Blog by Hyeongchan Kim
Students walking through the University of Kentucky campus, including the J. David Rosenberg College of Law, will likely encounter numerous trash bins designated for landfill or recycling. This arrangement reflects the University Recycling Program’s broader objective of becoming a zero-waste campus by encouraging both faculty and students to actively engage in waste reduction efforts.[i] Nevertheless, many students have observed others disposing of waste indiscriminately, throwing away recyclables despite clear signage indicating the appropriate bin for each type of material. This recurring behavior raises questions regarding the underlying causes: is it due to a lack of education, insufficient legislation, or simple indifference?
The United States is the largest generator of waste per capita worldwide, with each citizen producing an average of 808 kilograms (1,781 pounds) per year,[ii] yet only achieving a 32.1 percent recycling rate.[iii] While 32 percent might seem like a reasonable figure, it is significantly lower than other developed countries like Germany, Austria, and South Korea, where recycling rates range from 49 to 68 percent.[iv] One of the most problematic issues is contamination, which occurs when consumers fail to place the correct materials in the appropriate bins.[v] For example, if materials are put into the wrong bin or a dirty food container ends up in the recycling bin, those materials cannot be recycled and often end up being incinerated, an action that releases toxic emission into the atmosphere and causes harmful environmental outcomes.[vi] Further, companies engaged in recycling business (“recycling companies”) are reluctant to purchase recycled plastics because (1) they are not pure as virgin plastics, making them more difficult to recycle, and (2) virgin plastics are relatively chapter than recycled plastics.[vii]
What makes the situation even worse for the United States is its decade-long dependence on China for recycling.[viii] For instance, in 2016, China imported 16 million tons (nearly 32 billion pounds) of plastic, paper, and other materials from the United States alone.[ix] Because it was easy to export recyclable materials overseas, domestic recycling infrastructure in U.S. never fully developed, leaving the country without an economical or efficient way to manage recycling once the overseas market disappeared.[x] However, following the Chinese government’s 2018 ban on the importation of plastic and other recyclable materials, the United States was forced to urgently modify its recycling legislation.[xi]
The European Union (EU) waste policy has traditionally focused on increasing the separate collection of waste materials to facilitate recycling.[xii] This approach has been successful not only in improving waste management, but also in creating a supply push for recyclable materials in secondary markets.[xiii] For instance, Germany and Austria have both adopted the Pfand (deposit) system in which consumers pay an additional 0.25 Euros when purchasing items in plastic bottles but receive the 0.25 Euros back for each container returned to a designated collection point.[xiv] This system prevents the discarding of single-use containers in the environment and ensures that uncontaminated recyclables are available for the recycling process.[xv] The EU set a target for recycling 50 percent of plastic packaging by 2025 and 55 percent by 2030.[xvi]
South Korea has been an active participant in recycling, with separate collection bins for vinyl, PET bottles, Styrofoam, metals, and glass bottles.[xvii] In 2019, the South Korean government halted the sale of PVC plastic for food and beverage packaging, a material still widely used in the United States for packaging, including colored bottles, and adhesive labels that are hard to remove from the recycled materials.[xviii] Additionally, both the EU and South Korea have adopted Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging, which makes manufacturers both financially and operationally responsible for the post-consumer packaging waste they generate.[xix] In contrast, manufacturers in US have implemented voluntary programs to collect and recycle products, but these efforts have largely proven ineffective in capturing significant quantities of waste.[xx]
There has been some efforts at various levels in the U.S. to seriously address the problem of plastic pollution. In 2024, Congressmen Dr. Larry Bucshon (Republican, Indiana) and Don Davis (Democrat, North Carolina) introduced legislation aimed at increasing plastics recycling and preventing plastics from ending up in the environment.[xxi] The legislation focuses primarily on modernizing the nation’s outdated recycling infrastructure and the use of recycled materials in new products.[xxii] This reform would be beneficial, as the recycling systems used today in the U.S. still largely reflect the materials collected in the 1970s, which differ from what types of plastics are being used currently.[xxiii]
More specifically, in Kentucky, Governor Andy Beshear signed House Bill 45 in 2022, which benefits companies that break down recycled plastics into raw materials for use in new products.[xxiv] It makes Kentucky to become the 18th state to enact legislation that recognizes the important benefits of advanced recycling, which allows for more types of plastics to be recycled into top-quality new plastics compared to traditional recycling.[xxv] The HB 45 is expected to bring significant changes in reducing plastic waste while simultaneously creating new jobs for Kentuckians.[xxvi] The University of Kentucky also launched an interactive program tailored to the University’s waste disposal options. This program functions as a search engine that allows students to identify the correct disposal method for various items.[xxvii]
Each country implements new laws differently, depending on its political system and legislative procedures, and it would be inappropriate to directly transplant recycling systems from other countries into the U.S. Within the structure of federalism, the establishment of a standardized recycling system throughout the nation presents significant challenges. However, by looking at examples from other countries, such a system could yield substantial environmental benefits by increasing the volume of recyclable materials collected and facilitating greater consumer participation.[xxviii] If a standardized system is not feasible given the circumstances, educating the community about the importance of recycling and its impacts can serve as an effective alternative.
[i] Recycling, UK Facilities Mgmt, https://facilities.uky.edu/campus/facilities-services/recycling (last visited Sep. 19, 2024) [https://perma.cc/KUJ3-M2HC].
[ii] Global Waste Index 2019, Sensoneo, https://sensoneo.com/global-waste-index-2019/ (last visited Sep. 19, 2024) [https://perma.cc/N9UA-P9X6].
[iii] Frequent Questions regarding EPA’s Facts and Figures about Materials, Waste and Recycling, U.S. EPA, https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/frequent-questions-regarding-epas-facts-and (last visited Sep. 19, 2024), [https://perma.cc/36P8-SACQ].
[iv] American Recycling Facts: Comparing the U.S. to Other Countries, Gen. Kinematics (Sep. 16, 2019), https://www.generalkinematics.com/blog/recycling-facts-us-compared-to-others/ [https://perma.cc/Q457-XGSL].
[v] Renee Cho, Recycling in the U.S. is Broken. How Do We Fix It?, Colum. Climate Sch. (Mar. 13, 2020), https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2020/03/13/fix-recycling-america/ [https://perma.cc/T7Y9-72KV].
[vi] Id.
[vii] Id.
[viii] Id.
[ix] Id.
[x] Id.
[xi] Id.
[xii] Measuring the quality of recycling, Eur. Env’t Ag. (Dec. 5. 2024), https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/publications/measuring-the-quality-of-recycling [https://perma.cc/ZP39-HBV2].
[xiii] Id.
[xiv] Sifat, Getting Back Your Penny – Bottle Bill System!, Study in Germany (May. 1. 2024), https://www.study-in-germany.com/en/community/pfand-system-in-germany/ [https://perma.cc/S26B-74Y8].
[xv] The Single-Use Deposit System, Recycling Pfan Österreich, https://www.recycling-pfand.at/ueber-pfand.html?lang=en (last visited Sep. 19, 2024) [https://perma.cc/3AZW-6KRR].
[xvi] Mikhail Kirilyuk et al., The European Recycling Landscape—The Quiet Before the Storm?, McKinsey & Company (Aug. 13. 2020), https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/chemicals/our-insights/the-european-recycling-landscape-the-quiet-before-the-storm [https://perma.cc/Z7Y5-JQ43].
[xvii] How 5 Countries Do Recycling A Little Differently, Scrapp Recycling Medium (Jan. 25. 2022), https://scrapprecycling.medium.com/how-5-countries-do-recycling-a-little-differently-89af7aa6022 [https://perma.cc/EE96-3436].
[xviii] Id.
[xix] Onye Dike, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for Packaging: Country-by-Country Comparison, NetZero Compare (Jun. 25. 2025), https://netzerocompare.com/academy/extended-producer-responsibility-epr-for-packaging-country-by-country-comparison [https://perma.cc/RFQ4-MRMJ].
[xx] Jennifer Nash & Christopher Bosso, Extended Producer Responsibility in the United States: Full Speed Ahead?, Harv. Kennedy Sch. (May. 2013), https://www.hks.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/centers/mrcbg/files/Nash_Bosso_2013-10.pdf [https://perma.cc/M33S-CQQK].
[xxi] Ross Eisenberg, New Bipartisan Plastics Recycling Bill a Strong Step Toward Ending Plastic Pollution, Am. Plastic Makers (Oct. 7. 2024), https://plasticmakers.org/new-bipartisan-plastics-recycling-bill-a-strong-step-toward-ending-plastic-pollution/ [https://perma.cc/8MY5-MUJJ].
[xxii] Id.
[xxiii] Id.
[xxiv] Ryan Van Velzer, Ky. Bill Encourages Growth of Plastics Recycling Industry, Louisville Public Media (Jan. 27, 2022), https://www.lpm.org/news/2022-01-27/ky-bill-encourages-growth-of-plastics-recycling-industry [https://perma.cc/Y3HK-5BME].
[xxv] Id.
[xxvi]Id.; Kentucky Becomes 18th State to Pass Advanced Recycling Law, Spurring Job Growth and a More Circular Economy for Plastics, Am. Chemistry Council (Apr. 1, 2022), https://www.americanchemistry.com/chemistry-in-america/news-trends/press-release/2022/kentucky-becomes-18th-state-to-pass-advanced-recycling-law-spurring-job-growth-and-a-more-circular-economy-for-plastics [https://perma.cc/2R8B-L83E].
[xxvii] 2024 Annual Report, UK Recycling, https://facilities.uky.edu/sites/default/files/2025-05/recycling-2024-annual-report_0.pdf [https://perma.cc/DKU4-GLFT].
[xxviii] The Plan to Save Recycling: A Standardized System, Consumer Brands Association, https://consumerbrandsassociation.org/blog/the-plan-to-save-recycling-a-standardized-system/ [https://perma.cc/2JHH-M8LH].