Types of Recycled Items

“Made from x% recycled material.”

This phrase is showing up more and more frequently with the rise of the cultural phenomenon of “going green.” As consumers become more caught up in the “green” mindset, they’re probably more likely to choose a product – all else being equal – over another product that doesn’t boast the phrase.

But what does this phrase mean exactly?

There are two phrases commonly found: “pre-consumer recycled content,” “post-consumer recycled content” and “recycled content.” I wasn’t actually aware of the difference until my mom told me about it.

Pre-consumer content: This is material that comes as a waste of the production process and otherwise would be sent to the landfill. It is not the typical type of “recycled” most people think they are buying.

Post-consumer content: This is the type of recycled material that most people think they are buying. It is material that has already been used once, sent to the recycling center, and been transformed into a new product.

Recycled content: Generally comprises a mix of both pre and post consumer content. Because this type of content is made of both pre and post-consumer materials, the total percentage is often much higher than the “post-consumer content” percentage. Therefore, this higher number is advertised more to encourage buyers to choose their product.

While it is good that companies are using their production wastes and transforming parts of them into new products, this lingo – the difference between “(pre-consumer) recycled content” and “post-consumer recycled content” – is often confused. To me, it seems more like a marketing scheme than a true benefit to the environment. Thus, the real number that you want to look for is the post-consumer percentage – the real amount that has been reused.

References:

http://www.epa.gov/waste/conserve/rrr/buyrecycled.htm

http://green-behavior.com/buzzword-patrol/post-consumer-pre-consumer-recycled-content.htm

http://www.metro-region.org/index.cfm/go/by.web/id=3369
http://www.greenerdesign.com/blog/2009/01/12/staples-eco-friendly-packaging-thats-not-easy

Is this recyclable?

I started writing this blog post in order to do some research and find a site to where I could direct readers to plug in their city and state and find their own local recycling guidelines. Unfortunately, no such site (that I could find) exists. So, since I can’t possibly give you the links for every different recycling program and its guidelines in the country, I urge you to go to your city’s homepage and look up the local recycling guidelines. You may even find that your community doesn’t have a recycling program at all!

It's important to note that not all members of plastics are recyclable. In addition, each type of plastic is recycled separately, so the potential for cross contamination is high. This is a concern because one dirty or wrong type of plastic can ruin an entire batch of recyclables.here are three different types of recycling programs that are typically offered. They are: Dual Stream Recycling, Single Stream Recycling, and Pay-As-You-Throw programs.

Dual Stream Recycling - This is the most common type of recycling program offered. Recyclers separate aluminum and plastics into one bin and paper items into another container. There is still the potential for contamination by mixing of non-recyclables into the mix and by dirty food waste left in containers.

Single Stream Recycling - aka commingled recycling. All recycling items are thrown into the same bin. The recycling collectors take the commingled items back to the recycling center to sort.

The EPA recognizes that this system of recycling is highly inefficient because a large chunk of post-consumer recycled items end up being thrown out by cross contamination into the wrong product stream. The EPA also states that the biggest concern with losing recycled items is that it reduces the amount of material to be used for making new products, thereby increasing the need for use of “virgin materials” in production. This concern is greater than the concern that the unused recycled items will be transported to the landfill. (http://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/homepage.nsf/topics/ccrs)

Quoted from the EPA site on single stream recycling: " Portland Metro’s study found a loss rate of 6,230 tons of recyclables. By material type, there was a loss rate of 26% incoming cardboard, 14% metal, 24% plastic bottles, and 1% newspaper.”

Pay-As-You-Throw - This system is actually a waste collection system, but it is an incentive for recycling. With pay-as-you-throw, the consumer is charged for each bag of trash put on the curb for pick-up. As consumers are charged more for their waste, they put less trash out on the curb. As Chaz Miller of the Environmental Industry Association says in his article, this system of charging for trash doesn’t cause consumers to create less waste, but they find other ways to deal with their waste be it in the form of recycling, reusing, or composting for example. (http://wasteage.com/mag/waste_payasyouthrow/

Problems of Cross-Contamination in Recycling
I’ll admit that in the past I’ve been guilty of throwing an unwashed plastic container in the recycling bin on occasion by using the rationale that it is better to recycle it even if it’s dirty. I know that I’ve been told the containers need to be food-free before putting them in the recycling bin, but sometimes cleaning the plastic seems too inconvenient or undesirable. This rationale of recycling the container anyways, however, is not correct, and I figured that a lot of other people may be guilty of the same mistake I’ve made.

So, the next time you finish your yogurt and are left with a mostly empty but dirty plastic carton, remember why it’s worth the effort to rinse it out:

1) It’s more energy and time intensive for workers to sort and clean the recycled items. Often the energy and time required is too inefficient and the contaminated materials are just thrown out to go to the landfill. http://daviswiki.org/Recycling
2) A contaminated batch of recycling produces recycled items that are not as durable or as strong as they need to be to serve their intended purposes. If the integrity of the post-consumer recycled plastic container is compromised, then manufacturers who need the products for packaging will opt for new rather than recycled plastic containers. http://discovermagazine.com/2009/jul-aug/06-when-recycling-is-bad-for-the-environment

Other References:

http://www.nrc-recycle.org/ - This site gives a search box of what you want to recycle and a location (city and state, area code). Great place to look for local recycling locations for those items that your regular curb side pick-up won’t take.
http://www.recyclingcenters.org/
http://earth911.com/ Information on Dual Stream Recycling, Single Stream Recycling, and Pay-As-You-Throw

Release of CHEJ's PVC-Free Back to School Guide

The Center for Health, Environment, and Justice (CHEJ) is a nonprofit organization located in Falls Church, VA with the aim of helping low income communities organize and fight against environmental injustices they face. CHEJ offers networking, organizing, and encouragement to communities who call in for help. They advise clients on ways to gather community support, help clients develop their strategic plans to change policy, and they provide periodic training sessions for people around the country who subscribe to CHEJ’s network. In addition, CHEJ also has key campaigns they are running to bring about change. As an intern this summer, I was placed on the Childproofing our Communities campaign (CPOC), which deals with school siting issues, as many public schools are built on cheap land that is often highly polluted from prior use or is close to a polluter of the community, as well as the PVC: Poison Plastic campaign.

As part of the PVC campaign, I was in charge of compiling a lot of research to go into the organization's annual publication, the PVC-Free Back to School Guide. And, after many peoples' hard work all summer on this guide, it was released to the public today! Check it out!: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/852/t/2088/signUp.jsp?key=4410

The guide lists common supplies on back to school shopping lists that often contain PVC and different brands and products that we have determined to be free of the poison plastic. Even if you don't use it to go shopping for back to school supplies, take a look over the list to see what some of the major companies are that have many PVC free items. It's surprising to find out that more and more companies are beginning to phase out PVC in their products.



Pasted below is CHEJ's Press Release for the guide:


School Supplies Pose Toxic Threat to Children’s Health
CHEJ Offers New Guide to Help Parents Make Safer Choices for Back‐to‐School Shopping in Over 20Product Categories

Falls Church, VA – The Center for Health, Environment & Justice (CHEJ) is releasing a new Back to School Guide to PVC‐Free School Supplies for parents to choosing safer, PVC‐free school supplies in over 20 product categories. The guide is being released just in time for this coming weekend’s important retail season: tax‐free back‐to‐school shopping. Parents across the country are stocking up on binders and lunchboxes. But while it’s easy to know the healthiest foods to pack in those lunchboxes, many parents are not aware of the toxic plastic used to make them. In fact, the average child’s character‐themed backpack is filled with supplies and materials made from one of the most toxic plastics, polyvinyl chloride (PVC or vinyl).

“Numerous studies have found that young children are particularly susceptible to the harmful effects of chemicals released by PVC. Last year, the government banned phthalates commonly used in PVC from children’s toys. These known hazardous chemicals were banned from our children’s toys, but can still be found in school supplies marketed directly for young children,” said Mike Schade, CHEJ’s PVC Campaign Coordinator. “Parents can easily protect their children by shopping PVC‐free. There are many safer PVC‐free products available and even being sold alongside the toxic PVC items at your local retailer. Read the labels, and give your child a healthy start to the new school year.”

Although this toxic plastic is found in many name‐brand products, parents can find safer PVC‐free
products. CHEJ is releasing the expanded 2nd Annual Edition of their popular Back to School Guide to PVC‐Free School Supplies to help parents make informed shopping choices. Over twenty categories of school supplies, from backpacks to art supplies, are covered in the guide. As a companion piece to the full guide, a pocket guide with top‐tips and at‐a‐glance advice is also available. A few of the top tips for avoiding toxic PVC school supplies are:

1. Avoid backpacks with shiny plastic designs as they often contain PVC and may contain lead.
2. Use cloth lunchboxes or metal lunchboxes. Many lunchboxes are made of PVC, or coated with PVC on the inside.
3. Used cardboard, fabric‐covered, or polypropylene binders. Most 3‐ring binders are made of PVC.

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) is unique among plastics because it contains dangerous chemical additives used to soften or stabilize it. These harmful chemicals include phthalates, lead, cadmium, and/or organotins, which can be toxic to a child’s health. Over 90% of all phthalates are used in PVC products such as school supplies. Federal law has banned the use of phthalates in children’s toys, but not children’s school supplies and other PVC products found in schools. Lunchboxes, binders, vinyl backpacks, and even art supplies are frequently made out of PVC.

Children are particularly vulnerable to the harmful health effects of toxic chemicals used in PVC. Recent studies have linked PVC flooring in the home to increased rates of autism and asthma in children. Chemicals that evaporate or leech out of PVC products may contribute to developmental disorders and damage to the liver, central nervous, respiratory and reproductive systems.

For a copy of the PVC‐Free Back‐to‐School Guide, visit www.chej.org. To arrange an interview with a CHEJ expert on PVC and toxic threats to children’s health, contact Moira Bulloch at 703‐237‐2249 ext.19 or by email at mbulloch@chej.org

About CHEJ
The Center for Health, Environment & Justice exists to mentor the movement to build healthier communities by empowering people to prevent harm in as many ways, and for as many people, as possible. We believe this can happen when people and groups have the power to play an integral role in promoting human health and environmental integrity. CHEJ’s role is to provide the tools, the direction, and the encouragement to these people and groups, so that they can build strong, healthy communities where they live, work, learn, shop, play and pray. Following her successful effort to prevent further harm for the people living in contaminated Love Canal, Lois Gibbs founded CHEJ in 1981 in order to continue mentoring others seeking to prevent harm. CHEJ provides mentoring assistance to communities, homeowners, families and individuals throughout the country. To date, CHEJ has assisted over 10,000 groups nationwide. Currently, CHEJ is mentoring community groups in Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina and Ohio. Details on CHEJ’s efforts to help people and communities prevent harm can be found at http://chej.org/ .

Plastics (part 2): Which Number Means What?

There are many types of plastics - each made a slightly different way to have different useful properties. For example, plastic #3, or Polyvinyl Chloride, is made to be a softer, flimsier plastic and is used in shower curtains and for waterproofing purposes. Plastic #2 (High density polyethylene), on the other hand, is made to be strong and sturdy for plastic containers.

Some types of plastic have shown evidence of leaching harmful chemicals into the air and the products they handle. So, it is important to know what type of plastic you are dealing with when using an item. The way to know is to look for the recycling triangle and the number that is listed with that symbol.


#1: Polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE)
Toxic? Unsure. Scientific research is sparse but hints that there might be a chance of toxicity with this type of plastic (leaching antimony into water). The majority of evidence shows no toxicity with PET plastic, however.
Commonly found in: Ziploc products, soda bottles, most food containers

#2: High density polyethylene (HDPE)
Toxicity? Low. Not shown to leech any endocrine disrupting or cancer causing chemicals.
Commonly found in: storage containers

#3: Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) or (V)
Toxicity? High. To soften into its flexible form, manufacturers add “plasticizers” during production. Traces of these chemicals can leach out of PVC when in contact with foods. According to the National Institutes of Health, di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), commonly found in PVC, is a suspected human carcinogen. Vinyl is PVC.
Commonly found in: shower curtains, plastic food wraps, shoes, binders, colored paper clips, construction siding, pipes, electronics, lunchboxes, credit cards, flooring, rain gear, and much more

#4: Low-density polyethylene (LDPE)
Toxicity? Low. Not known to leach any chemicals that are suspected of causing cancer or disrupting hormones, but not as widely recycled as #1 or #2.
Commonly found in: films, wraps, bottles, disposable gloves and garbage bags

#5: Polypropylene (PP)
Toxicity? Low. Hazardous during production, but not known to leach any chemicals that are suspected of causing cancer or disrupting hormones. Not as widely recycled as #1 and #2.
Commonly found in: car trim, battery cases, bottles, tubes, filaments and bags, Tupperware

#6: Polystyrene (PS)
Toxicity? High. Benzene (material used in production) is a known human carcinogen. Butadiene and styrene (the basic building block of the plastic) are suspected carcinogens. Energy intensive and poor recycling. When this type of plastic is heated and air is blown through it, it forms Styrofoam.
Commonly found in: Styrofoam, disposable cutlery, packing peanuts

#7: Other (often PC, polycarbonate)
Toxicity? High. PC is made with bisphenyl-A, a chemical invented in the 1930s in search for synthetic estrogens. It is a hormone disruptor; encourages and stimulates estrogen production when tested in human breast cancer studies. Can leach into food as product ages.
Commonly found in: reusable plastic water bottles


Here’s the deal. Some plastics that have not yet been proven to be harmful to our health, still might be in the future. What is known now, is that all plastics pollute the Earth, especially if they don’t make it to a recycling center to be reused. So, it is important to reduce our purchasing and use of all plastics so that they don’t end up sitting in a landfill - or in the ecosystem - waiting for centuries to break down.


References:

• http://www.care2.com/greenliving/which-plastics-are-safe.html

• http://science.howstuffworks.com/plastic4.htm

• http://environment.about.com/od/earthtalkcolumns/a/recycleplastics.htm

• http://www.savemobile.org/blog/plastic_types_jan07.pdf (very comprehensive list)

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/allybeag/2068645306/ (picture of mountain of bottles)