Plastic Recycling

I came up with a brilliant, inexpensive, and easy solution to the problem of post-consumer plastic pollution. The idea was so good that I considered emailing all my friends and relatives.

But this set off alarms in my head because I’ve learned over time that there’s usually a reason why obviously great ideas aren’t acted upon.

It didn’t take me more than half an hour of casual Internet research to understand why we’re not recycling plastics as we'd like. I learned more from that half-hour than I did from thousands of scolding TV and radio ads I've heard over the decades. Simply telling everyone to recycle plastic or they’re bad people isn't fair if no one on Earth knows how to recycle it.

What’s the real problem?

The real problem is that most plastics aren’t recyclable. The few that can be recycled can be recycled only once or twice before chemically breaking down and becoming unusable. This is probably a surprise to most people because l it isn’t what we’ve been hearing all our lives.

If you don’t believe me, read this article from NPR.

It amazes me how so many people who claim to want to help the world seem unable to explain their positions thoughtfully and reasonably without casting blame and trying to get everyone emotionally charged.

Where do plastics come from?

To better understand the plastic-pollution problem, let’s learn where plastics come from.

Plastics are derived from a low-cost byproduct of crude oil refining. In other words, whether we like plastics or not, we get the raw material to make them anyway when crude oil is refined.

The figure below shows the major constituents obtained during the refinement of crude oil:

Notice the word naphtha. That's what gets turned into plastics. Another word unfamiliar to most people is bitumen. That's what gets turned into road asphalt. Thus, if we stopped refining crude oil, we would no longer have plastics, asphalt roads, or anything else listed in the above image.

Let’s focus on naphtha for a moment and consider what we get from it:

If we stopped refining crude oil, all the materials listed on the right-hand side of the figure above would no longer exist unless they could be manufactured by other means. Can you imagine a world without plastics, resins, fibers (polyesters), rubbers, solvents, coatings, dyes, and adhesives?

And don't forget chewing gum. Most modern gums are made from polyisobutylene (and other plasticizers and materials), a colorless, gummy solid used to manufacture inner tubes. In case you're wondering, polyisobutylene is a petroleum-derived compound.

No wonder I've never liked chewing gum.

So, what should we do with discarded plastics?

Here’s where we can spend weeks reading hundreds of articles on what to do with post-consumer plastics. The problem is complex and involves many steps, some of which are unknown. We must enter the world of chemical and environmental engineering. Many companies and research centers are trying to learn what to do with discarded plastics. We should applaud and support their efforts.

For example, researchers are investigating grinding up certain plastics and adding them to road asphalt, just as ground-up tires are sometimes added. However, we don’t yet have a solution for most plastics.

This is where all the TV, radio, and Internet speeches fall short. They skip the part about where the recycled plastic is to be used.

The final state of naturally decayed plastic

If left on its own, the final state of decaying plastic after many decades is the stuff of horror movies. It eventually breaks down into a fine dust that virtually all animal and plant life ingests. Thus, there is a certain amount of plastic dust in fish, whales, birds, livestock, and fruits and vegetables.

Plastics buried by thoughtful, caring citizens over time emit toxic gasses. So, if you’re a good person and bury your discarded plastic in your backyard, your great-grandchildren will breathe nasty fumes while playing out with the family dog.

What can be done?

I have three suggestions that have no net cost. Meaning, they’re free!

1. All the energy and expense used to make movies, TV shows, and radio ads about recycling plastic should be redirected toward research on what to do with recycled plastic.

2. Instead of throwing out used plastic items (flashlights, cups, toys, etc.), donate them to a second-hand store.

3. Use less single-use consumer plastic (plastic forks, plates, bags, etc.).

If we don’t use as much single-use plastic to begin with, we’ll have less plastic waste to deal with in the end. I’m not suggesting we don’t use plastic for TVs, printers, heart monitor machines, or cell phones that are used for years. I’m referring to using less single-use plastics that are used once and then tossed.

For example:

1. Purchase meats from your grocery store’s deli counter, where they're wrapped in butcher paper.

2. Prepare larger batches of home-cooked foods made from fresh ingredients. This way, you can have several days of lunches from the same home-cooked meal, all without using any plastic.

3. Purchase foods from stores that stock products in large bins (that aren't wrapped in single-use plastic).

4. Ask for paper bags at the grocery store.

5. Don’t buy bottled water. If you don’t like tap water, purchase a home water filtration system. It will pay for itself over time because you won't have to buy bottled water.

6. Never purchase plastic eating utensils, plates, or cups. When going on picnics, use real plates and silverware from your kitchen. This will impress your friends.

7. If you must purchase prepared foods, then when going down the aisles in your grocery store, choose products that aren’t enclosed in plastic. Excellent examples are pizzas, casseroles, fish, and ice cream.

Remember that metal and glass containers are recyclable. And paper is biodegradable. Glass can be recycled thousands of times, and it’s still just glass. The same goes for metal containers such as cans.

Bottom line:

The best way to reduce post-consumer plastic waste

is to use less plastic from the start.

We can’t completely avoid single-use plastic, but we can reduce our use of it by 50-75% without feeling any pain whatsoever.

And you get to eat more ice cream! So long as you eat it with a metal spoon.