To mark the World Recycling Day, Hi Cone highlights the difficulties that the citizen finds to recycle. The company of ring grouping systems for beverage containers has recently published the second report on 'The State of Plastic Recycling', https://cutt.ly/KbuAmnN, which explains the habits around plastic recycling in four countries: Spain, USA, UK and Mexico. The report addresses different aspects of recycling, such as the understanding that exists around the term of the circular economy and the problems that citizens face when recycling.
In addition, Hi-Cone supports and sponsors the first Plastic Museum in the world, 100% recyclable, created by Plastics and located in Madrid. On May 17 it will be dismantled and the entire museum (walls, ceilings, doors ...) will be reused and recycled, to later give it new uses. The aim is to show the vital role that plastics play in our lives and to show that we can give a second life through recycling.
According to the report, one of the factors, among others, that may explain the lack of recycling is the lack of consumer motivation: understanding what to recycle and how to recycle, and the facilities and infrastructure to do so. However, only slightly more than 20% of the respondents think that 75% or more of the material deposited in the containers is actually recycled. What's more: 79% think that less than half of the deposited material is recycled or even admit that they do not know how much is recycled.
An encouraging sign, despite the lack of understanding of the term circular economy (only 39% of Spaniards understand the meaning of the term), is that the participants in the study indicate behaviors that conform to their objectives. Almost two-thirds of the participants say they recycle 75% or more of their plastic waste, while the remaining third do recycle all of their plastic waste.
Good infrastructure in Spain
The 2020 report on the state of plastic recycling showed that Spaniards led in recycling in public places, as 89% of citizens claimed to use the city's recycling bins, ahead of Mexicans (75%), British ( 63%) and Americans (59%). This is mainly because Spain It is one of the countries with the most solid recycling infrastructure: there are around 390.611 yellow containers, or what is the same, every 100 meters there is a container where each citizen can deposit their plastic containers, cans and briks.
