Packaging experts say that more and more of what we buy at the store comes wrapped in plastic. But it’s not always clear what you can do with that empty plastic container once you’re finished with it. Rebecca Williams visits some experts to sort out the confusion about recycling plastic:
Transcript
Packaging experts say that more and more of what we buy at the store comes
wrapped in plastic. But it’s not always clear what you can do with that empty
plastic container once you’re finished with it. Rebecca Williams visits some
experts to sort out the confusion about recycling plastic:
Next time you have a plastic bottle in your hand, check out the bottom. You’ll
probably find a little number with a recycle symbol around it. You might think:
great, this is recyclable. But it turns out those handy little symbols aren’t meant
for us consumers at all.
“It’s created nothing but trouble through history because people see that and
think it means the container is recyclable.”
Patty Moore is president of Moore Recycling Associates. It’s a consulting firm
that focuses on plastics recycling. She says those little numbers were put in place
so the recycling industry could know what kind of plastic the bottles were made
out of. It doesn’t mean that the plastic is actually recyclable.
“They put the recycling symbol on there to distinguish it from other symbols that
might be on the bottle… didn’t even say that the kind of plastic it was, was
necessarily recyclable. It was just a code so recyclers could identify the resin.”
So even if you see that recycle symbol… it doesn’t mean that container can go in
the recycling bin.
Moore says recycling plastic packaging is tricky. That’s because all plastics are
not created equal. They’re made of different resins. They often melt at different
temperatures, so they have to be recycled separately. If they’re recyclable at all.
Patty Moore says in the U.S., we’re doing a pretty decent job of recycling plastic
bottles. She says most cities are happy to take your soda bottles, milk jugs and
detergent containers. Usually that means any bottle that has a narrow neck, and
a little 1 or 2 on the bottom.
But then it gets really complicated.
There are those numbers 3 through 7. And sometimes you’ll see something with
a number one on it, but it’s not a bottle with a narrow neck. Or maybe there’s no
number at all.
I packed a bunch of those confusing containers into one giant plastic bag and
went to see Melinda Uerling. She runs a nonprofit recycling center near my
house.
First up, a cookie container with a number one on it and a recycle symbol, just
like you see on soda bottles. I’ve tried to recycle it in the past.
“Oh I’m glad you brought this! It’s one of those containers for cakes or cookies.
It’s not recyclable like soda bottles.”
Uerling says my cookie container has slightly different chemical properties from
soda bottles. So even though the container looks like it should be perfectly
recyclable, it’s not at all.
“So we’ve got a blue plastic plate, doesn’t even have a symbol on it. Again,
something that’s not recyclable. (RW: So, landfill?) Yup, landfill.”
“Bubble wrap! (pops some) Everyone’s going to be jealous… we take this but
there’s a better use for it. If you can reuse it it’s better than recycling… it’s not at
the end of its useful life.”
So you can keep the bubble wrap and use it again.
(snapping sound of bubble wrap)
It turns out all these plastic bags I brought are recyclable. But you usually can’t
put them in a curbside bin for pickup. You have to bring them to a drop-off
center – or back to the store. That’s if you can find where you’re supposed to put
them.
“You know a lot of grocery stores used to accept them in house, and I think
there’s a trend away from that because it was more of a contamination problem
than anything else. People would see open receptacle and put other types of bags
or trash. At the grocery store I go to there’s a collection point but they just don’t
advertise it the way they used to.”
Uerling says the bottom line with all these containers is whether they can be
recycled into something new. For example, those grocery bags might be mixed
with wood pulp and made into plastic lumber.
“You know, what’s out there? Is somebody making something out of this and can
sell it, that’s what really drives demand and whether we can collect it and turn
around and recycle it.”
So it’s still so confusing, you might feel like throwing the whole pile of stuff away.
But Melinda Uerling says there are a few things you can do instead. She says you
can start by badgering your local officials to look for new local markets for plastic
containers.
Uerling says you can also vote with your dollars, and avoid buying packaging
that’s not easily recyclable. Or try to buy packaging with some recycled content to
help create demand for it.
For the Environment Report, I’m Rebecca Williams.