Green Tips #4

Comment by Philip Timm on July 19, 2009 at 9:35pm

I like the part about #1 and #2 plastic. Is there anyway to recycle #5, which is what prescription bottles are.

Comment by Loop Studios on July 19, 2009 at 11:15pm

Pretty much all plastics are recyclable in some way (#3 - PVC - is the most questionable IMO - pretty much down cycling only). Chattanooga only accepts #1 and #2 because that is all that can be dealt with at this time. Lots of other cites accept #1-6 now. The problem is collection, sorting, and actual recycling. Collections costs will go up as you need more space, containers etc. Same problem with sorting - tons more space, people, and time. Then you have to find someone to buy the material - not always easy.

#7 is very difficult since it pretty much covers anything that doesn't fit into any of the other numbers. It could be a combination of the other numbers or something entirely new. Unfortunately, if recyclers cannot tell exactly whats in it - they can't do anything with it. In addition, there are so many combinations that it makes it impossible to deal with the sheer number of different products. Interestingly enough, some of the new biodegradable products are labeled #7. So #7 can be anything from biodegradable to the hardest materials to recycle.

One of the best packaging solutions is glass. It's safer than it's plastic brothers and is very easily recycled. Buy things in glass whenever possible. If Coke and Pepsi want to really green up their bottles, they need to go back to glass!

Comment