Dr. Jessica Hwang
For years, we’ve been told the solution to plastic pollution lies in more recycling bins, more compostable materials, and more consumer guilt. But here鈥檚 an uncomfortable truth: over 70% of all plastic waste ends up in landfills, and most of it stays there, inert, unmanaged, and written off as a failure of the system.[鹿]
But what if that system isn鈥檛 the problem? What if it鈥檚 the foundation of the most overlooked circular solution we have Modern landfills aren鈥檛 just dumping grounds. They鈥檙e engineered environments, sealed, managed, and increasingly equipped to capture methane from decomposing waste and convert it into energy. This process, known as Landfill Gas-to-Energy (LFGTE), already powers over a million homes across the U.S. and diverts millions of tons of carbon emissions every year.[虏]
Here鈥檚 where it gets interesting: plastics can participate in that cycle – if we design them to. We鈥檝e known for decades that certain plastics biodegrade in anaerobic landfill conditions and contribute to gas production. A landmark study by Dr. Morton Barlaz at NC State University confirmed this, showing that under the right conditions, plastics can break down and fuel renewable energy systems.[鲁]
These aren鈥檛 hypothetical scenarios, they鈥檙e measurable, real-world outcomes. So why aren鈥檛 we designing for it? There鈥檚 a strange disconnect in the sustainability world. The loudest voices push for systems that only capture a small fraction of plastic waste such as curbside recycling, composting, and reuse schemes, while ignoring the infrastructure that manages the vast majority. Landfills are treated like failure, when in fact, they may be our most practical, immediate pathway to recovering value from plastic waste. That鈥檚 why engineers, chemists, and polymer scientists are now exploring materials that biodegrade under ASTM D5526 conditions – the test method recognized by the FTC for landfill biodegradability claims.[鈦碷[鈦礭
These plastics don鈥檛 fragment into microplastics or require consumer sorting. They work with the system we already have. Some even call it Anaerobic Recycling, a form of energy recovery that closes the loop not with fantasy, but with functional infrastructure. It鈥檚 time we stop treating landfills like the enemy and start treating them like the engine they are. We need to rethink the end of a plastic鈥檚 life not as a dead end, but as a second chance to produce energy, reduce emissions, and eliminate unmanaged waste. Circularity isn鈥檛 just about reuse. It鈥檚 about designing for the systems we actually use. And right now, that means designing plastics that work in landfills, not just the lab.