Waste Management: Recycling Plastics

¶ … Recycling Plastic Good Stewardship or Bad Business?

There are quite a number of arguments that could be advanced on why recycling plastic is good stewardship. It is important to note, from the onset, that much of the solid waste municipalities handle comprises of metal, plastic, glass, and paper. In that regard, therefore, the relevance of having in place an efficient system of solid waste management cannot be overstated. In addition to feeding a green economy, recycling plastic also helps in energy and resource conservation and helps divert waste from landfill. Recycling also does make great economic sense. For instance, it is much cheaper to manufacture items using materials that are recycled. Recycling also helps in bringing down waste disposal costs. Costs in this case include, but they are not limited to, landfill costs which could run into hundreds of millions.

We cannot do away with plastics. This is more so the case given that they are used in the manufacture of a wide range of products -- from utensils to trash bags to containers. More plastic is also used in the manufacture of appliances, furniture, and an incredible number of other items. Over the years, the utilization of plastics has continued to increase, and it is for this reason that they constitute a significant chunk of MSW steam. As Kneiss points out, recycling continues to be a crucial contributor to a clean environment.

To begin with, recycling has made it possible for plastics to be transformed into new materials and products -- products that can be used to address a number of local and global needs. The market for these products as Kneiss observes continues to increase each passing day. Further, innovation in the recycling arena has led to the creation of new jobs that in the final analysis add value to the economy at both the local and national levels.

Next, recycling plastic helps in the conservation of energy. This is particularly the case given that processing virgin materials uses up more energy. In that regard, therefore, making use of recycled materials is critical in the conservation of both transportation and processing energy. Recycling according to the Greening Earth Society "requires less processing than making a plastic bottle." This as the society further points out means less energy is used up in recycling. It is also critical as companies, organizations, municipalities, and governments move towards the reduction of their carbon footprints. The American Plastics Council points out that a significant percentage of the nation's energy consumption goes to the production of plastics (Anderson, 209).

In addition to helping in the conservation of energy, recycling is also of great significance in the conservation of resources. Indeed, as Anderson observes, recycling is critical when it comes to the conservation of virgin natural resources (202). The utilization of natural resources, including but not limited to petroleum and water, in the development of virgin plastic materials is already viewed as a huge burden upon our environment. According to the Greening Earth Society - GES, with regard to oil, approximately five oil barrels can be saved by recycling, as opposed to manufacturing, plastic bottles.

According to Anderson, recycling in addition to reducing the flow of waste materials to incinerators, also minimizes the amount of waste materials that end up in the nation's various landfills (202). In the absence of recycling programs, tones upon tones of waste plastic would have to be sent to landfill. Such land can be used for other more productive endeavors. Thus in addition to helping in the reduction of the nation's environmental footprint, recycling plastic is also of great relevance when it comes to the conservation of land space. According to the Greening Earth Society, the nation's landfills are fast running out of space and it is on the strength of this that "new landfills are created, which in the end hurt the environment." As GES further points out, "by recycling only one ton of plastic bottles, 8 cubic yards of landfill are being created." In the final analysis, therefore, recycling plastics is not only beneficial to the environment, but it also helps save money. It is, therefore, evident that the benefits of recycling plastic are immense.