Energy & Environment — Only 5 percent of US plastic recycled last year 

A Greenpeace report finds only 5 percent of U.S. plastic waste was recycled last year. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia is stepping up its attacks on Ukrainian energy, and there’s an unexpected energy problem in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.

This is Overnight Energy & Environment, your source for the latest news focused on energy, the environment and beyond. For The Hill, we’re Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk.

Report finds minimal plastic waste recycling in 2021

Only about 5 percent of 51 million tons of U.S. plastic waste was recycled in 2021, according to a study from environmental advocacy group Greenpeace. 

The report, issued Monday, determined that only a little over 2 million tons of plastic waste was recycled last year. Moreover, after reaching a high of 9.5 percent in 2014 and an only slightly lower 8.7 percent in 2018, the number has been steadily declining in the last few years. The level had reached the 5 to 6 percent range by last year. 

And that’s not all: The research also found no American type of plastic packaging met the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy Initiative’s definition of “recyclable”—that is, having a 30 percent recycling rate. 

Two of the most common forms of plastic in America, polyethylene terephthalate and high-density polyethylene, are frequently referred to as recyclable, but the report determined that despite their frequent delivery to recycling plants, they are not actually recycled enough to meet the standard. Their recycling rate stands at about 20.9 percent and 10.3 percent, respectively. The reprocessing rate for all other forms of plastic is lower still, at under 5 percent, according to the report. 

The writers speak: “Single-use plastics are like trillions of pieces of confetti spewed from retail and fast food stores to over 330 million U.S. residents across more than

3 million square miles each year. It’s simply not possible to collect the vast quantity of these small pieces of plastic sold to U.S. consumers annually,” Greenpeace USA Senior Plastics Campaigner Lisa Ramsden said in a statement. 

• “More plastic is being produced, and an even smaller percentage of it is being recycled. The crisis just gets worse and worse, and, without drastic change, will continue to worsen as the industry plans to triple plastic production by 2050.” 
  
• The report comes the same week environmental advocates have raised objections to Coca-Cola’s sponsorship of November’s COP27 climate summit, saying the company’s mass production of single-use plastic contributes to the same environmental degradation the summit is meant to address. 
  
• “If Coca-Cola really wants to solve the plastic and climate crisis, it needs to turn off its plastics tap,” Greenpeace USA Oceans Campaign Director John Hocevar said in a statement in September. “Ending Coca-Cola’s addiction to single-use plastic is an important part of moving away from fossil fuels, protecting communities, and combating climate change.” 

Read more about the report here. 

Zelensky: Russia targeted Ukraine energy grid 

Russia launched a new onslaught of missiles against Ukrainian energy facilities on Saturday, knocking out power for many people in western Ukraine, Kyiv said. 

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address that the strikes spanned Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk, Khmelnytsky, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Odessa, Rivne, Volyn and  Zaporizhia regions, while other officials noted impacts in the Cherkasy and Lutsk regions. 
  
• “We continue eliminating the aftermath of today’s terrorist attacks on our infrastructure,” Zelensky said. “The geography of this new massive strike is very wide.”  

The latest in a pattern: Kyiv has indicated that Russia is increasingly targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in its latest waves of strikes and as of last week had knocked out more than 30 percent of the country’s power facilities. 

The strikes have led officials to implement electricity-saving measures, including halting electricity exports and asking residents to avoid using major appliances. 

“The main target of terrorists is energy,” Zelensky said. “Therefore, please be even more careful than before about the need to consciously consume electricity. The stability of the power industry of our entire state depends on each city and district of Ukraine.” 

Ukraine’s state emergency service noted on its Telegram channel that missiles on Saturday landed at energy facilities in the cities of Khmelnytskyi and Shepetivka, which are located southwest of Kyiv.  

• No Ukrainians were injured or died in the strikes, but the agency said the strikes caused “large-scale fires and significant destruction.” 
  
• Ukrenergo, the country’s electricity service, similarly described the Khmelnytskyi attack as “massive” on Telegram, adding that 70 crews were out still completing work to restore energy supplies to customers in the Rivne, Cherkasy and Volyn regions. 

Read more from The Hill’s Zack Schonfeld. 

COKE DRAWS BACKLASH OVER COP27 SPONSORSHIP

Coca-Cola’s sponsorship of this year’s U.N. climate summit known as COP27 is drawing pushback from activists, who have criticized the company for contributing to plastic pollution.

More than 200,000 people have signed an online petition called for Coke to be removed as a sponsor of the flagship U.N. climate summit, The Associated Press reports.

Coca-Cola defended its sponsorship of the event, emphasizing the company’s efforts to reduce plastic trash in oceans and curb emissions.

The company said in a statement it shares “the goal of eliminating waste from the ocean” and acknowledges “efforts to raise awareness about this challenge.”

EPA SEEKS INPUT ON NEW CLIMATE FUND 

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is looking for input on how to set up a fund that aims to spur climate solutions that was part of the Democrats’ climate, tax and healthcare bill.  

On Friday, the agency put out a formal request for information as it starts to set up its “Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund” which aims to fund the deployment of climate-friendly technologies.  

Specifically, the $27 billion fund includes $7 billion for states, localities and tribes to help them deploy clean energy technologies in low income or disadvantaged communities.  

The rest of the funding assists nonprofits that help to deploy projects that would reduce or avoid emissions, including in disadvantaged communities.  

In its new request, the EPA asks questions including what types of projects should be prioritized and how to define disadvantaged communities.  

In a statement, EPA Administrator Michael Regan described the fund as an “unprecedented opportunity to accelerate the adoption of greenhouse gas reducing technologies. 

 “In designing such an ambitious program, EPA is eager to hear from stakeholders across the country, especially in low-income and disadvantaged communities, whose voices are critical to shaping the Fund and ensuring these historic resources reach people who need them most,” he added. 

WHAT WE’RE READING

• Freed From Venezuelan Jail, Houston Oil Executive Describes Being Used as a Bargaining Chip (The Wall Street Journal) 
• Heartache, anger in Central Washington over drinking-water wells tainted by ‘forever chemicals’ (The Seattle Times) 
• How the indoor air quality in our buildings is making us sick (Vox) 
• Inside EPA’s climate strategy for power plants (E&E News) 
• Sheriff arrests Forest Service burn boss after prescribed burn escapes lines (The Blue Mountain Eagle) 

🛸 Lighter click: The truth is out there. 

That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hill’s Energy & Environment page for the latest news and coverage. We’ll see you tomorrow.