Plastics are lightweight, sturdy and convenient, but they’re also one of the biggest problems when it comes to waste. Recycling may be one of the first things families think of when they go green. It’s easy. Usually the city or county waste company provides a can or container just for recyclable materials. Then why aren’t we doing a better job?
Consider:
- 63 pounds of plastic packaging per person end up in landfills in the United States every year.
- Plastic makes up 16% of all solid waste in this country.
- Between 50% and 80% of all the litter on beaches is plastic.
- Only 6.8% of plastics were recycled in the U.S. according to the EPA. We do a little better with soda bottles, 37% are recycled, and not quite so well with plastic milk and water jugs, 28% of those are recycled.
- And recycling has additional benefits: making products with recycled materials takes 50% less energy than starting with raw materials.
- 50% of all plastic is made for disposable applications such as packaging. And that’s quite a bit: 150 million metric tons worldwide.
- It takes 450 years for a plastic soda bottle to completely degrade in the ocean. Of course that begs the question: what is it doing in the ocean?
When you opt for a new energy efficient refrigerator, go the extra green mile. Be sure to recycle your plastic containers. Better yet, reuse them or buy the same product in paper or returnable glass. Refill your water bottles. Need a little motivation? Remember: recycling one ton of plastic saves 7.4 cubic yards of landfill space.
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