Understanding the basics of Plastics and how plastic waste could sit in landfills for evermore.

Plastic, one of the most abundant elements of our trash

Plastic products are an everyday part of our lives, so much so that many of us don’t give it a second thought. Found in almost everything we deal with, from packaging to containers, from household products to garden products, at work, in our cars and much more.

In fact, plastics make up around 12% of our trash ( Municipal Waste), that’s over a 1000% increase per year since the early 1960’s. Unfortunately, the recycle rates are low too and it is estimated that less than 10% of household plastic materials actually make their way for recycling. Here are some figures from the latest annual figures available on the EPA website:

·         31 million tons of plastic waste was generated in America in 2010

·         14 million tons were plastic containers and packaging

·         A milk jug will have a degradation time in a landfill of an estimated hundreds of years.

What are the type of plastics and how do we recognize them?

There are two categories for plastics, these are known as thermoplastic or as thermoset.  A thermoplastic softens when subjected to heat and is used in most of the containers, packaging trays and coverings we see in our everyday lives. Thermoset plastics solidify when heated and set hard, car dashboards and fenders are a great example of this technique.

The symbols used on plastics as identifiers for recycling are either the recycling triangle symbol with a number in the center or with the identifier initials for the plastic. These are normally found on the base of a container.

#1 #1 PET or PETE denotes polyethylene terephthalate resin. Plastic packages made with this type of plastic include water, soda and vinegar bottles along with prescription containers and film backing.

#2 #2 HDPE is high-density polyethylene resin. Common containers with this symbol include dish/clothes soap, bleaches, softeners, milk, hair care products, motor oil and some toys.

#3 #3 V denotes vinyl/polyvinyl chloride resin. Products that carry this symbol include various cooking oils, shrink-wrap, pipes, shower curtains, coffee containers and vinyl dashboards.

#4 #4 LDPE is low-density polyethylene resin. This type of plastic is known for flexibility and used in bread, grocery and sandwich bags, as well as flexible container lids.

#5 #5 PP denotes polypropylene resin. Items displaying this symbol include some food containers, syrup bottles, jar lids, food containers, diapers and outdoor carpet.

#6  #6 PS is polystyrene resin. This group includes disposable cups and cutlery, fast-food foam boxes, meat trays, packing peanuts and Styrofoam insulation.

#7 #7  A wide variety of plastic resins that don't fit into the previous categories are found in number 7. A few are made from polyactide (organic) and are compostable. Polycarbonate is also number 7, and is the hard plastic that has shown it can leach potential hormone disruptors and has many parents worried.

 
Biodegradable plastics.

Before we go into degradation times in landfills, I want to discuss biodegradable plastics. The normal plastics that we handle, i.e. PET and HDPE etc., are manmade and will sit in a landfill for hundreds of years in to the future.

But scientists and the plastics industry found that by adding certain substances, when placed in landfills, the microbes of the bacteria present will attack the additive. This action will also break down the plastic polymers and for the most part, will allow the bacteria to degrade the plastic substance also.

The FDA have approved the use of these additives and biodegradable plastics for use with foods.

Degradation times in landfills.

The truth is, there no set times for degradation, all of the numbers being quoted are theoretical, in my article about landfills, I wrote about researchers from the University of Arizona excavating a landfill after 15 years and readily identified hotdogs and other food stuffs due to the lack of moisture etc. Degradation time has several factors that speed up the process or can slow it down. Temperature of the landfill, moisture content ( which bacteria thrive on), oxygen and also sunlight.

The whole principle of a dry landfill is to keep moisture out in order to prevent leachate escaping into the soil around and causing pollution. Again, the landfills are capped to prevent rainwater entering the landfill, so once again sunlight is not going to be present for the most part. Temperatures should remain fairly constant due to the degradation and decomposition happening inside the landfills. However, in parts of the United States, where prolonged periods of cold weather occur, the overall temperature can have a detrimental effect on the landfill for that time.

We do know that thin biodegradable food wrap will be expected to degrade in about 2 months, the thin biodegradable water bottles within a couple of years. But the heavy milk jugs, the biodegradable plastics may degrade in 30 years or so, but this is only theoretical. The normal HDPE container would be expected to not break down for hundreds of years.

Summary

A lot of time and research has been spent and is ongoing with plastics. One big advancement has been the recycling of plastics for use in plastic lumber and I can only applaud this discovery and wish I had known about it when I built my porch some years ago.

The problem appears to be, in a lot of rural areas, that the price for plastic remains relatively low, and the prices I have seen quoted range from 12 cents per pound and 20 cents if sorted into the different types of plastic. In my area of Louisiana, my nearest company (120 miles away) also requires a minimum of 5000 lbs. weight. When up against aluminum that fetches 50 – 70 cents per pound, at any quantity and at any scrap metal yard, you can understand why this does not appeal to many as an economical  proposition.

The only sensible way forward would be for all of us to do a bit of research of our own and make an effort to get these plastics into a recycle program. There has been a lot of research in capturing the methane produced in decomposition, plastics are a big contributor to this, and when the benefits are much greater than the affects to the environment, I will become an ardent supporter. So for the foreseeable future, I support keeping plastics out of the landfills as much as possible, at least until a consistently safer way of extracting the energy is found.

A personal note to my readers.

Just to make my readers aware, I also work periodically as a civilian roleplayer at a nearby military base. We help train troops before they go on deployment. Hopefully the experience will bring them all home safely.
So periodically, there may be no new posts from me for a week to ten days.
Thank you for your understanding. Mark.

Aluminum: The super metal that can be recycled and reused, over and over again.

Where does Aluminum come from?

Aluminum is the most common metal we have and the third most common element found in the earth’s crust, behind oxygen and silicon.

The raw material to make aluminum is called Bauxite, this is like a clay and is formed by aluminum rich rocks crumbling and forming the bauxite deposits. Aluminum forms over 50% of the bauxite, in comparison to the earth’s crust which averages 8% aluminum.

Once mined, this is taken to a processing facility nearby and through a chemical cleaning process and converted into aluminum oxide. The next process is electrolysis to separate the aluminum, where it is dissolved in Cryolite at a very high temperature and a DC electrical current is passed through the solution. The liquid aluminum collects at the cathode in the bottom of the furnace cell and then transferred to a crucible by a vacuum system. Aluminum made by this process is known as primary aluminum.

In this liquid form, it is transferred again to a casthouse where it is cleaned again and alloys are added so it can be made into the various forms, dependent on production needs. These forms are: foundry alloys, wire rods, sheet logs and extrusion logs.

This is an energy intensive process, which has reduced in consumption about 30% over the last 30 years, but a process which is equally justified for a material which is light, good tensile strength, long life and low maintenance.

Why is there so much pressure to recycle if aluminum is so plentiful?

Like all resources, there is no endless supply. But aluminum has a quality that few materials possess, it can be recycled over and over again without losing its properties. But there is another huge saving to society, to use this recycled aluminum to produce new only requires 5% of the energy, yes that’s right 5%. This may be a good point to tell you that the melting point of aluminum is 1220 degrees Fahrenheit, trust me, that takes a lot of energy to reach those temperatures.

 Now taking some figures from the EPA website, 966 million kgs of recycled aluminum (2003 figure) saved approximately 966 x 14 kW hours= 13,524,000,000 kilowatt hours of energy. According to US Energy Information Association, the average domestic usage for 2008 was 11,040 kWh, this will give some idea of the saving that can be made or put another way, how much extra aluminum would cost if it was not recyclable.

Are all cans the same?

The answer is no. Your soda and beer cans are pure aluminum, but the canned groceries are not pure aluminum cans. The aluminum is often used for the tear off lids, but the grocery cans are made up mainly of steel, thus the expression Tin Can. Just like aluminum, steel is a sought after recyclable commodity.

How to recycle aluminum.

Most of the bigger towns and cities across America will have curbside collections and will involve little more than the householder saving the cans, after use, in a sack or dedicated recycling bin and putting out for collection on specific days.

I live out in rural Louisiana, here the story is different as it is in many other rural locations. There are no curbside collections, the local parish ( or county) council has created a recycling center, here local residents can take their saved recyclables and put them in the appropriate containers.

Like minded congregations and parents at churches and schools in my local area save the cans to help raise funds for needed projects. Often, if there are 100 or so people collecting, it would not be unreasonable to expect around $3000 over the course of a year.

Finally, there are a growing number of people that save their cans and personally take them to a local scrap metal dealer. Prices vary from yard to yard, but the price is normally in the region of 40 – 70 cents per pound in weight. For most households, this would probably make a nice cash bonus towards a treat or present, but definitely not a second income.

Summary

The fact that aluminum can be recycled, over and over again, makes this the number one candidate for recycling. It is believed that several hundred years from now, the same aluminum can will still retain all of its properties to continue being recycled and reused. Likewise, that same can would also be laying in the landfill with the rest of the trash in several hundred years time.

There really is no argument, if the recycling message does not get through to everyone, future generations could well be excavating landfills searching for the resources that have become depleted.

Some quick fun facts I found whilst researching.

·         Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a television for three hours.

·         Every 3 seconds a baby is born. In that time, 140 cans were born.

·         America recycled enough aluminum cans last year to stretch to the moon and back 8 times.

·         Aluminum cans have amazing strength. Four six-packs (24 cans) can hold a 4,000-pound aluminum-bodied sedan.

A VIABLE ALTERNATIVE TO THE BIG ENERGY PROVIDERS?

Whilst researching into alternative energies, I came across some information about the growing number of cooperatives that are in existence all over the country, and not just here in the United States, but all over the world.

For some time now, most of us have been tightening our financial belts, scrutinizing our bills and service of the utility or service providers. Almost daily in the national press, the profits of the large corporations are fuelling anger, dismay and disbelief. The focus seems to have changed from high local service levels to rationalizing of services and increasing the return to investors.

Over the years, increased prices, lower service levels and the feeling of not being anything more than an account number has led groups of individuals and businesses to join together to find a solution and form cooperatives or associations to take over the supply of the service to their district.

A brief history and the principles of a cooperative.

The cooperative movement began in Europe, growing primarily Britain and France, in the 19^th century. The first recorded cooperative in Europe though was the Fenwick Weavers Society, Scotland in 1769. By the 1830’s there were hundreds that had been formed during the industrial revolution.

In 1844, the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers, in England, established the Rochdale Principles by which they would conduct the society’s business ( see list below). To this day, the Rochdale Principles are used in the formation and running of all cooperatives worldwide.

In America the Philadelphia Contributionship Mutual Insurance, founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1752 is the oldest cooperative and continues today. Throughout the 19^th century, coops began to be founded, and in 1920, there were 2600 coops recorded. During the Great Depression, many more coops were founded under Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. The Credit Unions are the biggest legacy from that period.

The first electric coop was formed in July 1941, the Delaware County Electric Association and in April 1942 the Rural Electric Cooperative Law was passed. Today, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association has more than 900 not-for-profit cooperatives in their membership and they are a big advocate of renewable and sustainable energy, the website is well worth a visit.

The Rochdale Principles.

1st Principle: Voluntary and Open Membership

Co-operatives are voluntary organisations, open to all persons able to use their services and willing to accept responsibilities of membership, without gender, social, racial, political or religious discrimination.

2nd Principle: Democratic Member Control

Co-operatives are democratic organisations controlled by their members, who actively participate in setting their policies and making decisions. Men and women serving as elected representatives are accountable to the membership. In primary co-operatives members have equal voting rights (one member, one vote), and co operatives at other levels are also organised in a democratic manner.

3rd Principle: Member Economic Participation

Members contribute equitably to, and democratically control, the capital of their co-operative. At least part of that capital is usually the common property of the co-operative. Members usually receive limited compensation, if any, on capital subscribed as a condition of membership. Members allocate surpluses for any of the following purposes: developing their co-operative, possibly by setting up reserves, part of which at least would be indivisible; benefiting members in proportion to their transactions with the co-operative; and supporting other activities approved by the membership.

4th Principle: Autonomy and Independence

Co-operatives are autonomous, self-help organisations controlled by their members. If they enter into agreements with other organisations, including governments, or raise capital from external sources, they do so on terms that ensure democratic control by their members and maintain their co-operative autonomy.

5th Principle: Education, Training and Information

Co-operatives provide education and training for their members, elected representatives, managers and employees so they can contribute effectively to the development of their co-operatives. They inform the general public – particularly young people and opinion leaders – about the nature and benefits of co-operation.

6th Principle: Co-operation Among Co-operatives

Co-operatives serve their members most effectively and strengthen the Co-operative Movement by working together through local, national, regional and international structures.

7th Principle: Concern for Community

Co-operatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies approved by their members.

The Advantages of joining a Cooperative

·         Can use the larger volume of electric supply to obtain discounts for members.

·         All non profit cooperatives receive tax exempt status.

·         All electric utilities can receive some form of federal funding.

·         Independence and member control.

The Disadvantages of joining a Cooperative

·         If members don’t participate and assist in some way in the running of the cooperative, the purpose of the cooperative is lost.

·         If service contracts are not properly in place, repairs to infrastructure can be expensive to members. Especially so in rural communities, where there is likely to be miles more cable.

Summary

So whether starting up a new cooperative or joining an existing one, there can be substantial savings made in a well run cooperative. Many existing members comment, on the various websites, that they feel much happier in having more control and all the monetary benefits are passed back to them. Now this will not be for everyone, other commitments and frequently travelling away from home are just two possible reasons that a person cannot be an active participant.

For those of you that are interested in learning more, below is a list of useful sources of additional information:

http://www.nreca.coop/Pages/default.aspx  National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

http://www.touchstoneenergy.com/Pages/default.aspx  Touchstone Energy

http://www.cooperativeenergy.coop/  Cooperative Energy (UK)

Waste Facts and Information in 2010

How bad is the problem with landfills? What is the size of the problem? Are all the efforts by governments and agencies making a worthwhile difference? What can we do to better the statistics? These are all questions that many people ask and discuss; the information is available and my aim is to bring as many facts and figures together on all aspects of recycling and waste through a series of articles. The main focus of these articles will be for America, however I was born and raised in England, so there will be references to my experiences back there from time to time.

To start with, let me put in a few facts to demonstrate where we are at with waste going to landfills and the recycling efforts, together with a few graphs to show trends and for comparisons. These have all been found on the Environment Protection Agency website. Figures for 2011 should be made available in November 2012 and will be published as soon as available.

1.       In 2010, Americans generated about 250 million tons of trash but only recycled and composted over 85 million tons of this material, equivalent to a 34.1 percent recycling rate . This is enough waste to fill the Bush Stadium twice a day, every day.

2.       Of this 2010 garbage or Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) total, newspaper/mechanical papers recovery was about 72 percent (7 million tons), and about 58 percent of yard trimmings were recovered. Organic materials continue to be the largest component of MSW. Paper and paperboard account for 29 percent and yard trimmings and food scraps account for another 27 percent. Plastics comprise 12 percent; metals make up 9 percent; and rubber, leather, and textiles account for 8 percent. Wood follows at around 6 percent and glass at 5 percent. Other miscellaneous wastes make up approximately 3 percent of the MSW generated in 2010.

3.       Recycling and composting prevented 85.1 million tons of material away from being disposed of in 2010, up from 15 million tons in 1980. This prevented the release of approximately 186 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent into the air in 2010—equivalent to taking 36 million cars off the road for a year.

As we can see from the information above, the upward trends have been broken on the amount of waste we are making. The totals for the total recycled and the percentage recycled are continuing in an upward trend. This is all positive news, it shows that all the efforts and collaborations between government, agencies, businesses, local groups and households are starting to reap rewards. But because of the sheer size of the United States, these figures are going to differ wildly from state to state, even between counties/parishes within each state.

My own experience from England, over the last 20 years, is that curbside collections have made a huge impact on household recycling. Previously, it was the responsibility of the householder to take these to the local town council tip or find one of a growing number of recycling containers, made available by groups wishing to raise funds and help the environment. But once collections were rolled out around the towns and into the surrounding villages, the volumes of recycling took a substantial leap. I must point out here that it was not an immediate leap, over a period of time and after many educational flyers and adverts, some people began collecting immediately, but others took a while to be convinced of the merits.

As a man, a well known creature of habit, I can honestly tell you that it took quite a while for it to become a habit to put drink cans, tins, plastic containers etc. into a separate bin and for the first few months, 10-20 % was a good return on my recycling effort. But after a while, it did become second nature to put the trash into separate bins and that on certain weeks, certain bins had to be put out for collection. After 20 odd years of separating my recycling trash, I think I was probably putting 90% of everything that could be recycled into the correct bin at the time of leaving England for a new life here in the United States in 2011.

I now live in Central Louisiana and I was horrified to see my new family, relatives and neighbors chucking everything into the same trash bin to be put out each week. I asked about this and every time the same answers. That there never would be collections out in rural America because of the way the homes are spread out over miles and that it would mean taking the recycling trash 12 miles back into town in our case.

This leads nicely to the arguments I have heard about not recycling. I list some below:

1.       Recycling is too inconvenient. This has to be the number one objection to getting involved in the first place, many people simply cannot be bothered to make the tiniest effort to separate there trash under the misguided notion it is going to take up valuable time in their week. So once you have set up a second bin or bag, how is this any extra effort?

2.       I don’t have enough room to recycle. The only legitimate argument I have heard has been from people living in town/ city centres where they simply do not have room to put another bin. But my argument is, if you have enough room to store a case of bottled water, beer bottles or canned food. Then you already have the case to put the empties back into and drop them off at a recycling point on your way to buy another case.

3.       It doesn’t make that much difference. This argument comes from sensationalist journalism, the effects on global warming, landfills struggling with the capacity they have and experts quoted as saying that as consumption rises, resources will run out. Resources running out is surely a reason to recycle? Landfills that are struggling for capacity is surely a reason to recycle again? Effects on global warming have been increasing for several decades now and cannot be reversed overnight. Landfills have become fewer in number and have become regulated in order to reverse the threats of contamination and pollution.

4.       I would if they paid me. Like they paid you for taking your trash out all these years? The fact is that through our local taxes, we all pay for our household waste to be collected. So whether it is a local council, a group trying to raise funds or a local business willing to make these collections free of charge, should be counted as a saving whilst being environmentally responsible.

Here are the overwhelming arguments for recycling:

1.       Recycling saves energy because the manufacturer doesn’t have to produce something new from raw natural resources. By using recycled materials we save on energy consumption, which keeps production costs down.

2.      Recycling reduces the need for more landfills. No one wants to live next to a landfill.

3.       By recycling, we reduce the need to destroy habitats for animals. Paper recycling alone saves millions of trees.

4.       Recycling and purchasing recycled products creates a greater demand for more recycled goods. Goods made from recycled materials use less water, creates less pollution and uses less energy.

5.       Recycling produces considerably less carbon, which reduces the amount of unhealthy greenhouse gas omissions.

So in the cities, with curbside collections, the percentages are quite healthy. However out of the towns and cities, in my area of Louisiana at least, there are virtually no recycling projects with the exceptions of a few church and school groups. I can only guess it is similar for the rest of rural Americans too. So there is still a long way to go and much work to be done, but for all the work and effort that has gone on to date, the trends and momentum are now positive.  So from the householders perspective, there is a good percentage of the population that has got behind the recycling efforts. But to be fair, most manufacturers and packaging companies are constantly researching ways to reduce packaging or at least make it 100% recyclable. However, I will write about this in greater detail in a future article, to bring the efforts by businesses to everyone’s attention.

Before I finish, here are a few more facts about the life of a few products thrown into the landfill:

·         Disposable diapers last centuries in landfills. An average baby will go through 8,000 of them!

·         Each year Americans throw away 25,000,000,000 Styrofoam cups. Even 500 years from now, the foam coffee cup you used this morning will be sitting in a landfill.

·         Glass does not deteriorate, it will be in the ground forever more.

·         Aluminum cans will be in the ground for 200 years +.

·         Even a tin can could be in the ground for up to 100 years.

Together, we can all keep doing a little and collectively achieve a lot by keeping a lot of materials out of the landfill sites. There are no prizes for achieving 100%, but the consequences for doing nothing are immense for future generations.