As I said earlier, over 90% of the plastic we produce is not recycled. But why is that? We have all the recycle symbols, and we are all doing our part to sort out plastic and find places to recycle it, so what’s the problem?
An Oregon Public Broadcasting article explains:
Waste management experts say the problem with plastic is that it is expensive to collect and sort. There are now thousands of different types of plastic, and none of them can be melted down together. Plastic also degrades after one or two uses. [Also] the more plastic is reused the more toxic it becomes. New plastic, on the other hand, is cheap and easy to produce. The result is that plastic trash has few markets – a reality the public has not wanted to hear.
Chemical companies insist we’re just on the cusp of a major breakthrough that will make recycling and reusing plastics feasible and cost-effective, while environmental groups warn that this is all “greenwashing”.
And we are caught in the middle – dutifully rinsing, sorting, and recycling our plastic containers. Should we stop bothering to participate, or is there some utility in keeping up the plastic recycling stream? Most sources say that recycling is better than nothing! But please follow the guidelines:
- Curbside: Sanipac accepts #1 (PET), commonly used for bottled beverages, and #2 (HDPE), used for milk jugs and shampoo and detergent bottles.
- Round ups: Lane County Waste Management offers plastic collection for #2, #4, #5 plastics to “registered” community collectors. (To find a volunteer community collector near you, email with your name and complete address, including zip code.)
Plastics Round Up: Saturday, October 19, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Eugene Friends Meeting will partner with our neighbor, the First Congregational Church (in their lower parking lot at 24th and Harris St.) for a plastic collection and recycling event! We will collect all plastics labeled 2, 4, and 5 as well as block styrofoam and metal lids.
Instructions: Labels do not have to be removed from the plastic but they should be squeaky clean. Also, please sort your plastics into the different number categories, circle the triangular recycling symbol with a sharpie, and then write the number next to the symbol.
