4 replies to this topic

[j_pin]

Is it true that it is actually worse for the environment to recycle most plastics? I heard it is worse for the environment and that it usually gets made in to non-recylable things at the profit at therecycling company that picks them up.

I read a few things online about this but not sure whether it is actually true. Thoughts?

[vickieheully]

It's true that plastics are much harder to recycle than paper, metals, etc. That's because every kind of plastic is different. There are different chemicals, resins, and dyes used to make different strengths and flexibility depending on what they are used for. Because of this, many plastics cannot be recycled together. Virgin plastic is stronger and more durable than recycled plastic, hence manufacturers reluctance to use them in their packaging.

Overall, recycling is always far better than not. That way, we are not sending more waste to the landfills and relying on non-renewable energy sources to make more.

Sometimes you can tell what kind of plastic it is by looking for numbers near the recycle arrows logo on the products. Find out which kinds your local recycling center collects and sorts.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

"According to the American Chemistry Council, about 1,800 US businesses handle or reclaim post-consumer plastics.
Plastics from MSW are usually collected from curbside recycling bins or drop-off sites.
Then, they go to a material recovery facility, where the materials are sorted into broad categories (plastics, paper, glass, etc.).
The resulting mixed plastics are sorted by plastic type, baled, and sent to a reclaiming facility.
At the facility, any trash or dirt is sorted out, then the plastic is washed and ground into small flakes.
A flotation tank then further separates contaminants, based on their different densities.
Flakes are then dried, melted, filtered, and formed into pellets.
The pellets are shipped to product manufacturing plants, where they are made into new plastic products.
Thermoplastics can easily be shaped and molded into products such as milk jugs, floor coverings,
credit cards, and carpet fibers."
(SPI-resin ID code graph on link.)
http://www.epa.gov/o...ls/plastics.htm

[still learning]

j_pin, on 17 February 2012 - 07:11 PM, said:

Is it true that it is actually worse for the environment to recycle most plastics? I heard it is worse for the environment and that it usually gets made in to non-recylable things at the profit at therecycling company that picks them up.

I read a few things online about this but not sure whether it is actually true. Thoughts?

"worse for the environment"

Worse than what?
Worse than littering with it? Not hardly
Worse than not using the plastic at all? Sure.

Reduce, reuse, recycle.

Better to cut down on the use of plastic to begin with, disposible plastics anyway, packaging and one-time-use items.
Next best is to reuse.
Finally, recycle what can't be reused..

Can it be cheaper to landfill plastics instead of recycling them? I expect so sometimes, depending.

I can envision how the collecting and transporting and reprocessing of one-time-use plastics could end up with more greenhouse gasses emitted than just landfilling the old and producing new plastics would. Takes energy to do all these things, energy from fossil fuels. Don't know if what I envisioned is true though.

Better to just cut down on the use of plastics, disposables and packaging especially.

[jasserEnv]

The only real problem with the recycling of plastics is that their level of recyclability actually varies considerably.

Type 1 and 2 (bottles) are both easily recycled
Type 3 PVC doesn't recycle well and really shouldn't be considered a recyclable
Types 4 and 5 (yogourt/cottage cheese lids and tubs) are mostly downcycled (turned into plastic lumber, etc) because they degrade somewhat in recycling and it is hard to keep them food grade after recycling
Type 6 (styrofoam and plastic cups) are fully recyclable but usually become garbage due to their low density
Type 7 is a mix of all sorts of plastics and usually is not recycled because the blend is not known.

But, reusing is certainly better than not. If we could reduce the number of plastics, I think it would aid recycling efforts.