Recycling
Recycle or Downcycle?
When you “recycle”
|
This is what happens to it
|
It May Become
|
So is it recycled, or downcycled?
|
Aluminum
|
It is still aluminum.
|
Cans, auto parts, cookware.
|
Recycled! You can recycle it again.
|
Steel
|
It is still steel.
|
Steel cans, beams, and more.
|
Recycled! You can recycle it again.
|
Glass
|
It is still glass.
|
Bottles, tiles, marbles, asphalt, and more.
|
Recycled! You can recycle it again.
|
Office Paper
|
The fibers shorten every time you put them through the recycling process, until they cannot be reused.
|
Recycled content paper, grocery bags, cardboard, newspapers, magazines, egg cartons, home insulation.
|
Downcycled. May go through 6-12 more cycles, and when the fibers become too short to reuse, the remainder is land filled.
|
Newsprint
|
See above.
|
Corrugated cardboard, paperboard.
|
Downcycled. May go through a few more cycles, and when the fibers become too short to reuse, the remainder is land filled.
|
Plastics #1
(PET or PETE)
|
It’s turned into a new substance that’s not recyclable.
|
“Fleece” jacket, carpet, fractional component of more #1 plastic.
|
Downcycled. After one cycle, is generally is no longer recyclable and then is land filled when thrown away.
|
Plastics #2 (HDPE)
|
See above.
|
Railroad ties.
|
Downcycled. After one cycle, it’s no longer recyclable and is then land filled when thrown away.
|
Plastics #3-7
|
These are rarely recyclable, unless the manufacturer makes a special effort to take its products back.
|
Trash.
|
Rarely recycled nor downcycled. Even when recycling programs accept these plastics, they are most likely doing so to simplify the program for customers, and will send these plastics to landfills or incinerators.
|
Plastic Bags
|
Some stores accept them for “recycling” – they may actually be recycled, or, most likely, they may be shipped overseas and incinerated or land filled.
|
Plastic, lumber…or trash.
|
Sometimes downcycled, but most often, plastic bags are shipped overseas, where they’re incinerated or land filled. Make a commitment today to avoid plastic bags and bring your own cloth bags when you shop.
|
Recycling Saves Energy
Making a product out of recycled materials save resources over mining and manufacturing the virgin material – consequently, it also saves energy. The energy savings translates into fewer greenhouse gases generated to make recycled products.
Manufacturing this from recycled materials uses much less energy over manufacturing the virgin product:
~Aluminum – 95% less
~Steel – 80% less
~Plastic – 80% less
~Paper – 64% less
~Glass – 50% less
Garbage as Fuel
Generating energy from waste is possible, but it’s not usually a win for the environment. Here’s what you need to know:
Waste-To-Energy (WTE) – Waste-to-Energy plants are more sophisticated incinerators that generate energy by burning trash. A 3,000 Degrees Fahrenheit fire heats a tank of water, and the rising steam turns the blades of a turbine generator. According to Elizabeth Royte in Garbage Land (Back Bay Books, 2006), 89 WTE facilities in 27 states burn 13 percent of the Nation’s garbage. WTEs reduce the weight of trash to be land filled by 75% while generating energy. Even with advanced pollution controls, WTEs can’t entirely keep toxic byproducts out of the air, and the dangerous metals concentrate in the ash at the bottom of the pyre. The toxic ash is buried in the household wasteland fills, where it eventually pollutes groundwater. Capturing Landfill Gas (LFG) As Fuel – Landfill gas can be collected in a central location through a series of wells and piping. From there, it can simply be burned, used to power a generator or other energy user directly, or upgraded to more pipeline-quality natural gas. As of January 2005, there were more than 400 LFG projects in the US, according to the Northwest Public Power Association Bulletin, and the EPA has developed a Landfill Methane Outreach Program to encourage the use of land fill gas as an energy source.
While these LFG projects qualify for federal and many state “alternative energy” incentives, and the EPA celebrates LFG as “renewable energy,” some environmental groups that since methane emissions are a polluting side effect of the landfill business, garbage companies should be required to handle that pollution responsibly, rather than being rewarded for doing so.
 |
