Recycling plastic - what is the point???

Question

While I take recycling very seriously what is the point of recycling plastic packaging which clearly has the recycle label on only to find that they leave it in the black box and take everything else??? I really am trying to do my bit for the environment but sometimes think why do I bother. Waltham Forest council please feel free to enlighten!!!!!

Answer 1

don't give up. Share this with someone at waste management and keep doing the right thing. Most of your trash is reusable.

Answer 2

There are many different kinds of plastic and some aren't recycled as easily as others or as in high demand. I'm sure you've noticed the number inside the recycle symbol. Some (probably most) cities will only recycle certain numbers. Also, some recycling programs can't accept plastic bags. If you are sure you are following all the rules, call them up and give them an ear full :)

A lot of people don't think recycling works because currently there's not a lot of demand for recycled plastic - and some cities can't afford to do it. But I happen to work at a company that manufactures from 100% recycled plastic (http://www.lolldesigns.com) and there are more companies using it lately. It does help. It reduces pollution and natural resource depletion. And it will be more and more worth it as more people start using recycled plastic and oil becomes more and more expensive.

Answer 3

The reason to recycle plastics are several. One is to reduce landfill burdens. A second is to reduce oil consumption because oil is used to make many plastics and recycled plastic can reduce some of the demand for "virgin" plastic and thus oil demand. A third is that recycling plastic consumes less energy that the process of manufacturing new plastic from oil. That last is somewhat like recycling aluminum. It takes 1/10th the electrical energy to turn an old aluminum can into reusable aluminum that it takes to turn ore into a like amount of aluminum at an aluminum manufacturing facility.

As for why someone isn't collecting it, I say keep piling it in the trash collection bins. Eventually they will have to remove it.

Answer 4

I am losing my drive to re-cycle stuff because it seems like every council has different rules. For example I was reading some of the re-cycling bins and you can re-cycle plastic bottles but not plastic milk cartons???
Surely the only way to solve the problem is to have plants (and they do exist) where all refuse is sent and goes down a conveyor belt where re-cyclables are removed either manually or by a machine and only the redundant stuff is burnt or landfilled.
I would be more than happy to pay a little more tax for this type of system and save myself the worry. Plus think of all the fuel saved by people taking their weekly recycling to the bins.
Either this or bin everything now in a landfill and mine it at a later date.

Answer 5

Recycling plastic is actually uneconomical and, paradoxically, bad for the environment; the amount of energy used (and consequentially pollutants produced) transporting, sorting, grinding, processing and (eventually) re-using the plastic is greater than that used to make a new product. If you want to help the environment then only recycle metals, they are the only thing that is less polluting to recycle than to start from scratch.

Answer 6

The problem is that all our Councils in the U.K. have recycling targets to meet. These targets are based on weight. It takes a lot of plastic bags or cartons to make up a tonne!

There are a lot of Materials Recycling Facilities who handle plastics but they do not have the municipal contracts.

We need to lobby Councils and Government to include plastics in their recycling plans.

Answer 7

Green living protects our environment through conservation and the most effective use of our resources.

While I do my best to "live green" with better light bulbs, a more energy efficient refrigerator as well as an HE washer and dryer, I too get very frustrated with recycling.

In fact, cities and town have made some rules so excrutiatingly complex that I simply recycle my newspapers.

When it comes to plastic, I actively try to purchase products made with recycled plastic to make up for my inability to actually recycle myself. In addition, as an artist I find new and interesting ways to recyle items without worrying about the "binmen," a term we don't use in my area but which I find very nice.

While many people do not thing of plastics as energy friendly, I found an interesting fact on line: In the United States, the production of plastics accounts for only 4% of our energy consumption.

Answer 8

We have recycling boxes for a lot of different things here. Plastics are recycled into things like flooring and clothes, but if there isn't a box for it maybe you can call around and find out where there is a box and drop it there. If none, well, all you can do is know that "you tried".

Answer 9

my council do not recycle plastic, we have recently been issued with our own recycling boxes for paper, glass and cans, which i use all the time, however i do have alot of plastic waste so when i contacted them about it they expect me to take it across the other side of town, not such an easy option as they might think, being a non driver with a three year old. if they are so concerned about the environment why not make it easier for us to get involved?!

Answer 10

look up the definition of recycling... that's in actuality to reuse some thing quite of coming up extra of it. What you assert is which you think of that's extra valuable to offload all the plastic in a huge hollow in the floor and on an identical time advance extra oil to make extra plastic quite than soften down the plastic we already have and then reuse it... they do no longer incinerate the plastic, purely soften it to remould it.

Answer 11

This is due to the fact that plastics are made from polymer's and as such are graded, if you check the bottom of plastic bottles you will see a number this is the grade of plastic composite used in the bottle, the plastic packing is not enough to be reused commercially, I would contact your local council direct and ask them why they will not lift it anyway as they will reprocess fridges etc which cost more to process then they get back in scrap value.