Have you ever heard of wishcycling? The term most likely dates back to 2015, when the industrial sector coined this concept to define that circle of consumers sensitive to the topic of recycling, but little educated in separate collection. The wishcycling is, in other words, that trend which pushes us to throw materials that are not recyclable into recycling bins.
The act of sorting waste reinforces our belief that we help guarantee a second life for objects, preventing them from being abandoned in landfills. But the psychological mechanism of wishcycling is not always based on recycling practices. In fact, only some materials are easy to recycle and have a market for secondary raw materials.
Does the wishcycling trap also affect the glass supply chain?
Evaluations of CoReVe answer this question affirmatively. 50% of Italians erroneously practice separate glass collection, also throwing foreign materials into the collection bells. The study, commissioned by CoReVe and conducted on AstraRicerche, on a sample of about 1500 people, found that: 23% say they also throw crystal objects in the glass, 20% eyeglass lenses and 14% light bulbs.
The importance of clear and accessible communication
The Consortium intends to highlight the damage caused by the presence of such materials unrelated to the collection, in a context, such as the national one, where only one Italian out of two understands the economic importance of this practice. An excellent differentiated waste collection is in fact synonymous with profits for the Municipalities, which consequently record a positive impact on local taxes on waste.
Although Italy has reached a rate of glass recycling equal to 76,6% and exceeded by 1,6 percentage points the European target set for 2030, the misinformation there is still a problem in developing an efficient recycling chain. Education, through an integrated communication campaign, therefore represents the main barrier to counter the now long-standing phenomenon of wishcycling.
Source: renewable.it
