Eco-Logic: Is Paper More Eco-friendly than Plastic?
(Page 2 of 3)
May/June 1999
By Judy Bucher
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Paper now accounts for approximately 37 percent of municipal solid waste. Of all the paper produced today, close to 40 percent is being recycled, primarily newsprint into new newsprint, cereal boxes, books, insulating materials, printing/writing paper, tissue, egg cartons, and animal bedding. In 1995, the recovery of office paper was more than double the 1990 recovery—a comforting thought when you consider the avalanche of waste paper generated by high-tech offices. In addition, last year 70 percent of all corrugated cardboard boxes were recovered for recycling, as were 68 percent of all paper containers and packaging.
Plastics account for 11 percent of municipal solid waste. Because literally thousands of different plastics cannot be melted together—their molecules don’t mix—sorting is a major obstacle to plastics recycling. However, the handling and reclaiming of post-consumer plastics is nearly six times greater now than it was ten years ago, according to the American Plastics Council.
The properties of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) soda bottles and HDPE (high-density polyethylene) bottles and containers make them good candidates for recycling into fibers, carpet, and lumber. Some polystyrene products also are being recovered for similar uses. But with a very few exceptions, such as recycling computer housings into roof shingles, the recycling of non-packaging plastic is a challenge for the future.
However, reports the Polystyrene Packaging Council, polystyrene packaging—including cups, plates, bowls, clamshells, meat trays, egg cartons, yogurt and cottage-cheese containers, and cutlery—accounts for less than one percent of solid waste in the United States. And these products have been source-reduced 9 percent since 1974, which means that 9 percent less polystyrene is used today to manufacture the same goods.
Biodegradable plastics, which are primarily cornstarch based, have been marketed with mixed results in the past decade for products ranging from grocery bags to golf tees. To replace the pervasive packing “peanuts” that love to cling, Eco-Foam—a new loosefill from National Starch and Chemical Company—is touted as “compostable, reusable, and biodegradable and better for the environment than plastic peanuts.” And it’s easier to use than non-recyclable crumpled paper.