As managing editor of What's better for the environment, using less resin to make a PET bottle, or using more material but incorporating recycled plastic into the container? This is one of those questions where the answer depends on your priorities.
Today scienceline.org, a student-run webzine published by the Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program at New York University, takes a stab at the question. The statistics that the students cite are interesting, and they come up with what appears to be a pretty thoughtful conclusion.
First, it's nice to see that they actually look at materials pricing, which is an important consideration for plastics processors and their customers. They also consider landfill tipping costs, since there is a hidden cost to handle all of the PET bottles that aren't recycled, too.
The conclusion: although landfilling used PET bottles is cheaper in the short run, it is wasteful (a half a billion dollars worth of PET bottles were sent to landfills in 2005, acccording to the Container Recycling Institute), especially with virgin resin prices rising. So they acknowledge that using less virgin resin, by making lighter bottles, is a priority, as well as making an effort to use recycled material, too.
Comments (1)
Besides cost savings using recycled plastics for making bottles there is also environmental advantage if plastics are recycled.To make virgin polymers studies from Europe ( Finland, Holland etc as also UN studies) indicate as a thumb rule one needs 2 tons of oil for one ton of virgin polymer production and on an average the net savings in CO2 equivalent emissions is 1.5 to 1.7 tons for recycled materials substituting virgin polymer use. This helps us cut GHG emissions considerably wherever recycled polymers can substitute virgin plastics.Today in China almost 10 million tons of recycled plastics are used, if instead they were to use virgin polymers for same applications one can calculate the increased oil needed over 20 million tons as also GHG emission burdens, almost 17 million tons.Similarly India recycles almost 2 million tons plastics once again contributing to reduced GHG burdens.Ofcourse the lower cost of collection, processing etc. in Asian countries makes mechanical recycling even more beneficial socially.
Posted by Vijay Merchant | February 12, 2008 2:46 AM
Posted on February 12, 2008 02:46