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RECYCLING?
...And Zero
Waste Alternatives.
Plastics
don't actually recycle. Instead of being reformed them back into
the original products, they are reprocessed into secondary (and
usually non-recyclable) products. This is due to several factors
including structural/chemical sensitivity, the extremely low cost
of virgin plastics, poor product design and materials policy.
Below are numerous articles that focus and explain these issues.
The end result is an increase in waste and the continued extraction
of non-renuable, virgin resources. In summary, what is urgently
needed is "extended producer responsability," whereby
the manufacturer assumes the task of insuring socially and enviornmentally
sound product designs.
Below are numerous
articles that focus and explain these issues.
GENERAL PLASTIC "RECYCLING" INFORMATION:
Seven Misconceptions Abut
Plastic and Recycling.
From The Berkeley Plastics Task Force Report (1996)
RECYCLED CONTENT, a publication
of the Ecology Center aimed to create Awareness around plastic
recycling issues. Intended to educate the general public.
The Problem with Plastic,
By Paul Gottlich
Plastic seduction STEVE
STALLONE / The Fifth Column / San Francisco Bay Guardian 15dec93
Polystyrene Products and Recycling
Polystyrene Packaging Council (PSPC) 23jul01 Information
direct from the industry admitting that they create millions of
tons of waste. A quote: "Please note
that due to present economic conditions, polystyrene food service
packaging is generally not recycled....There has been a decrease
in the amount of polystyrene food service packaging recycled during
this period." SEE MORE
Traditional Plastics
Processing - EHP Jan95 How is plastic
reprocessed- industry description.
FACTS ON RECYCABILITY OF PLASTIC: Debunking
the Recycling Myth
(Original posted on the GAIA email listserver)
SPECIFIC NEWS:
Coke Urged to Recycle Plastic
Ecology Center 11apr01
New York City To Stop Glass and Plastic
Recycling (July 2002)
Danes Conclude Plastic Recycling
to Be Worthless (2002)
World PVC Production/Capacity
1980-1998:Less than 2 Hundredths of a Percent Recycled
HOW RECYCLERS CAN WORK
CONSTRUCTIVELY WITH PACKAGERS TO INSURE THAT NEW BARRIER PET BOTTLES
ARE DESIGNED FOR RECYCLABILITY-Focus on Beer Bottles(by Recycle
Worlds Consulting)
ZERO WASTE AND ADDITIONAL RECYCLING TOPICS:
What is Zero Waste? From
the Grassroots Recycling Network: www.grrn.org
Zero Waste, or Darn Near,
By E. Lombardi. From the Grassroots Recycling Network: www.grrn.org
ZERO WASTE: Campaign of the Grass Roots Recycling
Network www.grrn.org
The GRRN Website has
numerous links describing Zero Waste initiatives across the globe.
Visit them at: http://grrn.org/zerowaste/zw_world.html
Wasted
Opportunity: A report from Zero Waste New Zealand examining
alternatives to landfilling and waste incineration.
Zero Waste: Replacing
Waste Management with Discards Management in the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region, Published by the Institute for Local
Self Reliance.
UN
World Summit on Sustainable Development to Be a Zero WasteEvent,
Campaign of GAIA and Earthlife Africa (2002)
Activists
Applaud Commitment and Steps towards Zero Waste at Earth Summit
At meeting, confirm will closely follow implementation of Zero
Waste plans
The Globalization of the Plastic
Waste Trade, By Tim Krupnik
A political economy of the shift in the global recycling market
to the exportation of plastic to the Asian continent. Graphic
descriptions of the plastic recycling facilities in India.
ARE CELL PHONES (or the plastics used)
Recyclable?
The UN World Summit on Sustainable Development in South Africa
Goes Zero Waste (2002)
Extended Producer Responsibility: A
Primer Pat Franklin, Executive Director, Container
Recycling Institute 18nov97
Local
Initiatives Leverage Extended Producer Responsibility Facts
to Act On (#40, November 20, 2000) by Brenda Platt
ZERO WASTE: By Robin Murray.
A hallmark Greenpeace Book argues the case for a moving from waste
management to a zero waste (UK Focus) society. (PDF FILE)
Book Review of Materials Matter
(2002)
Milk in Glass: The past and the future
Link
to offsiite pages with US dairys that bottle in Glass.
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