RECYCLING: Plastic Water Bottles

I realize that they're convenient, but if we're going to have conversations about energy, climate change, and resources then we have to consider plastic water bottles. I'm no Luddite, but the world moved along quite nicely without this convenience.

It requires 3 liters of water to produce one 1 liter bottle of water. The 25.5 million water bottles produced in the US each year cause 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide, and use 17 million barrels of oil.

Consider other options when you intend to purchase bottled water, and tell two friends!

RECYCLING: Pilot Pen Launches Green Line

Pilot Pen Corporation has unveiled a line of earth-friendly writing instruments dubbed BeGreen.


Pilot says that the products, which include ballpoint pens, rolling balls pens and mechanical pencils, will sell for the same price as their non-recycled counterparts.

All are made from at least 70 percent recycled content and packaged in recycled materials. Retailers that will carry the green line include Office Depot, Office Max, Staples and Target.

(classic Bacsik)

RECYCLING: Plastic bags - Blowin' in the Wind, part 2

The LA County Board of Supervisors caved in to pressure from the California Grocer's Assn. and voted against banning plastic bags from county retail stores; instead they took the easy way out and voted for a voluntary effort by retailers to urge shoppers to reuse shopping bags.

Last year after the City of San Francisco instituted a ban, the LA supervisors commissioned a study that lasted nine months. The study's authors proposed the strongest measure: outright ban, but the supervisors opted for the weakest of the five alternatives. LA County uses 6 billion bags/year.

However, Whole Foods will institute a company-wide, 270 store ban on plastic bags before Earth Day 2008 (April 22). Whole Foods distributes 150 million plastic bags/year currently. They are the first US grocery chain to institute a ban. There are 26 Southern Cal and 24 Northern Cal Whole Foods markets.

(classic Bacsik)

RECYCLING: Cellphones, Part 2

We previously discussed the need to include old cellphones in the ever increasing volume of recycled or reused e-waste, and how EPA is helping to create awareness. But what happens to these old cellphones once we hand them over to someone else?

The demand for cellphones has created a worldwide funnel where some cellphones and their parts re-surface in several forms before their final death.

Recycling: Within the e-waste stream there is a kind of reverse colonial economic system - a Belgian company, Umicore, 'mines' the recycled material from the e-waste and sells it to a Chinese electronics manufacturer that then sends his products back to western markets. Each cellphone contains about one dollar's worth of precious metals, mostly gold, and up to 99% of each cellphone is salvageable.

Based on mining industry and USGS data, the nonprofit organization, Earthworks, estimates that mining the gold for the circuit board of one cellphone generates 220 pounds of waste!!

Reuse: The Michigan company, ReCellular, sells millions of phones per year to 400 refurbishers in 40 different countries. Because the cost of a new cellphone is often prohibitive, the market in many Asian and African countries for refurbished cellphones is very large and growing.

Recycling and Reuse: The Colorado company, Collective Good, will take cellphones in any state of disrepair, and they will pay you for you working cellphone. The company donates a portion of their resale and scrap value monies to up to 500 causes.

Disposal: In a recent study (authored by a UCI professor), 34 recent model cellphones were put through an EPA test that simulates conditions in a landfill and they all leached lead a rate 17 times higher than EPA's hazardous threshold. It is estimated that only one percent of cellphones worldwide reach the recycling/reuse funnel.

Therefore, while we can't be sure where our recycleables end up, we can ensure that they pass from our hands to an organization that has a record of recycling and/or reuse. The worldwide funnel of e-waste ensures that the materials have many lives before their ultimate landfill death.
(classic Bacsik)

RECYCLING: Containing the ubiquitous plastic bag.

Paper or plastic? If you're a shopper, you've heard this question a million times and you've already made up your mind about your feelings on the subject. Well, like smoking in bars and restaurants, plastic bags may not be as ubiquitous in a few years. Many federal and local governments are banning or imposing levies on plastic bags.

Australia is considering a levy on each bag used with the ultimate goal of a total ban on the distribution of plastic bags at retail stores (see Plastic bags join endangered list). China, which uses as many bags in 48 hours as Australia uses in a year, passed a law restricting production and distribution, and imposing a levy beginning on June 1, 2008.

Additionally, the City Council of New York voted 44-2 to require large retailers (stores over 5,000 sf and/or with at least 5 stores in the City) to provide prominently accessible recycling bins and to coordinate recycling arrangements independent of the City regardless of the store of origin of the bags. The mayor will sign the bill.


In addition to the waste stream, the energy consumed in the lifecycle of one plastic bag equals one teaspoonful of crude oil.

The United States uses 86 billion plastic bags per year.

China uses 3 billion bags per DAY or 37 million barrels of crude oil per year! In 48 hours, China uses the same amount that Australia uses in a year.

Bangladesh has banned the bags because they've clogged storm drains and caused flooding.

Other countries with bans and/or levies include: Taiwan, Russia, Uganda, Ireland, and South Africa.

IKEA USA has been charging for each plastic bag since March 2007 and has reduced the price of cloth bags.

(classic Bacsik)

RECYCLING: Proper Disposal of Old Cellphones

We all know that collection of e-waste is a growing industry and a necessary industry, and that industry needs to include the proper disposal of old cellphones. The EPA estimates that 150 million cellphones are taken out of service each year (and that number will grow because young people trade up more frequently than most adults and because more families have individual cellphones in lieu of land lines). “There are significant environmental and energy benefits to getting these phones back into the product stream,” the director of the EPA's office of solid waste, Matt Hale, said.

The $175,000 campaign — “Recycle Your Cellphone. It’s an Easy Call” — will rely heavily on public service announcements, particularly in lifestyle and technology magazines read by the 18- to 34-year-olds. “Our key role is to get the message out, that recycling cellphones is easy and convenient,” said Mr. Hale, who estimates that 20 percent of unwanted cellphones are recycled or reused each year. Eleven companies — AT&T, Best Buy, LG Electronics, Motorola, Nokia, Office Depot, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Sprint, Staples and T-Mobile — are partners in the campaign. Each has promised to collect phones and hold recycling events. The Sprint Buyback Program lets customers swap old phones for a credit of up to $50 on their bills.

Spread the word that cellphone recycling is easy and necessary.

(classic Bacsik)

RECYCLING: The perils of being thirsty!

All of my childhood I was told to get a summertime drink of water from the outside hose. I still do it while working outside (once you get past the first 30 seconds of scalding hot water and the awful taste, it's okay), and I still use the tap inside. This mentality along with my understanding of the terrible waste stream associated with plastic bottles has jaded me against bottled water. This New York Times article, The (Possible) Perils of Being Thirsty while Being Green, suggests there's a danger to your health as a reason to avoid bottled water - especially if you think you're going to be 'green' by washing and reusing the bottles. (This is precisely what I do when I cave in and buy a bottle of water!)

From the Times article, "the trouble with reusing those plastic bottles is that each time they are washed and refilled they become a little more scratched and crinkly, which can lead them to degrade. That can cause a trace metal called antimony to leach out", said Frederick S. vom Saal, a professor of biology at the University of Missouri who has studied plastics for years. “We have to assume that along with that metal, others are almost certainly leaching out as well, but we don’t know what they are and we don’t know what to look for because manufacturers won’t tell us what else is in the bottles,” Professor vom Saal said.

Most plastic bottles are stamped with a recycling code, No. 1 to No. 7. “If I was to use plastic, I would stay with No. 2 and No. 5,” Professor vom Saal said. "No. 2 is high-density polyethylene; No. 5 is polypropylene. Both are used in margarine tubs and yogurt containers for example". But, he warned, do not heat anything in any type of plastic in the microwave. If you do use these hard No. 7 plastic bottles, the Green Guide, published by the National Geographic Society, advises you to avoid washing them in a dishwasher or with harsh detergent to limit wear and tear.

Plastic containers are easily recycled and since very few among us can avoid using them, the least we can do is ensure they get recycled. Perhaps that type of re-use is also avoiding some health risks associated with washing and re-using them ourselves?!

(There is a lot of good information about plastic bottles at the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers webpage.)

(classic Bacsik)