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Why Recycling Plastic Bottles is Important
If you are paying any attention at all, no doubt you have heard or read all kinds of new information about recycling plastics. Not only is plastic recycling all over the news, the emphasis seems to be on recycling plastic bottles.
A lot of people don’t see how one little bottle in the trash could be creating the issues that so many environmentalist and other experts are talking about. That’s because it isn’t always clear actually what kind of numbers we are talking about.
Instead of looking at the use of just one person, it’s crucial to look at the entire population as a whole. If you are wondering why recycling plastic bottles are such a big deal, take a look at some of these facts.
It’s not going to come as a surprise to anyone that the people of this country are consumers. It’s been that way since the Industrial Revolution and shows very few signs of slowing down now.
With that said, it is estimated that in 2006, Americans drank an average of 167 bottles of water. Doctors are always encouraging proper hydration, so that’s good news, but the bad news is only about 23% of those plastic bottles ended up in recycling bins.
If you are good at math, that adds up to about 38 billion plastic bottles just hanging out in landfills. Of course, those numbers don’t touch the plastic bottles from soft drinks and other sources.
Another piece of information that isn’t shocking to anyone is that gas and oil prices are currently at an all time high. You might be wondering what that has to do with recycling plastic bottles.
Plastic bottles manufacturing takes about 1.5 million of barrels to produce from virgin plastics for a year. If everyone or even just a few more people would stop using or recycle plastic bottles, that oil could be used for keeping America’s cars and trucks going.
It is estimated that the 1.5 million gallons of oil can run 10,000 cars annually. It certainly seems worth saving.
Recycling plastic bottles might not seem that important until you break it down into numbers everyone can understand. The simplest methods for helping out are either making it a point to recycle all of your plastic bottles, or finding ways to not use them in the first place.
Fortunately the plastics made for these kinds of bottles are easily recycled and every recycling center that deals with plastics will accept them. It’s also a good idea to invest in reusable bottles for your water and beverage needs.
Plastic Recycling Specific links
Plastic Recycling News
City hosting plastic bag initiative - KSAT San Antonio
 Houston Press (blog) | City hosting plastic bag initiative KSAT San Antonio Litter, especially plastic bags, is a big problem in the city, bringing about an initiative called “Change is in the Bag,” which aims to educate residents on recycling and reducing use of plastic bags. "We're really trying to educate our residents ... Dallas-Fort Worth area lags in plastic bag bans City Council to work on a solution for city's plastic bag litter problem City Considers Ban on Plastic Bags |
Fatal industrial incident investigated - Calgary Herald
Fatal industrial incident investigated Calgary Herald Provincial safety officials are investigating the death of a worker at a central Alberta recycling plant. The 47-year-old man was fatally injured Monday afternoon while working at a plastic recycling plant near Three Hills, about 100 kilometres ... |
Halifax recycling more plastics - CBC.ca
 CBC.ca | Halifax recycling more plastics CBC.ca Halifax is diverting tonness of plastics away from landfills after the successful expansion of the region's recycling program. Despite the improved numbers, most HRM residents are still throwing away too much recyclable or compostable material. |
Plastics recycling catching on in Halifax - Canadian Plastics
Plastics recycling catching on in Halifax Canadian Plastics Halifax is diverting tons of plastics away from landfills after the successful expansion of the region's recycling program. In September 2011, the city's recycling program was expanded to include all plastics except for Styrofoam-style materials. |
RIVERSIDE: Feinstein backs UCR medical school - Press-Enterprise
 Press-Enterprise | RIVERSIDE: Feinstein backs UCR medical school Press-Enterprise Dianne Feinstein sees plastic being recycled at carbonLITE a plastics recycling plant in Riverside. Today she will visit the Fender guitar firm in Corona. BY DUANE W. GANG To loud applause at the Riverside Convention Center, US Sen. |