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Environmental Effects of Recycled Plastic

The sturdiness of plastic makes it attractive for a wide variety of uses including toys, computers, cookware or medical equipment. However, when it comes to the environment, durability is one of plastic's least attractive qualities. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says 12 percent of the solid waste in municipalities comes from plastics; container and packing makes up most, including lids, shampoo bottles and soda bottles. In 2009, 29 percent of HDPE and 28 percent of PET bottles and jars were recycled.

  1. Facts

    • According to the EPA, the United States produced 30 million tons of plastics in 2009. Containers and packaging made up 13 million tons, durable goods amounted to 11 tons and many tons more went towards non-durable goods like cups and plates. The Recycling Revolution website states Americans use an average of 60 million plastic bottles each day and throw most of them away. About 7 percent of the plastic waste is recycled.

    Petroleum

    • Recycled plastics reduce the petroleum, emissions, energy and other resources and byproducts associated with plastics manufacturing. Plastics consume about 4 percent of the world's petroleum and energy, according to Environmental Health News. This statistic includes activities such as drilling for oil and transporting the petroleum to a refinery. At the refinery, petroleum is made into multiple products, including plastic pellets, a building block of plastic manufacturing.

    Sorting Process

    • There are numerous types of plastics. The variety makes recycling plastic waste challenging because of the manual sorting process. The seven types of plastics make it necessary to sort plastic manually. The industry has implemented the following lettering for categories of plastics: PETE or (PET), HPDE, PVC, LDPE, PP, PS and OTHER. PETE, or polytyethylene teraphthalate, is used for cooking oil, soft drinks or peanut butter and has a different make from the plastic called PVC or polyvinyl chloride, which is used for plastic pipes and exterior furniture. Not all plastics are use for recycling; most recycled plastics consist of PETE and HPDE.

      Mixing the wrong types of plastic waste ruins the melt. Once the separation process ends, containers go through a cleaning and disinfectant process. A machine grinds the plastic into plastic flakes. The final step melts the plastic into its basic elements.

    Recycled PETE

    • The Reuseit.com website states that 31 percent of plastic bottles made in America consist of polyethylene terephtalate, PET or PETE. This plastic has a green or clear color; food companies use these containers for soft drinks and food jars. In addition, recycled plastics use two-thirds less energy in the manufacturing process. Products manufactured from reused plastics requires 90 percent less water, 50 percent less nitrous oxide and 66 percent less sulfur dioxide.

    Landfills

    • Recycled plastic means landfills have space for other types of waste. The petroleum product used to manufacture plastic is biodegradable. However, plastic products take hundreds of years to disintegrate, which causes landfills to fill. This could exacerbate the shortage of new landfills in urban areas where it is difficult to get citizens to approve new landfills in the surrounding areas.

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