Plastic Recycling plastic

The recycling rate for plastic bottles in 1996 was 22.1 percent. More than 585,000 tons of plastic bottles were recycled in 1996. (Source: R.W. Beck Reports; American Plastics Council)

In 1995, Americans recycled 9.5% of all plastic packaging, including 26% of all plastic bottles. (Source: "Recycling and Buy Recycled Fact Sheets" America Recycles Day)

More than 279,000 tons of PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) resins were made from recycled materials in 1996. The PET recycling rate was 23.6 percent. (Source: R.W. Beck Reports; American Plastics Council)

Generation:

  • Approximately 19.0 million tons of plastic waste was generated in 1995.

Percent:

  • Plastics comprised 9.1 percent of the total MSW stream in 1995.

Recovery:

  • Recovery of plastic containers and packaging was 9.7 percent in 1995, with plastic Soda bottles being the most commonly recycled product (an estimated 45.5 percent Were recovered). Overall , recovery of plastics is 5.3 percent.

Source: U.S. EPA 1996 Characterization of Municipal Solid Waste in the United States: 1996 Update EPA530-R-97-015. Washington, DC.

Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Facts:

Generated:

  • 1.13 million tons or 0.54% by weight.
  • 620,000 tons of soft drink bottles.
  • 330,000 tons of custom bottles.
  • 180,000 tons of non-bottle packaging.
  • 7.2 pounds of all PET products per person.
  • 8.5 pounds of all PET products per person.
  • Nine 2-liter soft drink bottles in a pound of PET.
Recycled:
  • 330,000 tons for a 34.7% bottle recycling rate.
  • 286,000 tons for a 26% bottle recycling rate in 1996.
  • Other PET packages and products are recycled only minimally.

Recycled Content:

  • Rare in bottles, although its use has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Incinerated or Landfilled:

  • 800,000 tons or 0.53% of discarded MSW by weight.

Landfill Volume:

  • 1.8 million cubic yards or 0.4% of landfilled MSW were soft drink bottles in 1992.

Density:

  • Landfilled soft drink bottles weigh 355 pounds per cubic yard.
  • Whole PET bottles have a density of 30 to 40 pounds.
  • Baled PET bottles have a density of 400 to 500 pounds per cubic yard.
  • Granulated PET bottles shipped in a corrugated container have a density of 700 to 750 pounds.

Source Reduction:

  • The PET soft drink bottle is 28% lighter than it was 20 years ago.

Source: American Plastics Council (Washington, D.C.) Characterization of Municipal Solid Waste in the United States Measurements Standards and Reporting Guidelines

HDPE
More than 310,000 tons of HDPE resins were made from recycled materials in 1996.
The HDPE recycling rate was 13.9 percent.
(Source: R.W. Beck Reports; American Plastics Council)

PVC
3,250 tons of recycled PVC resins were produced in 1996 for a 0.8 percent recycling rate. (Source: R.W. Beck Reports; American Plastics Council)

Styrofoam - Polystyrene
It is un-recyclable- you can't make it into new styrofoam. The industry wants you to assume it is- don't BUY it!

Each year American throw away 25,000,000,000 Styrofoam cups.(The Green Consumer, 1990)

Even 500 years from now, the foam coffee cup you used this morning will be sitting in a landfill. (Source: The Recycler's Handbook, 1990)

For now, all that new capacity is going mostly unused, since recyclers can't get their hands on enough bottles. Jerry Powell, editor of trade journal resource recycling, figures about half of the industry's existing capacity sits idle. That's because more than half of the containers still go straight into landfills or incinerators, says Luke B. Schmidt, president of the national association for plastic container recovery, a group of PET container recyclers. Last year, he says, 565 million pounds of PET plastic containers were recycled. But the market demand was 800 million pounds. We simply are not doing enough recycling to fill the demand, he says. Schmidt and others hope the recent run up in prices for used Pet bottles will help the recycling effort by boosting curbside collection programs throughout the country. We're paying more money, so cities and states should realize that curbside collections could be very profitable for them. Some have. Portland Ore. Expanded curbside collection of all plastic containers in July, in large part because a new sorting facility makes collection more feasible. But Bruce Walker, Portland's recycling-program manager, concedes that escalating Pet prices is part of the equation. Portland's recycling effort brings in profits of about $160,000 annually. Even if such fortune lasts only until the next descent cotton harvest, it's not bad for a pile of dirty plastic.

(Source: Business Week, September 11, 1995)

Green Networld
Westfield, Massachusetts
Email: networld@westfield-ma.com

Last update: 11/09/1999