• Hard 2 Recycle
  • Programs
    • Bee City USA Asheville >
      • Native Pollinator Plants and Nurseries
      • Pollination Celebration >
        • Pollinator Photo Contest
      • Pollinator Garden Certification
    • Rivers & Roads >
      • Adopt-a-Street
      • Clean Streams Day
      • Cleanup Supply Stations
      • Trash Trout
      • WNC Big Sweep
    • Education
    • Urban Forestry >
      • Adopt-a-Spot
      • Cool Green Asheville
      • Food Tree Project
      • RRI
      • Tree Nursery
      • Treasured Trees >
        • Treasured Trees Calendar
    • Waste Reduction >
      • Asheville Bag Monster
      • Composting Information
      • Flip Your Lid
      • Plastics Reduction Task Force
      • Recycling Information
      • Smash Don't Trash
  • Get Involved
    • Volunteer
    • Experiential Internships
    • Youth Environmental Leadership Program >
      • YELP Staff & Alumni
      • How to Apply
    • Make a Donation
    • Wish List
    • Sponsorship
  • Upcoming Events
  • About
    • Job Openings
    • History
    • Staff/ Contact
  • Newsletter
  • Blog Roll
    • Latest News
    • Protect our Pollinators
    • Voice for the Trees
    • Mind Your Plastic May
    • Fall Leaves
ASHEVILLE GREENWORKS
  • Hard 2 Recycle
  • Programs
    • Bee City USA Asheville >
      • Native Pollinator Plants and Nurseries
      • Pollination Celebration >
        • Pollinator Photo Contest
      • Pollinator Garden Certification
    • Rivers & Roads >
      • Adopt-a-Street
      • Clean Streams Day
      • Cleanup Supply Stations
      • Trash Trout
      • WNC Big Sweep
    • Education
    • Urban Forestry >
      • Adopt-a-Spot
      • Cool Green Asheville
      • Food Tree Project
      • RRI
      • Tree Nursery
      • Treasured Trees >
        • Treasured Trees Calendar
    • Waste Reduction >
      • Asheville Bag Monster
      • Composting Information
      • Flip Your Lid
      • Plastics Reduction Task Force
      • Recycling Information
      • Smash Don't Trash
  • Get Involved
    • Volunteer
    • Experiential Internships
    • Youth Environmental Leadership Program >
      • YELP Staff & Alumni
      • How to Apply
    • Make a Donation
    • Wish List
    • Sponsorship
  • Upcoming Events
  • About
    • Job Openings
    • History
    • Staff/ Contact
  • Newsletter
  • Blog Roll
    • Latest News
    • Protect our Pollinators
    • Voice for the Trees
    • Mind Your Plastic May
    • Fall Leaves
Picture
We are drowning in plastic.

From beauty products to grocery bags to water bottles to our daily cup of coffee, plastic is present in every aspect of our lives. Most of these items are designed to be used once and thrown away, usually heading to the landfill.

Some of the plastic that we think can be recycled, like drink lids, straws and utensils, end up in the landfill because they're either too difficult to recycle or there's no market for the end products. Even recyclable plastic such as water bottles are becoming harder to recycle.

The most effective approach to reducing our plastic waste is to REFUSE, REDUCE, and REUSE.

In January 2019, GreenWorks spearheaded the creation of the Plastics Reduction Task Force -- a group of motivated volunteers dedicated to reducing single-use plastic in our environment. 
​
Join the plastic-free movement and break free from the plastic ties that bind us.
Donate now for a plastic-free future
Mind Your Plastic May is meant to encourage and challenge us in our journey to live plastic free. These posts are created by GreenWorks staff, Plastic Reduction Task Force volunteers, and other plastic-free advocates in Buncombe County. If you've found these posts helpful and encouraging, please consider making a donation to support this work. If you have any questions, please email [email protected]
Picture

"But it has a recycling symbol on it."

5/5/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
Recycling Misconceptions
Most municipalities with a single stream recycling program have taught us to put ALL of our plastics containing a chasing arrows symbol into the big blue bin. This was an effort to get more residents to recycle as you wouldn’t have to sort your items. The problem is that most of the items, even those with numbers inside of chasing arrows are NOT recyclable in all areas of the country. These numbers are important to manufacturers and recyclers as they inform the chemical makeup of the plastic.
​

Not all Plastics are Created Equal
For the most part we have 7 different types of plastic for consumables here in the U.S. Plastic drink bottles and clam shells are #1 (PETE) plastic. These are usually clear and for the remanufacturing market easy to convert into new products. Laundry containers and milk cartons fall into the #2 (HDPE) category and are easy and accessible item for repurposing. Once we move beyond number 1’s and 2’s we veer off the road of easy and profitable remanufacturing to a bumpy unpaved confusing road of disappointment.

Numbers 3 through 7 plastics include a wide range of items such as polystyrene, PVC, cellophane, microwaveable trays and hard plastics. These products make up the majority of plastics that you’ll come in contact with and not surprisingly these are the most difficult to recycle. Number 3 through 7’s CAN be recycled but not in every City, the reason behind this is three-fold.

  1. Demand for the recycled materials on the commodities market
  2. Freight distance from the recycling facility to the re-manufacturer
  3. Price of crude oil

Challenges of Demand
China began enforcing their Green Fence 2013 which started the process of their accepting less of the US’s sorted recyclables. Couple that with US cities better educating their residents on what to recycle and new efficiencies at recycling facilities created a new backlog of sorted recyclables. When supply outpaces demand the value of the item drops. In this case, many of the traditionally profitable recyclables now have either no or low value.

Too Far to Ship
Glass is infinitely recyclable but heavy to transport. The average cost to ship a ton of glass to the remanufacturer is $32 and rising. This is part of the reason why many cities have stopped recycling glass in favor of sending the product to the landfill.

Oil Pricing
When the price of crude oil moves beyond $100 per barrel, remanufacturing facilities see a jump in demand for recycled plastic. If the prices are below the $100+ amount, it becomes cheaper for manufacturing facilities to use virgin polymers created directly from crude oil.


So how can I help?
Help support this effort by following these 5 easy steps.
  1. Strive to only purchase items that can be recycled or reused.
  2. Rinse out your recyclables before depositing into your bin.
  3. Keep styrofoam, hard plastics, tissue paper, food, plastic baggies out of your recycling.
  4. Educate your friends and neighbors about recycling.
  5. Reduce your amount of plastic consumption.


Eric Bradford, GreenWorks Director of Operations
Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    AuthorS

    Staff from Asheville GreenWorks, volunteers from the Plastic Reduction Task Force, as well as other guest writers who are advocates and friends.

    Archives

    May 2020
    May 2019
    April 2019

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed


​Asheville GreenWorks is a 501(c)3 non-profit environmental organization, governed by a Board of Directors. Established in 1973, GreenWorks mission is to inspire, equip and mobilize individuals and communities to take care of the places we love to live.
  • Hard 2 Recycle
  • Programs
    • Bee City USA Asheville >
      • Native Pollinator Plants and Nurseries
      • Pollination Celebration >
        • Pollinator Photo Contest
      • Pollinator Garden Certification
    • Rivers & Roads >
      • Adopt-a-Street
      • Clean Streams Day
      • Cleanup Supply Stations
      • Trash Trout
      • WNC Big Sweep
    • Education
    • Urban Forestry >
      • Adopt-a-Spot
      • Cool Green Asheville
      • Food Tree Project
      • RRI
      • Tree Nursery
      • Treasured Trees >
        • Treasured Trees Calendar
    • Waste Reduction >
      • Asheville Bag Monster
      • Composting Information
      • Flip Your Lid
      • Plastics Reduction Task Force
      • Recycling Information
      • Smash Don't Trash
  • Get Involved
    • Volunteer
    • Experiential Internships
    • Youth Environmental Leadership Program >
      • YELP Staff & Alumni
      • How to Apply
    • Make a Donation
    • Wish List
    • Sponsorship
  • Upcoming Events
  • About
    • Job Openings
    • History
    • Staff/ Contact
  • Newsletter
  • Blog Roll
    • Latest News
    • Protect our Pollinators
    • Voice for the Trees
    • Mind Your Plastic May
    • Fall Leaves