Comments on: Recycling Mysteries: #5 Plastics

By: Manuel

Manuel — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 04:16:13 +0000

Let me ask this: do you all recycle? Or do you put things in bins?

Because the latter is all I can claim I do! Nobody knows where that goes, or cares. Also there is no way of knowing. There is not a real traceable recycling system in place. What we have now is: out of sight, out of mind+hope for the best = back to the mall to consume some more.

Why is it our duty to recycle waste? Who makes the decision to create it? Do you choose how your coca cola is bottled? I’d like it to come in glass, which is really recyclable. How come producers are not resposible for the end life of their products?

We need a revolution in the way products are designed and disposed of. We need producer responsibility, transparency and accountability. Otherwise, we are just greenwashing a system designed to generate more and more waste.

Most of plastics waste on the US West coast goes to China. Plastics is the number one export of the Uk to China. Check out this video expose and wake up!

http://video.news.sky.com/skynews/Home/video/Green-Britain-Are-You-Poisoning-China/Video/200701214160896?lid=VIDEO_14160896_Green%20Britain:%20Are%20You%20Poisoning%20China?&lpos=searchresults

By: Sandra

Sandra — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:54:36 +0000

I was wondering if any one has any idea how much plastic/ latex/ vinyl waste is created at one birth, then multiplied by approximately 4 million births…. what is the tonnage from hospital birth? If just 30% of women gave birth at home imagine the environmental impact!

By: Trey Granger

Trey Granger — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 22:36:49 +0000

Brita filters are also made of #5 plastic. They are accepted by Preserve as well as certain Whole Foods stores.

By: ct

ct — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 17:48:12 +0000

I just learned about Preserve very recently and I am so glad that they are doing this. If you haven’t heard or seen it yet, I recommend visiting the http://www.algalita.org/ website to see what all the plastic debris that gets washed away into the waste stream is doing to our oceans and sea life. We really should find more ways to recycle and re-purpose trashed containers into new and useful items in order to prevent them from going into the waste stream.

By: Thomas Ensminger

Thomas Ensminger — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 10:50:59 +0000

I work as a volunteer in various different things in my village and I remember reading about “plastics” very recently.(Im very much into recycling all materials). Some states do recycle #5 plastics-for example:: City pickup/ St. Joseph/Missouri. BUT in Maine they only recycle: #1 & #2 plastic now. In Maine the transfer station makes a very small amount of money on a ton of plastic simply because they had to invest in some very expensive industrial equipment that packages said material.. The State of Maine may write the Laws regarding recycling but they dont help villages set it up./—Ive heard the same complaint from other states. Ive been told that some states make zero on plastic materials but since its the Law they have to do it. So from this anyone should be able to tell that there is a mixture of opinion when it comes to plastic materials. If anyone wants to contact me-use my email. Thank You.

By: Sandi

Sandi — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 18:38:58 +0000

I work at a high school and contacted Aveda about sending caps to them for recycling. They have been extremely helpful. They provided the school with pre-addresssed UPS mailing labels and cover the cost of shipping. I would suggest contacting your local schools to get them on board- that would give you a place to take your caps. Not only has this program been very successful, it has brought awareness to many of our staff and students just how many plastic bottles they use and hopefully will convince them to come up with less wasteful ways to drink water, sports drinks, etc.

By: Linda A.

Linda A. — Thu, 28 May 2009 20:03:38 +0000

I’m afraid my #5s are just going to have to get taken to my transfer station with my other non-recyclable trash as there are no drop-off sites anywhere near me, and mailing them just isn’t practical.

By: Kelley

Kelley — Thu, 28 May 2009 19:38:19 +0000

I always thought the caps, on a bottle, were an operational hazard because when the bottle gets squished in a machine or truck the cap becomes a projectile. It is true, in large volumes, the material can be recycled but wouldn’t it be better to recommend people crush their bottle and then put the cap on it before recycling. Crushing also decreases volume, saving carbon emissions during transportation.

By: Cyndi Neumann

Cyndi Neumann — Wed, 27 May 2009 21:44:27 +0000

I was excited that Whole Foods took Old RX bottles till I found the only ones that take them are mainly on the West and East coasts..Alabama sure does not take them and Birmingham only has one store, but, I was willing to drive to it to dispose of the huge box I have of Old RX bottles as I refuse to throw them away.

I saw where Target sells their remade items, so why don’t they also collect the bottles with the bins in front of their stores?

Cyndi

By: Cassie

Cassie — Wed, 27 May 2009 20:47:25 +0000

Thanks for the information. I have been wondering for a long time where to take these items. I have now setup a cap recycling box at my work and home. For my #5 plastics, unfortunately I am going to have to mail then to the gimme 5 program since NC does not have a location. At least it is start!!