{"id":18457,"date":"2015-02-27T12:27:39","date_gmt":"2015-02-27T17:27:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145705.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=18457"},"modified":"2015-02-27T12:27:39","modified_gmt":"2015-02-27T17:27:39","slug":"waste-biz-consumers-need-help-recycling-plastic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/waste-biz-consumers-need-help-recycling-plastic\/","title":{"rendered":"The Waste Biz: Consumers Need Help Recycling Plastic"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"plastic<\/a>
Photo credit: Shutterstock<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Do you have trouble remembering which plastics can go in your recycling bin? Even if you can figure out the number on that stamped symbol on the bottom of a plastic container, you may not remember offhand if your recycling program accepts, say, #6 or #7 plastics. You may just toss the item in the bin anyway… or you may put it in the trash. Both of these choices have potential negative repercussions: we know that throwing away a recyclable item creates unnecessary environmental and economic costs, but putting the wrong plastic in your recycling bin can contaminate other materials. Why is recycling plastic<\/a> so difficult?<\/p>\n

Tom Szaky, the founder of Terracycle<\/a>, addresses this issue in a Packaging Digest<\/em> article<\/a>. The current system wasn’t designed for consumers, but for recyclers. And, unlike people in the business, the average person doesn’t understand – or care about – the type of resin in a product, or whether a hybrid package has some materials that can be recycled, and some that can’t. S\/he just wants to know if they can toss _____ in the blue bin. Szaky points to the How2Recycle label<\/a> as a consumer focused alternative: created by\u00a0GreenBlue<\/a>\u2019s Sustainable Packaging Coalition<\/a>, this label focuses on consumer needs… and, if implemented, could help raise plastic recycling rates.<\/p>\n

Think it’s time for a different system for recycling plastic? Share your thoughts, or point us to other ideas about how to better serve consumers who want to recycle everything they can.<\/p>\n

In other news from the waste sector:<\/p>\n

Interactive waste bin gives you a pat on the back:<\/strong> Most of us who recycle do so because we want to do the right thing. The\u00a0Masdar Institute of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi has created a waste bin for public spaces that informs you of the environmental impact of the recyclable item you just deposited<\/a>. When you, for instance, put a plastic bottle in one of these bins (currently a prototype), you might hear “By recycling a plastic bottle you saved enough energy to run your fridge for over 2 hours without having any negative impact on our environment!” Don’t you feel good?<\/p>\n

Upcycler wants to take over the world:<\/strong> We feature Donna Fenn’s Remade in Britain<\/a> a few months ago. This week, Bdaily featured an interview<\/a> with the entrepreneur about her business, including her plans for global expansion (in the long term).<\/p>\n

Plastic film, bags recycling increases:<\/strong> A new report<\/a> from the American Chemistry Council shows an 11% increase in the recycling of post-consumer plastic wraps, bags, and films. Part of the reason: small and mid-size stores are now offering drop-off centers for these materials. (via Waste Dive<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tom Szaky of Terracycle thinks we can better inform consumers about recycling plastic, Donna Fenn discusses world upcycling domination, and more…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":18459,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[7684,7907,7906,7902,7904,7905,7900,7539,7903,496,7901,7778,7795],"yoast_head":"\nTom Szaky On Recycling Plastic + More<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tom Szaky of Terracycle thinks we can better inform consumers about recycling plastic, Donna Fenn discusses world upcycling domination, and more...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/waste-biz-consumers-need-help-recycling-plastic\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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