What Will Happen if You Do Not Recycle
Plastic

It is important to understand what happens to old plastic in order to understand what will happen if you do not recycle plastic.

More plastic should be recycled.

The recycling of plastics is growing along with the recycling statistics of glass and paper; however, only a small percentage of all plastics is recycled. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that only 6.8 percent of all plastics were recycled in 2007 as compared to the 50 percent of all paper which was recycled.

The reasons for this low rate of recycling tend to center around the inability to recycle all types of plastic in community recycling programs. For example:

• Not all types of plastics are accepted by community recycling programs
• Plastic bags are typically not accepted in recycling programs

According to the American Plastics Council (APC), about half of all communities in the United States have recycling programs for plastics. Each community determines the type of program they want to support and the types of materials they want to recycle. Some communities have curbside recycling while other communities require their citizens to bring their recyclables to drop-off recycling points within the community. Some communities accept all types of materials for recycling while others limit the types of plastics they accept.

Some recycling programs only accept plastic bottles made from PET or HDPE, leaving the other plastic items to be tossed into the garbage. This limited acceptance causes some types of plastics to record higher rates of recycling than the average 6.8 percent of plastics which are recycled. For example:

• PET soft drink bottles – 37 percent were recycled
• HDPE milk and large water bottles – 28 percent were recycled
• Individual water bottles – 23 percent were recycled

Most communities do not accept plastic bags in their curbside or drop-off recycling programs. Of the billion plastic bags given out each day, only 1 to 3 percent are being recycled. Some states are considering a usage tax to be charged to the consumer with each plastic bag as a way to minimize the number of plastic bags used by consumers. The consumer could avoid the usage tax by providing their own shopping bags.

When plastic is not recycled it ends up in the landfill with garbage or becomes waste in the environment. Without recycling, this "wasted" plastic cannot be reworked and reused. Instead, "new" plastic must be made, requiring the use of natural resources.

Plastics are a fast growing part of the municipal solid waste in the United States. The APC reports that in 1960 plastic contributed less than one percent of the municipal waste. By 2007 almost 31 million tons of plastic became municipal waste, representing about 12 percent of the waste in landfills.

Much of the plastic in landfills is unrecycled plastic bottles and bags. About 38 billion water bottles end up in landfills each year along with billions of plastic bags. It is estimated that it will take up to 1000 years for a plastic bottle or bag to decompose after it is buried in a landfill.

Unrecycled plastics often end up as litter, causing increased costs to clean up and dispose of properly. Besides being an eyesore, plastic bags can also be a hazard to the health of animals. Discarded plastic bags frequently end up being the cause of death each year of hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, whales, cows and goats who eat the bags mistaking them for food.

If a plastic item is thrown away it cannot be reused or remade into another plastic item. The base plastic in the item becomes a total waste. Raw materials, manufacturing, natural resources such as water and energy must be used to create new plastics. If the plastic item had been recycled, the base plastic can be reused to create a new plastic item, frequently using less natural resources in the manufacturing process.

LoveToKnow Green Living and other Internet sources have additional information to help you further understand what will happen if you do not recycle plastic. Resources are available to:

• Understand the recycling process for plastic
• Learn the types of biodegradable plastic
• Research the statistics on recycling plastics
• Gather tips on recycling from Choose to Reuse: An Encyclopedia of Services, Businesses, Tools & Charitable Programs That Foster Reuse
• Locate recycling centers using Earth 911

• Ways to Prevent Global Warming
• 50 Specific Actions of Green Living
• Examples of Sustainable Development

• United States Recycling Statistics
• Types of Pollution
• Air Pollution Statistics
• Effects of Water Pollution
• Advantages and Disadvantages of Biofuels

• Eco Communities
• Door Mats Made From Recycled Tires
• Plastic Recycled Railway Tie
• Category:Recycling
• Main Page