Plastic recycling is getting a lot of attention lately, in part because the challenges of recycling plastic is a focus for Earth Month 2024. But it’s not actually news that plastic recycling is imperfect. In fact, it’s something that Miller Recycling has covered quite a bit in recent years. (As just one example, check out our 2021 blog Recycling Plastic is Complicated: Is It Worth the Effort?)
A lot of the stories that news outlets have done about the challenges of recycling plastic are geared toward individuals who might not think much about what happens to the stuff they put out in their curbside recycling bins. Business owners tend to be more conscious about what’s going on with recycling because there are budgetary, efficiency and compliance-related implications to the way a business disposes of its waste. With that in mind, let’s look at the current state of plastic recycling—and what business owners in particular need to know.
What’s Going on with Plastic Recycling This Earth Day?
Earth Month 2024 is a big part of why you may have seen a rise in new stories about plastic recycling lately. Every year Earth Day has a theme, and this year it’s all about reducing plastic waste. The objective is to make people more aware of how much plastic they use and make them aware that much of the plastic waste they generate can’t be recycled. Recent reports seem to have surprised a lot of people who apparently didn’t realize that plastic recycling isn’t as straightforward as paper recycling or scrap metal recycling. Individuals who are used to throwing all their plastic trash into their recycling bins might be making adjustments to the way they dispose of this stuff, in response to these stories.
Businesses can’t just spontaneously change the way they manage plastic waste, though. The recycling challenges are different for businesses that generate large quantities of plastic and other recyclable materials. These businesses need systems that make plastic recycling as easy, cost-effective and sustainable as possible.
Three Key Takeaways About Plastic Recycling Today for Businesses
1. Yes, a lot of plastic waste will end up in landfills—but not all of it.
The overall plastic recycling rate is low because there are many types of plastic that either can’t be recycled, or the recycling process would be too expensive to make it viable. But certain types of plastic have much higher recycling rates than the average. Recent reports estimate that nearly 30% of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic bottles are recovered for recycling in the U.S. (PET, aka #1 plastic, is commonly used to make water and soda bottles, while the more durable #2 plastic HDPE is used in things like shampoo bottles and piping. Here’s a refresher on the different plastic types and their numbers.) This means that, depending on what your business does, it’s possible that a significant percentage of the plastic waste you generate really will end up being processed and turned into new materials.
2. There are real steps businesses can take to reduce plastic waste and improve their recycling practices overall.
There’s not much any individual business can do about the broader plastic recycling challenges. But there are usually other places in the recycling and waste management processes where businesses can do things better—both in terms of improving sustainability, and reducing their own waste management costs.
Business owners can look at things like, are there ways we can use less of this specific hard-to-recycle plastic? Can we streamline the way we collect and store our recyclable materials between pickups from our recycling service? Would bringing in compactors or other commercial recycling equipment help? Is there anything we can do differently to make sure we’re getting the best price for our scrap metal? Can we do more training or hang more signage to ensure workers don’t throw valuable recyclables into the trash?
3. Even if plastic recycling is challenging… businesses still need an efficient way to manage their plastic waste.
Here’s the bottom line for business owners: Regardless of what’s going on in the global plastics recycling industry, your business still needs a way to get rid of all its plastic waste. Neither you nor your employees should have to become experts in plastics recycling in order to dispose of it in a way that’s easy, sustainable and affordable. You don’t need to create a complicated sorting system to separate the highly-recyclable materials like PET plastic from things like rigid plastics and Styrofoam.
The best strategy is still to partner with a commercial recycling service that can collect all your mixed plastic and take it from there. Recycling providers know how to sort out the materials that can be processed and remade into new plastics, and how to dispose of everything else in the most responsible way. This can also be the most cost-effective way to manage your plastic waste if your recycling service is already picking up your cardboard, scrap metal and other valuable recyclable materials.
In other words? Focus on your business, and let the fate of your plastic waste be your recycling service’s problem to manage.
Contact Miller Recycling for Commercial Plastic Recycling Services
Miller Recycling has been providing commercial recycling services in Massachusetts for more than 30 years. We’ve watched plastic recycling evolve a great deal in that time. We’re always monitoring the recycling trends, laws and new technologies that shape the way plastic waste is actually managed. That expertise allows us to advise our customers on every piece of their recycling processes, so business owners don’t have to waste valuable time troubleshooting the way their businesses handle waste.
Have questions? I’m happy to talk specifics about the best way for your business to manage plastic recycling. Contact me today!