Future of Plastic Recycling
by Amanda Wills
Published on July 20th, 2009
13 Comments
You’ve got a plastic cup from Starbucks in your hand. It’s empty, and you’re ready to throw it into your recycling bin – so what comes first?
You turn over the cup to see the chasing arrow symbol with #5 in the center, signifying the type of resin that makes up your cup.
Now, imagine a world where these numbered resin codes don’t exist. Instead, recycling is organized by the type of product or package. All you have to understand is that you’re holding a plastic cup, and it’s recyclable in your community program.
Today, 80 percent of Americans have access to a plastics recycling program. Photo: Ehow.com
This could actually be the future of plastics recycling. Instead of using a resin identification coding system, we could be shifting to a system based on the type of product or package.
In 1988, the resin coding system was created to meet recyclers’ needs while providing manufacturers with a consistent, uniform system that was applicable nationwide.
But now that technology has become more effective at sorting different plastics and curbside programs have become more widespread, the resin coding system may eventually become a thing of the past.
Consumers may find product or package-based recycling easier because they won’t have to search for the number and wonder about its overall make-up. Many communities are already recycling this way.
On Board Yet?
If you’re still confused. Let’s break it down.
Earth911.com recently asked readers, “How is plastic accepted in your curbside program?” Of the readers who responded, 44 percent said it is accepted by number, while only 15 percent said it was accepted by product.
At the present time, many curbside programs still collect plastics using the resin identification system. However, the idea of a product or package-based collection system isn’t a new phenomena. According to Judith Dunbar, director of Environmental and Technical Issues for the American Chemistry Council (ACC), some communities started catching on to the idea in the late 90s when they began collecting “all plastic bottles.”
The ACC got on board and began encouraging other communities to accept recycling in this manner. Data collected by ACC and individual communities showed that it was actually easier for consumers to understand. In fact, the resin identification coding system was never meant to be used by consumers. It was put in place for recyclers to identify plastics, before more sophisticated equipment became available.
Today, product or package-based collection is used in many communities, including the District of Columbia and three major surrounding areas: Arlington County, Va., Montgomery County, Md. and Anne Arundel County, Md. Many cities and towns in California are also adopting this method of collection. About 60 percent of California’s collection programs accept “all bottles and household containers.”
In recent years, the number of U.S. plastics recycling business has nearly tripled. More than 1,600 businesses are involved in recycling post-consumer plastics. Photo: Southernliving.com
How Does It Work?
Dunbar says the key to getting any recycling program down to a science is educating consumers about what is specifically collected.
Successful collection is all about simplicity. Providing consumers with information that is detailed with photos of specific products and examples can help make the collection process even more successful.
So, let’s get down to what product categories can be collected for recycling:
- Plastic bottles – water and soda bottles, milk jugs, detergent bottles, anything with a “neck”
- Household containers – non-bottle items, such as butter tubs, yogurt cups, kitty litter buckets
- Plastic bags, product wraps, plastic film
- Tubs and lids
- Buckets and trays
(Note that not all communities currently accept all categories of plastics. Visit your municipality’s Web site or check out our recycle search to learn which plastics are collected in your area.)
Once product packaging goes to a material recovery facility, sorters already have a strong grasp on how to separate the materials without looking at the resin codes. Therefore, product-based collection does not slow down or hinder the service in any way.
As many communities go to a single-stream recycling system, “all bottle” recycling is often implemented as well. Because resin identification codes often confuse consumers, product-based recycling may encourage more participation since it requires less know-how.
Heather
posted on July 20th, 2009 at 5:53 am
Funny you should mention plastics. I just blogged about this a few weeks ago. In our municipality, we recycle everything except number 6 plastic, so I have gotten into the habit of checking resin identification codes before I buy.
In Canada, if there is no resin identification code number, we are told that the product will not be recycled, as different types of plastics cannot be mixed. I think the system you mention, although simpler, might cause a lot of confusion.
I realize that education and raising awareness is always the biggest obstacle to recycling, but I think once people take the time to look for the code and find out which numbers can be recycled in their area, the educational work is done. This is also a good reward system for companies that use containers that are readily recycled.
In these tough economic times, there are reportedly fewer buyers for recycled materials, and so, the best practice is reduce, reduce, reduce.
JKJ
posted on July 20th, 2009 at 11:39 am
Hello,
I am planing start a business to collect recycle materials , plastic, bottles and appaers, can you guide me how and where do we sell these..
thanks
ken
posted on July 22nd, 2009 at 3:21 am
You know I worked in recycling for years. Unfortunately most of the materials are buried in the landfill. Now I can vouch for the reasons to recycle. I was a victim to the hazards on the bottles and can say that they are for real.
My wife and I try to find new and better ways to reuse containers and our goal was to make our legacy one of teaching our children and grandchildren about being good stewards to our planet. There is a lot of miss information especially on cost of going green. You could put a solar or small wind unit on every house in several states for the cost of one coal fired plant or several thousand homes on the cost of one large scale wind turbine. Without having to do any major renovations to the grid. The big problem is ( like the power company told me ) is that they are in the buisness of selling power and the governent wouldn’t have the ability to tax site use production.
I think once someone can find how to do that then it will go forward until then people that make the big money will do what ever they can to stop the growth of this industry.
Sylvia Estrada
posted on July 22nd, 2009 at 10:52 am
Why isn’t there legislation coming about to stop this awful plastic usage—-all we can recycle where I live in #’s 1 & 2—-I am so tired of all the other plastics and foam trays I have to put into our landfills. Why aren’t companies helping do their part as we are?
George Dreckmann
posted on July 22nd, 2009 at 11:54 am
The City of Madison has been trying to educate our customers to recycle plastic based upon their use, not the numbers. The number system is very misleading as there are different chemical additives that make a #1 plastic food container non recyclable while a bottle with the same symbol is recyclable.
We currently have an all bottles program like the one Ms. Dunbar described. We still get lots of plastic that cannot be recycled because people think that since we take any bottle, they can go ahead and recycle any plastics 1-7 which is not the case.
The best thing that could happen for recycling would be the complete elmination of the symbols on the bottom of plastic containers, bottles, and jugs. (OK, the best thing that could happen is for all the plastic containers and wrapping to be recycled, but that is a whole different story.) Getting rid of the damn number code with the chasing arrows would help people understand that not everything is recyclable.
Dave
posted on July 22nd, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Used plastics should be converted to electricty, which is by far more environmentally favorable when the entire global impact is considered. Paraphrasing from Science Daily: Recycling is a nice concept, but we waste more energy in reprocessing our recyclables than we are gaining. No one has found a cost-effective means of recycling food containers into new food containers. Fact is most plastics go to China and there’s lot’s of energy consumed, resources consumed and green house gasses created in that process. Also plastics are recylced once, ex. from a soda bottle to carpeting, then done. But don’t take my word for it, check with the Basel Action network. Another generally ignored factor is that making electricity from used plastics reduces the need to burn coal and the negative results of doing so.
Be progressive, open minded and acknowledge the future: Support waste to energy. Recycling is a decades old concept that has been superseeded.
Mike
posted on July 22nd, 2009 at 4:55 pm
I think an important component to curbside recycling is the need to implement deposits on all bottles of soda and water and other drinks. Curbside recycling doesn’t address all of the bottles and cans that litter streets and highways. Everyday, I see bottles stuck in street drains – many of these bottles ultimately end up in streams, lakes and oceans. Deposits on cans, bottles and other “disposables” will motivate many to make sure that they are not tossed along the streets.
Linda Weeks
posted on July 22nd, 2009 at 7:10 pm
Some very good discussion, and valid points to consider, but Dave, I wish it were as simple as that, it just isn’t…the pollution created by burning to provide electricity would have to be considered, just like recycling has its considerations. At this time, I think recycling is one effort that has its limits, but it is doing something tangible to offset the creation of the planet of trash. At least recycling is accomplishing something, now, even if down the road it takes an entirely different path. The beauty of recycling is how we feel as if the world may be clumsy and misguided sometimes, and people in it less than enitirely motivated to protect the environment, but one can say,we, (in italics) did something to help.
Joseph
posted on July 23rd, 2009 at 5:22 am
Around here, many people I know in my county & my town still usually just throws plastics in the trash can. It is like my city & my county doesn’t seem to care & they should try to encourage more people to.
Ashleigh
posted on July 23rd, 2009 at 11:23 am
One of my questions is why do companies produce plastics and products that will never biodegrade? Most have knowledge of this but do not fully understand it. We need solid facts and tangible evidence!! ACTION! It’s simple. Once the truth has light shed on it, no one can deny! It’s one earth, one human life, lets make the most of it and just not become careless humans with no cares of the external world! We have to get the businesses to understand and care about these things that are little and take zero thought, just action! It will gain the business more customers and they can still create products that last a long time and isn’t purposeless after it has served its purpose.
tanveer
posted on July 24th, 2009 at 10:27 am
As Linda mentioned, this is great discussion. I am not so sure that recycling is an old concept. Making aluminum cans from recycled aluminum results in 95% energy savings as opposed to using virgin material. Check out slide 18 of the EPA presentation below. It shows the results for plastic, paper, cardboard, etc.
http://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/ECOCOMM.NSF/Programs/wcf/$FILE/301-1-presentation.pdf
Walter Huffell
posted on July 24th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Nobody has discussed HOW the different platic items are re-cycled.
Are they heated in some receptacle and in what form is the recycled and processed items distributed to ‘re-users’ ?????
Are we using as much ‘bad’ energy to do this – all to no reall avail ????
Terry
posted on September 11th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
Walter.. you killed the discussion it seems. You are right though. No individual can truly be gilt free when it comes to ‘goin’ green’. Many people want to do right and doing the best they can at this point is great! Unfortunately, what we have to work towards is better education and moving past the status quo.
I live in NJ. Why does my garbage get picked up twice a week and my Recycling gets picked up twice a month? Certainly there is no good reason. Garbage truck drives by my house eight times a month burning fuel spewing deisel exhaust for what? To pick up 20lbs of trash 8 times vs. 40lbs of trash 4 times. RIDICULOUS!
People wish that their waste didn’t end up in a landfill, but what if that landfill had the state of the art methane capture system and all of the waste became fuel? This shouldn’t be the goal because after becoming fuel the final resting place for the carbon then is the atmosphere. But it is better than methane being liberated to the atmoshphere. What if you could choose your landfill?
Why aren’t there huge tax incentives for recyclers? -Like ‘Cash for Clunkers’. Use federal money for multiple inherently good things. Eliminate landfill contributions, generate commerce, motivate the middle class, prevent/delay greenhouse gases.
Why is it OK that 7 in 10 items I receive in the mail are unsolicited wastes. I feel like my tax dollars (USPS) are basically being spent to deliver me garbage. Why isn’t there a tax on unsolicited mailings. The proceeds could go towards subsidizing paper recycling and paper farms.