A Plastic Wasteland
Chris Rodinis
December 27th, 2012
As a consumer do you ever wonder what happens to all the plastic you throw away?
Or if you recycle, do you ever wonder how you could recycle plastic “better?”
This post is about ideas that might help consumers reuse or recycle “everyday” plastics more.
These ideas originate with an industry group known as “Plastics Make It Possible.”
Here are eight easy steps that can help consumers keep their promise to helping the environment on a daily basis.
Plastic Recycling is Easy
1. Locate your local plastics recycling place and find out what they accept.
Pretty much everywhere in the country are places to recycle plastic bottles. And local retailers frequently have bins for plastic bottle recycling.
Here are some example plastic bottle products that are often recycled:
• Milk jugs
• Beverage bottles (e.g., water, soft drinks, juice and beer)
• Bottles from shampoo, toiletries, laundry detergent and other household cleaners
• Salad dressing, cooking oil and condiment bottles
• Food jars, such as peanut butter and mayonnaise
As for plastic bags retailers are now starting to offer drop off points for the ever present plastic shopping bag.
The code to look for, which means recyclable is #2 (HDPE) or #4(LLDPE).
Here are some examples:
• Grocery bags
• Retail bags (remove hard plastic or string handles)
• Plastic newspaper bags
• Dry cleaning bags (remove paper and hangers)
• Bread bags (with crumbs shaken out)
Plastic packaging wraps from toiletries and basic consumer products may be included.
Here is a website that lists places to recycle plastic bags:
2. Clean and empty. This is an important step because the bags cannot have any food residue, or any kind of junk residue whatsoever.
3. Use the Bin. This seems obvious however, a consumer is not always at home when he uses a plastic bag or removes plastic packaging from a product. When you are away from home just use the same place to store them like the trunk of your car.
Another good idea is to keep the caps on the bottle to stop residue leakage.
4. Store bags in bag. Another obvious one and very convenient too. Knotting the handles will help when you take them in the store for drop off.
5. Look beyond the kitchen. Remember to look into the bathrooms and other rooms for soap and other type bottles.
Plastic Re-Creations
6. Bag reuse is very important.
Here are some ideas from Plastics Make It Possible:
• Wet umbrella cover – keep other items in your bag dry when your umbrella is wet
• Suitcase savers – wrap shoes before packing them with clean clothes
• Hand protectors – place them over your hands to handle messes indoors and out
• Kitchen clean-up – place them under the cutting board for quick scrap removal
• Trash can liners – use them in bathrooms and other household waste baskets
• Doggie duty – bring them on dog walks to collect and dispose of pet waste
7. When in doubt, leave it out. There are now many different types of plastic recycling to fit every type of product. Just check with your retailer or recycler as to what is acceptable.
Mixing plastics erodes the value so the best way is to separate as necessary.
8. The good news is. What plastic you recycle today will be a new product tomorrow.
Some examples of products made from recycled plastics are: fleece jackets, carpeting, lumber for outdoor decks, chairs, furniture, handbags, fencing, railing, benches, tables, shopping carts and even plastic bottles!
For more information about recycling plastics: www.plasticsresource.com
For information on electronic recycling: www.EwasteWiz.com