And how do those numbers compare to fabric?

Juliana Merullo: Present wrapping with fabric is actually a lot more common than you’d think. It’s a Japanese tradition known as Furoshiki, which has been practiced for more than a millennium.

Harrison Katz: Furoshiki fabrics are usually silk or cotton, but can also be polyester.

Megan Hall: And which of those materials is best? 

Juliana Merullo: They’re about the same in terms of emissions – roughly 20 pounds of carbon dioxide per pound of wrapping, so about 5 or 6 six times as much as paper.  

Harrison Katz: That means fabric can be a good alternative, but only if you’re going to reuse it for many years.

Megan Hall: Paper is better than reusable fabric? That’s pretty counterintuitive.

Juliana Merullo: That’s only if you’re talking about NEW fabric. Re-using fabrics like old table cloths gives them a second life and doesn’t create new emissions. 

Harrison Katz: It’s always better to repurpose than recycle, just like it’s better to recycle than throw something away.

Juliana Merullo: In fact, a lot of holiday items can be tricky to recycle, like tissue paper and some holiday cards.

Harrison Katz: Tissue paper doesn’t have the same contamination or greenhouse gas emissions as decorated wrapping paper, but the paper fibers are too thin to be used again, so it can’t be recycled.

Juliana Merullo: And while cards can usually be recycled, they often are coated with glitter. Glitter is definitely something to avoid.

Megan Hall: So, what do we tell Susan?

Harrison Katz: Re-using materials is the best choice. If she likes the look of fabric, Susan can go through her closets for old clothing or pillowcases that can be turned into festive wrapping!

Juliana Merullo: If she prefers paper, she can try decorating old paper bags from the supermarket.

Harrison Katz: If re-using is too much work, her best choice is buying recycled wrapping paper, just make sure to avoid the kind with metallic finishes or glitter.

Juliana Merullo: And for tissue paper and holiday cards, definitely reuse as much of the tissue paper as possible, and purchase holiday cards made only with paper.

Megan Hall: Great! Thanks, Harrison and Juliana! 

That’s it for today. For more information, or to ask a question about the way your choices affect our planet, go to the public’s radio dot org slash possibly. Or subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. 

You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter- at “ask possibly” 

Possibly is a co-production of the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, Brown’s Climate Solutions Initiative, and the Public’s Radio.

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Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall. 

Summer is the perfect season to kick back and crack open a cold one. But, when you’re trying to pick the perfect beer, do you ever wonder whether it’s better to drink it from a bottle or a can?

We had Isha Chawla and Fatima Husain from our Possibly Team look into this. Welcome, Isha and Fatima! 

Isha Chawla: Hi, Megan! 

Fatima Husain: Hello! 

Megan Hall: So, what does the science say about the difference between bottles and cans?  

Isha Chawla: To find out, we started by talking to Jennifer Brinton of Grey Sail Brewing, in Westerly, Rhode Island. She says Grey Sail doesn’t just brew their beer, they package it too.  

Jennifer Brinton: We were always the packaging brewery. We started with that model.

Isha Chawla: Jennifer says they split their brew about equally between kegs and aluminum cans.

Fatima Husain: In fact, nearly all of the craft breweries in RI sell their beer in cans.

Megan Hall: Why is that?

Isha Chawla: Well, Jennifer says if someone’s taking their beer on a hike or to an outdoor cookout, it’s safer to carry it in a can. 

Jennifer Brinton: It’s a lot easier for us to pick up a can that’s left behind crushed or stepped on or whatever, than it is to pick a broken glass.

Megan Hall: Okay, so that helps with trash and littering, but what about greenhouse gas emissions? Does it take more energy to make an aluminum can or a glass bottle?

Isha Chawla: Some researchers in the UK had that exact same question. They found that the emissions associated with making enough glass to hold a liter of beer were about 1.5 times the emissions used to make an aluminum can for the same amount of liquid.  

Megan: So, cans win again. What about recycling? 

Fatima Husain: Well, in a side-by-side comparison, it takes more energy to recycle glass than it does to recycle aluminum.

Isha Chawla: And, in the US, glass doesn’t get recycled as much as aluminum does. 

Megan: So, when I drink out of an aluminum can, how much of that aluminum is new, and how much of it is recycled? 

Fatima Husain: To find out, we reached out to Ball Manufacturing — the company that makes cans for many different beer companies, and they told us that their cans are made of around 70% recycled aluminum.

Megan Hall: Another win for cans! What about the emissions that come from delivering them from breweries to stores? 

Fatima Husain: Jennifer from Grey Sail Brewing says it’s definitely cheaper to transport cans

Jennifer Brinton: because it’s so much more lightweight on the shipping end cans are always more cost-effective than bottles

Isha Chawla: And that translates to fewer emissions too. Because aluminum cans are so much lighter than glass bottles, and they take up less space, trucks can carry more of them per trip. 

Fatima Husain: And that means it takes more gas to distribute the same amount of beer if it’s in glass bottles. The emissions associated with transporting glass bottles get worse the further the beer has to travel.   

Isha Chawla: Glass bottles also need more packaging, because they’re so fragile. 

Megan Hall: Ok, but what about those plastic rings that connect the cans? Don’t they harm marine life?

Isha Chawla: Yeah, they can, but there is an easy answer. Take a pair of scissors and cut the six-pack pack holders so they don’t have any rings. It’s those circles of plastic that catch and suffocate marine life.  

Fatima Husain: And there are also some innovative solutions out there. Grey Sail Brewing already uses hard plastic tops to keep cans together.  

Isha Chawla: Some companies are even making biodegradable rings.

Megan Hall: So, it sounds like I should drink my beer out of a can? 

Fatima Husain: Yes, but, actually, the best option is to skip the packaging altogether and drink from the tap — but that only works if you have access to a keg. 

Isha Chawla: So, if that’s not an option, you can opt for cans. 

Fatima Husain: But most importantly: buy local! Especially if you’re drinking from bottles, because it takes significantly more emissions to truck them around. 

Megan Hall: Great! Thanks, Isha and Fatima! 

That’s it for today. For more information, or to ask a question about the way you recycle, use energy, or make any other choice that affects the planet, go to the public’s radio dot org slash possibly. 

Possibly is a co-production of the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society and the Public’s Radio.

RI breweries that package in cans:

Newport Craft

Ravenous Brewing

Gray Sail Brewing

Isle Brewers

Proclamation Ale Company

Fool Proof Brewing

Tilted Barn Brewery

Revival Brewing

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Straws, like most plastics, are made using fossil fuels and cannot be recycled. However, they are not the biggest problem when it comes to plastic waste that ends up in landfills or the ocean. If you use straws every day, they might be a significant part of your impact. A good way to reduce waste is to find which disposable, single-use items you use the most and try to cut back on them.

Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall. Today we’re talking about plastic straws.

Megan Hall: You might have noticed that a lot of cafes are replacing plastic straws with paper straws or offering metal or glass straws instead. They’re sort of having a moment right now. But not everybody is excited about this idea.

Isabelle Doyle: They don’t work. You can’t drink liquid through a paper straw.

Megan Hall: That’s Isabelle Doyle, a Brown student, and she was not happy when the university replaced plastic straws with paper straws. So here’s the question: why are so many people talking about banning straws right now and how much of a difference does skipping the straw actually make?

Megan Hall: I have Lauren Black and Molly Magid in the studio today. They’re part of the Possibly team and they looked into the answer.

Megan Hall: Welcome Lauren and Molly.

Molly Magid: Hi Megan.

Lauren Black: Thanks for having us.

Megan Hall: So what did you find out?

Lauren Black: So one problem with plastic straws is that, like most plastics they’re made from fossil fuels and they take a long time to break down. So they can stay in landfills or the ocean for hundreds of years. And this issue of straws ending up in the ocean is what’s really gotten the anti-straw movement going.

Molly Magid: But the thing is that straws are only a small percentage of the trash. Only about four percent of the plastic in the ocean, and ahead of those are plastic bottles and bottle caps, plastic bags and many other items.

Megan Hall: So if plastic straws don’t make up a big percentage of the trash in the ocean, then why is everyone making such a big deal about them?

Lauren Black: So to figure that out we talked to Dave McLoughlin, who’s on the task force to tackle plastics created by Gina Raimondo this past summer. And here’s what he said.

Dave McLoughlin: I would say two things about straws. The first one is the topic of recycling, right?

Lauren Black: So unlike other disposable plastic items, plastic straws can’t be recycled and because of that, if you put them in the recycling by accident, they can actually mess up the whole thing and make it so that the load is too contaminated and everything has to go to the landfill.

Megan Hall: So if you think you’re doing the right thing by recycling a straw, you’re actually making the problem worse?

Lauren Black: Yes.

Megan Hall: Dave said that there were two problems. What was the other one?

Molly Magid: Well, straws are one of the easiest kinds of plastics to get rid of. Some people with disabilities do need straws but for most people it’s totally optional. So if you think about when you’re getting an iced coffee you do need that plastic cup to hold the coffee. But, you don’t need to drink it with a straw.

Lauren Black: And if you just really love straws, or you’re like Isabelle and you hate the paper ones, you can get a reusable one and bring it with you.

Megan Hall: So it sounds like you’re saying that plastic straws aren’t like the biggest problem for trash in the ocean, but it’s not that hard to get rid of them, so why not?

Molly Magid: Yeah, and if you stop using straws that’s great. But as we said there are a lot of other kinds of plastic trash out there, so you should look at your grocery bags and forks and random packaging that you use and try to figure out what you can cut down on.

Lauren Black: Yeah. Everyone has something that they could use less of. Even Dave.

Dave McLoughlin: I will share with you that I use too many paper towels a week, it’s just something I do. Maybe I could say it’s a clean habit to have, but I got to break it.

Lauren Black: So basically you need to look at your own habits and see what you can use less of and if you use plastic straws every day that actually might be one of your biggest things to cut down on. But if you only use like one straw a month but you never bring your own bags to the grocery store, probably focus on getting a reusable bag first.

Megan Hall: Great. Well thank you, Molly and Lauren for looking into this question.

Megan Hall That’s it for today. To ask a question about the way you recycle, use energy or make any other choice that affects the planet, ask on our question page.

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In Rhode Island, glass is not recycled because many of the companies that used to buy recycled glass bottles and jars are now using plastic instead because it’s cheaper. Now, the glass that goes to the recycling center in Rhode Island is crushed up and used to cover the landfill every night. So while the glass isn’t being recycled, it is being reused.

Transcript:

Megan: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers.

Megan: Here at Possibly, we’ve gotten a lot of questions about recycling, so we’re going spend a few episodes on this topic. Today, we have a question from listener Lisa Malone. Lisa’s really into recycling, but recently she heard something that made her worried:

Lisa: Well several years ago, I had heard that the glass recycling in Rhode Island wasn’t actually getting recycled. And it bummed me out because I think glass is one of those things that can be recycled forever. 

Megan: So Lisa wants to know: Is it true that Rhode Island’s glass isn’t getting recycled?

Megan: Producer Lauren Black is part of the Possibly team and looked into this question…. Welcome Lauren!

Megan: So Lauren, what did you find out? 

Lauren: Well, to answer Lisa’s question, we actually took a trip to the place that handles all our recycling: the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Center. And the staff there told us that it’s true: at the moment, none of the glass we put in our recycling bins here in Rhode Island is actually getting recycled.

Megan: Really?

Lauren: Yup.

Megan: Why?

Lauren: Well, we talked to Krystal Noiseux, the recycling center’s Education and Outreach Manager, and she said that for something to be recycled, there has to be a manufacturer who wants to buy it. If there’s no buyer for glass, the people at Resource Recovery can’t recycle it, even if they want to.

Krystal Noiseux: It’s not us waking up in the morning and deciding what you can recycle.

Lauren: And unfortunately, at the moment, the market for recycled glass is tough. Over the years, tons of companies that used to put their products in glass bottles and jars have switched to plastic because it’s cheaper. That means fewer and fewer manufacturers are buying recycled glass, and recycling centers all over New England have had to start putting their glass in landfills.

Megan: So what’s happening with our glass? Is it just going into the landfill?

Lauren: It is–but it turns out it’s not actually going to waste. Krystal drove us on a tour of the landfill to explain exactly where the glass is going these days.

Lauren: You’re actually seeing right here the open, active part of the landfill

Lauren: So when you drive up to the landfill, you see some piles of trash alongside other parts that are covered with things like big plastic tarps. Krystal says for health and safety reasons, the landfill has to be covered every night with six to eight inches of material.

Krystal Noiseux: So it can’t just be an open pit of trash. it’s part of keeping the surrounding air water wildlife and people safe.

Lauren: So, instead buying new materials to do that, they’ve been using crushed up glass as cover. They sprinkle it on top of the dump every night, scrape it off in the morning, and then reuse it the next night..

Megan: So, the glass isn’t being recycled in the way you might think- but it is being reused.

Lauren: Right.

Megan: Thank you, Lauren!

Megan: That’s it for today. If you have a question about the way you recycle, use energy, or make any other choice that affects the planet, tell us about it using the form on our question page.

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Megan: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall.

You might have heard that China recently stopped taking the world’s recycling, leaving some confusion about where that recycling is going now. 

So we wondered, does our recycling here in Rhode Island still have somewhere to go?

We have Lauren Black from our Possibly team to answer this question.

Lauren: Hi Megan

Megan: So, what did you learn? Is our waste actually getting recycled?

Lauren: Well, in short… 

Marcel: It’s not a good time to be in the recycling business. 

Lauren: That’s Marcel Lussier. He works at the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Center. He says China’s decision has had a dramatic impact.   

Marcel: China represented 40 percent of the market before they made the changes.

Lauren: Those changes started in 2017. Basically, the Chinese government decided that our recycling was too dirty- mixed in with the paper and plastic we were sending over was a bunch of trash. So, it stopped taking our recycling. And that’s affected prices.

Megan: By how much?

Lauren: In 2010, Rhode Island’s recycling center could sell a ton of paper for about $144. Now, it has to pay $3 a ton to get paper mills to take it away.

Marcel:  But we’re fortunate and happy that we’re at least selling material. 

Lauren: Other parts of the US can’t even sell their recycling. So, the short answer is: yes, Rhode Island is still recycling. But it’s much more expensive than it used to be. 

Megan: So, will we just continue to pay to send away our recycling? Or can we convince China to start buying it again?

Lauren: It’s not about convincing China. It’s about doing a better job at recycling. Because, if we can keep our recycling “clean” and stop putting stuff in the blue bin that doesn’t belong there, we’re more likely to find buyers for those materials. 

Megan: Thank you Lauren!

If you have a question about the way you recycle, use energy, or make any other choice that affects the planet, tell us about it here.

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